My soul,
Where do the struggles and quarrels within me come from?
Is it not from your passions that war within my members?
You covet and do not possess.

My soul, bless the Lord,
And meditate on His Word day and night,
For He is the one who causes you to prosper in every way;
He is the one who fills you with wisdom, knowledge, and joy.
He is the one who removes sorrow from within you, and pain from my body.
He is the one who drives away the anxiety inside you
And enables me to hope against all hope.
He is the one who stops your tears from running
Down the well-mapped streets of my cheeks, destined for unspeakable joy.
He is the one who gives you vigor, energy,
And the vital strength to resist unto blood.

My soul, are you not listening?
Why this turmoil within me?
Why do you join forces with the thoughts of the flesh against me?
Receive with meekness the Word that has been implanted in you and command my body to put it into practice, and not merely to speak it.
Your melancholy and the passions of the flesh will not accomplish God’s righteousness in me.

My soul, tell my body:
The great purpose of my life is to strive,
Day after day, to break the power of sin that operates in my members.

My soul, gaze into the Mirror of the perfect Law,
The Law of liberty, so that at all times the delicate blossom of your incorruptible beauty
May not wither under the corrupting sun of iniquity,
And that sin, once fully grown, may not produce in my body
Death—and in the age to come, the second death.

My soul,
O virgin of Israel, rise up into the higher realms of the life of the Spirit and behold your Savior coming to you, crying out like the sound of many waters: I have loved you with an everlasting love, and I bequeath to you My Holiness and My most exquisite spiritual gifts.

My soul, I do not write to you with pen and ink,
But with the Chisel of the Holy Spirit I engrave upon you His charming and hope-filled commands.

Therefore, open your heart and make room for the Life of the Spirit, so that I may henceforth walk in newness of life, in a righteousness and holiness that come from the Truth…

This text is an excerpt from the book “THE TRIUMPH OF RESILIENCE” written by Jules NGUESSEU.

We invite you to read the following article: “THE WORKERS OF THE ELEVENTH HOUR.”