Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/1848

1848 Living faith.... right attitude towards God....

March 15, 1941: Book 28

In a time of tribulation, those who strive to always act well and nobly will come to living faith. These will be visibly guided and come into contact with deeply believing people, and the word of God will be imparted to them in such a way that it appears acceptable to them and they therefore hear it with the heart and not just with the ear. And then their own thinking sets in. The human being enters into contact with God, has an inner dialogue with Him, and he is now mentally instructed and given an answer to every serious question addressed to God. The faith that is now inherent in such a person is deep and alive, and only such faith can bear the right fruit. He now discards everything that is still somehow connected with forms, with external actions that are carried out mechanically, and strives with complete conviction for the higher development of the spirit; he recognizes the purpose of life and now tries to bring his earthly life into harmony with what is demanded of him through faith. And God places the knowledge of His requirements into his heart Himself, He lets him clearly recognize what His will is; He also lets him recognize the worthlessness of what is human work and He reveals Himself in so many things and on all occasions so that the human being's faith is strengthened, his will becomes increasingly more active and his heart pushes ever more intimately towards the eternal deity, which is expressed in an activity of love which ennobles and reshapes the human being so that he becomes increasingly more mature and comes closer to God. Once someone has found the right attitude towards God, that he consciously unites himself with Him, sacrifices his free will to Him and asks for His love and grace, he can no longer go astray.... God's love seizes him and draws him to Himself, it gives him grace and strength, and all spiritual powers of help are at the person's disposal if only he is faithful and desires God's help. The way of life will then also be in harmony with the demands that God places on people. He will cultivate the commandment to love God and his neighbour as the first commandment and must therefore also attain the spiritual maturity which is the purpose of his earthly life. For every act of love leads upwards, every good work is a building block for eternity. And living faith is the most precious thing a person can call his own on earth.... If suffering and tribulation have led the human being to a living faith, he should be deeply grateful that God has led him through sorrow and adversity, which have only brought him the best, for only now can the human being speak of higher development; only now is it possible for him to reach spiritual maturity, as he now lives his earthly life consciously....

Amen

Translated by Doris Boekers