J Heinrich Arnold-Freedom from sinful thoughts.pdf

13. DetachmentWHEN, in the middle of a trying struggle, we feel adesire for God in the depth of our hearts, it is a sign thathe is still there. (The fact that we are even struggling is asign of this, too.) We may not have strength to followhim at that moment, but as long as we hear him throughthe voice of our conscience, we can hold on to that andknow that he will lead us out of our struggle.God is concealed deep within the heart of everyhuman being, for each of us is made “in his image.” Ifwe have childlike faith in this, it should not be hard tobelieve that it is he whose voice directs us out of thedarkness to freedom and light. Yet how, against theclamor of other voices that vie for our attention, can wefind the inner quiet we need in order to hear him?In one of his poems, my father touches on thisquestion and speaks, in answer to it, of his longing to be“outpoured” for God so that he can await Him “in stillness.”This stillness, which the 13th-century German mystic