The Imitation of Christ · Chapter
How a desolate man ought to commit himself into the hands of God explained
The chapter is a prayer of a desolate soul committing itself entirely to God, acknowledging that all good comes from Him, accepting suffering as a loving discipline, and seeking only to know and love what is truly pleasing to God.
What happens
The chapter is a prayer of a desolate soul committing itself entirely to God, acknowledging that all good comes from Him, accepting suffering as a loving discipline, and seeking only to know and love what is truly pleasing to God.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Falling action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This is the story’s dramatic climax because the speaker reaches an emotional and psychological peak of total s…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Contempt for the World
The soul rejects worldly praise and esteem, recognizing that only God's judgment matters.
- Suffering and the Cross
Suffering is embraced as a loving discipline from God, a means of purification and growth.
- Grace and Divine Dependence
The soul acknowledges that all good comes from God and that it cannot run in His commandments without His comfort.
Characters to notice
- God the Father
Addressed as 'O Lord God, Holy Father' and 'O beloved Father'; the soul commits itself to His hands and accepts His correction.
- The Disciple
The speaker who confesses his poverty, sorrow, and need for God's peace, and submits to divine discipline.
- Jesus Christ
Implied as the one through whom the soul seeks consolation and the pattern of suffering for love.
- St. Francis
Quoted: 'What each one is in Thine eyes, so much he is, and no more.'
Key passages
“I am poor and in misery even from my youth up, and my soul is sorrowful unto tears, sometimes also it is disquieted within itself, because of the sufferings which are coming upon it.”
I have been poor and afflicted since my youth; my soul is often sorrowful and troubled by the sufferings that approach me.
The disciple confesses his lifelong poverty and inner turmoil.
“It is good for me, Lord, that I had been in trouble, that I may learn Thy statutes, and may cast away all pride of heart and presumption.”
Lord, it is good that I have suffered, because through trouble I learn Your laws and abandon pride and self-reliance.
Suffering is seen as a teacher that humbles and instructs.
“What each one is in Thine eyes, so much he is, and no more.”
A person's true worth is only what God sees them to be, nothing more.
Quoting St. Francis to emphasize that human praise is meaningless.
