Tag: Conquest of Fear

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I am not a free agent

God among His other functions must be a tireless activity working towards an end. Everything He calls into being works toward that end, I myself with the rest. I am not a purposeless bit of jetsam flung out on the ocean of time to be tossed about helplessly. God couldn’t so will an existence. It would not be in keeping with His economy to have any entity wasted. As Our Lord puts it, the sparrow cannot fall without Him; without Him the lilies are not decked; the knowledge possessed by His infinite intelligence is so minute that the very hairs of the head are numbered. My life, my work, myself—all are as much a necessary part of His design as the thread the weaver weaves into the pattern in a carpet. In other words, I am not a free agent. I am His agent. Not only am I responsible to him, but He is responsible for me. His responsibility for me will be seen as soon as I give up being responsible for myself.”

— The Conquest of Fear by Basil King

I was in a meeting earlier today where I was reminded of this quote. “The Conquest of Fear” by Basil King was published nearly one hundred years ago but the wisdom distilled in its pages is timeless. King’s thoughts are very liberating and have been insightful in my life. I am grateful to the man who first shared this book with me over thirty-five years ago.

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To an infinite mind

But to an Infinite Mind bathing me round and round I must be as much the object of regard as any solar system. To such a Mind nothing is small, no one thing farther from its scope than another. God could have no difficulty in attending to me, seeing that from the nature of His mental activity, to put it in that way, He could not lose sight of me nor let me go. When an object is immersed in water it gives no extra trouble to the water to close round it. It can’t help doing it. The object may be as small as a grain of dust or as big as a warship; to the water it is all the same.

King, Basil (2009-10-04). The Conquest of Fear (p. 21). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.

The quote above is taken from a book first published in 1922. It’s been part of my own library for over thirty years. Lately, like many people I’ve been very concerned with the direction of our society and planet. It’s easy to get lost in the milieu of day to day life. It’s easy to lose heart and lose faith. I’ve also found that in helping others that I help myself. It was in this process of helping to buoy the faith of another that I came back to this classic work. The Infinite Mind, God, Creator or however you might conceive or address this universal force is here to help and provide for us each day. I remember reading this particular paragraph a long time ago and from it gaining some peace that there is a force that protects me and provides for me regardless of my own limiting view of this power. Glad that I reconnected with these thoughts tonight. Peace.