Life-Changing: The Abandonment to Divine Providence
Surrendering to God's Will is never easy, but Abandonment to Divine Providence shows you how.
Every once in a while, a book comes along that just knocks you off your feet - hitting you with a message so inspiring, so life-changing that you want to tell everyone you know about it - and that book, for me, is Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean-Pierre de Caussade.
If this short, 134-page book is not already on your shelf, it should be. (Available on Amazon here.)
A Short Read?
A few weeks ago, I went on a weekend-long silent retreat, which is an experience that I would recommend to anyone. It’s a great opportunity to recharge your spiritual battery and get back on course with your spiritual life again.
It’s not my first retreat, but it’s the first time I’ve gone in a few years (a long story), so I was excited to have the chance. Each time that I go, I like to bring a book along that will help me focus over the weekend, and this time, I chose Abandonment to Divine Providence.
Why? It’s short. It has been on my Amazon Wishlist for ages, and I wanted a quick read for the short weekend retreat. What I didn’t expect was how long a short book like this would take me to read.
Abandonment to Divine Providence is not a book to quickly read through; it’s a book worth savoring every page.
Surrendering to God’s Will
Without too many spoilers, the overall theme of the book is surrendering to God’s will - something most Christians claim to do, but most of us struggle with.
When Jesus was in the garden the night before His death, He modeled the “not my will, but Yours” approach to prayer for us. In His most challenging moments, Jesus gave complete trust to God the Father.
Jean-Pierre de Caussade challenges you to do the same. Do you trust God enough to completely surrender to His will?
It’s easy to say that you trust God when life is all sunshine and rainbows, but what about the days filled with dark skies and downpours? Do you still trust God during the storms of life?
Finding Purpose in God’s Will
Ultimately, as de Caussade teaches us, surrendering to God’s will brings your life meaning and purpose, and that is the heart of this book.
Following God’s will could simply be an act of obedience - something you do simply because God commands it - but the real impact comes when you freely submit to God’s will. From the large decisions in life to your everyday choices, submitting to God’s will leads to understanding the purpose of your life.
For years, I have shared this view because it is a central theme to Ignatian spirituality, but I have never seen it put so elegantly as this.
Fair Warning
Abandonment to Divine Providence is not for the faint of heart. First, it’s not an easy read - it’s chewy. The translation from 18th-century French to modern-day English offers many memorable quotes (so have your highlighter ready), but that also means it can be a slow read. I consider myself a strong reader, and I still had to fight through it a bit.
Over and over again, I found myself reading and re-reading passages to fully absorb what was being said, but not just because of the writing. The challenging, thought-provoking concepts forced me to take time to grasp every new idea.
The chapters are only two to four pages in length, but that was the perfect amount to wrestle with in a single sitting.
How to Read Abandonment to Divine Providence
My best recommendation is to treat it like a devotional. Whether you start your day with it, or curl up with it before you turn out the lights, Abandonment to Divine Providence is great to read one short chapter at a time.
Each chapter is enough to spend the day with, slowly absorbing the message. But carry it with you, because I’m sure that you will want to refer back to it.
And if you have decided to purchase it for yourself, here’s a link to the version that I read on Amazon.
Shortcut
If you want to dive deeper into the Abandonment to Divine Providence without buying the book, I did a short YouTube video on it. Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel if you want more of my video content to go directly to you.
May God use this book and this message to help you on your faith journey.
