Chapter 11 Summary and Analysis

The third chapter dealing with the Fifth Dwelling discusses the importance of continuing in obedience and devotion in these early stages of being a butterfly, at the same time offering comfort and assurance to those who have not received the same blessings. Both to establish the intimacy she describes and to maintain it, she stresses again that the most important thing is to bind one's will to the will of God instead of seeking some particular blessing. When the union is established, adversity and prosperity are equally rejoiced over as blessings from God, bringing the soul deeper into union with her King.

Next follows a discussion of grief as something that remains even in this joyful state of union. Grief, she points out, is what motivated Jesus to raise Lazarus from the dead, and that kind of grief will remain as...