# That all hope and trust is to be fixed in God alone explained — The Imitation of Christ

> Chapter companion for The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis.

## What happens

The chapter emphasizes that all hope and trust must be placed solely in God, who is the source of all comfort, strength, and salvation. The narrator expresses a preference for poverty with God over riches without Him, and acknowledges that without God, all earthly supports—friends, helpers, counselors, books, and possessions—are futile. The chapter concludes with a prayer for God's blessing and protection.

## Themes in this chapter

### Grace and Divine Dependence

The chapter centers on placing all hope and trust in God alone, acknowledging that without Him, all earthly supports are insufficient.

### Love of God Above All

The narrator expresses a preference for poverty with God over riches without Him, and considers God's presence as heaven and His absence as death and hell.

## Character check-ins

### The Disciple

The narrator expresses personal trust and hope in God alone, describing himself as a poor servant exiled in the land of the shadow of death.

### God the Father

Addressed as the Lord God, Father of mercies, the one in whom all hope and trust are placed, and who ordains all things for the good of His beloved.

## Key lines

> I had rather be poor for Thy sake, than rich without Thee. I choose rather to be a pilgrim upon the earth with Thee than without Thee to possess heaven.

I would rather be poor because of You than be rich without You. I would rather be a wanderer on earth with You than own heaven without You.

_The narrator expresses a radical preference for God's presence over any worldly or heavenly comfort._

> Where Thou art, there is heaven; and where Thou are not, behold there death and hell.

Where You are, there is heaven; and where You are not, there is death and hell.

_The narrator identifies God's presence as the essence of heaven and His absence as equivalent to death and hell._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_imitation_of_christ_se/chapters/lix
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_imitation_of_christ_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_imitation_of_christ_se/chapters