“Give over thine own willing, give over thy own running, give over thine own desiring to know or be anything and sink down to the seed which God sows in the heart, and let that grow in thee and be in thee and breathe in thee and act in thee; and thou shalt find by sweet experience that the Lord knows that and loves and owns that, and will lead it to the inheritance of Life, which is its portion.” Isaac Penington, 1661
I was first introduced to this Penington quote when it was chanted by Paulette Meier during a School of the Spirit; Participating in God’s Power weekend workshop. I found it to be deeply powerful. To my mind, it is Penington’s slightly longer and more illuminating version of the age-old spiritual injunction to “die before you die”.
Clearly, it does not speak of a physical death but of all that is in us that fights against what Spirit would have us do as opposed to what we think we ought to do (ego?). A learning for me has been that just because I’m doing something that I think is good work even when others lift that work up with great acclaim (perhaps especially when that happens) it does not mean that it is the work that Spirit would have me do in that place and time. I may well be led to that work by my ego and not by Spirit. For Quakers in particular, understanding, clearly hearing the work that Spirit plants in our hearts, is not a solitary pursuit. When we believe that we have received a leading from Spirit, we are called on to test that leading with other Friends, (potentially in a clearness committee) to discern if it is truly Spirit led and, even when our leading has been affirmed, we do not carry that work alone, rather we carry it with the constant guidance of trusted friends often gathered as a support committee. We are thus wrapped in an amazing cocoon of Love and deep discernment.
I have been deeply blessed as I open my heart, mind, and soul to the guidance of Spirit. I work to remain open to following Spirit’s leadings in the company of Friends. In Caroline Fox’s (1819-1871) Journal, she described hearing an inner voice or feeling an articulation in her spirit: "Live up to the light thou hast, and more will be granted thee." May it be so.
