“Everyone has noticed how hard it is to turn our thoughts to God when everything is going well with us… While what we call ‘our own life’ remains agreeable, we will not surrender it to Him. What, then, can God do in our interests but make ‘our own life’ less agreeable to us, and take away the plausible sources of false happiness?”
Image credits：Aronsyne,”Lewis, age 48″,CC BY-SA 4.0,C.S.-Lewis – C. S. Lewis – Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963
- Born in Ireland
- Writer, scholar
- Had a major influence on fantasy literature and religious thought through his many works, including the Chronicles of Narnia series and The Poetics of Christianity
Quote
“Everyone has noticed how hard it is to turn our thoughts to God when everything is going well with us… While what we call ‘our own life’ remains agreeable, we will not surrender it to Him. What, then, can God do in our interests but make ‘our own life’ less agreeable to us, and take away the plausible sources of false happiness?”
Explanation
In this quote, C. S. Lewis reflects on the human tendency to become complacent and self-reliant when life is comfortable and going well. He suggests that when we are content with our own lives—when everything seems agreeable and we feel secure in our own abilities or achievements—we are less likely to turn to God, to surrender our lives to His will, or to seek a deeper spiritual connection. In such moments, we often find false happiness in things that are temporary and material, rather than in the eternal and spiritual. However, Lewis argues that God, in His mercy, may allow or even orchestrate situations in which our false sources of happiness are removed. By doing so, God makes us more open to His influence, shifting our focus back to Him and encouraging us to seek true fulfillment. In this way, God uses difficulty or discomfort as a tool for our spiritual growth.
Historically, Lewis was influenced by the Christian idea of divine providence—the belief that God allows or uses life’s challenges to draw us closer to Himself. He often discussed how suffering, while painful, could lead to spiritual awakening and transformation. In works like The Problem of Pain, Lewis wrote that suffering is not necessarily a punishment but a way for God to draw us away from our attachment to the temporary pleasures of the world and toward the lasting joy found in Him. Lewis believed that human beings tend to become too attached to earthly comforts and, in doing so, risk missing out on the deeper, eternal joy that comes through a relationship with God.
In the modern context, this quote speaks to the idea that many people often seek happiness in material success, pleasure, or personal achievement, and only turn to spiritual matters when life becomes difficult or when those sources of happiness are threatened. Lewis’s perspective invites us to consider that true fulfillment is not found in self-reliance or temporary comforts, but in a humble relationship with God. If life’s difficulties lead us to surrender our false hopes and focus on the lasting joy found in God, then those trials have served a greater purpose. This insight challenges us to reflect on whether we are seeking true happiness or simply settling for comfortable distractions that keep us from a deeper spiritual life.
