Surrender · “Let Go to Receive”
Turning to the Lord
To turn the whole heart inward to God, forsaking restless attachment to the world, and to prepare an inner ‘mansion’ where Christ may come — referring one’s day and one’s cares to him rather than carrying them alone.
Turning to the Lord: Turn the whole heart inward to God and loosen the world’s grip (“Turn thee with all thine heart to the Lord. and thou shalt find rest”). Prepare a quiet inner room for Christ. Refer the day’s cares to him. Resolve Godward each morning; examine your day each evening. Keep returning whenever the heart scatters.
What it is
Across Book 3 — the long inward dialogue between the soul and Christ — à Kempis’s central counsel is to turn the whole heart inward to God and let go of restless attachment to the world, so that one finds rest and Christ comes to dwell within: “Turn thee with all thine heart to the Lord and forsake this miserable world, and thou shalt find rest unto thy soul” (Bk 3, Ch 1).
The disposition is preparatory and receptive: “Christ will come to thee, and show thee His consolation, if thou prepare a worthy mansion for Him within thee” (Bk 3, Ch 1). The practice is to refer one’s day, cares, and choices inward to God rather than carrying them alone — a continual returning of attention and trust to him.
It is framed by his daily rhythm of resolve and review. It operationalizes the discipline of turning (The Inner Creates the Outer), the priority of inner state over outward circumstance (The Inner Creates the Outer), and present-moment return (Everything Happens in the Now).
(Distinct file note: this differs from (Brother Lawrence), which keeps a loving awareness of God in the midst of ordinary work, and from the aspiration–rejection–surrender files. à Kempis’s version is the medieval inward turning of the whole heart — forsaking the world’s grip, preparing an inner mansion, referring the day to Christ — bracketed by morning resolve and evening self-examination.)
The Method
As à Kempis counsels it (a disposition framed by a simple daily rhythm):
- Turn the whole heart inward. Deliberately turn from the world’s pull toward God within: “Turn thee with all thine heart to the Lord and forsake this miserable world, and thou shalt find rest unto thy soul” (Bk 3, Ch 1).
- Prepare an inner room. Make space inwardly — quiet, humble, unclutched by craving — for God: “Christ will come to thee. if thou prepare a worthy mansion for Him within thee” (Bk 3, Ch 1).
- Refer your cares to him. Hand the day’s burdens and choices inward rather than carrying them alone; let the soul “speak with” God in the inward conversation Book 3 models.
- Resolve in the morning. Begin the day by setting your intention Godward: “In the morning make thy resolves” (Bk 1, Ch 19).
- Examine in the evening. Close the day by reviewing it before God — what was done, where you fell short, what to amend: “in the evening inquire into thy life” (Bk 1, Ch 19).
- Return, again and again. Through the day, keep turning the heart back inward whenever it scatters into the world. (Sourcing note: quotations from Book 3, Chapter 1 and Book 1, Chapter 19 of standard public-domain English translations.)
Source & Lineage
Thomas à Kempis cast Book 3 of The Imitation as an intimate dialogue (“The Inward Voice of Christ”) — the soul turning inward to hear and answer God.
This interiority, with its daily rhythm of morning resolution and evening self-examination, is characteristic of the Devotio Moderna’s disciplined inward piety. The “prepare a mansion within” image draws on the Gospel promise of God making his dwelling in the heart. → author id thomas a kempis.
Common refinements
“Forsaking the world” as neglect. à Kempis means releasing the heart’s grip on the world, not abandoning duties or relationships.
- Turning over cares to avoid action. Referring cares to God is trust, not passivity; still do what love and prudence require.
- Resolve without review (or vice versa). The morning resolve and evening examination work as a pair.
- Straining for consolation. The “mansion” is prepared by humility and quiet, not forced feeling; dryness is normal and not failure.