--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: God has so ordered, that in pressing on…" description: "\"God has so ordered, that in pressing on in duty we shall find the truest, richest comfort for ourselves. Sitting down to brood over our sorrows, the da..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fc/lettie-cowman-32032_brooding_god-has-so-ordered-that-in-pressing-on-i_2441476.png" --- # God has so ordered, that in pressing on in duty we shall… ![“God has so ordered, that in pressing on in duty we shall find the truest, richest comfort for ourselves. Sitting down to brood over our sorrows, the darkness deepens about us and creeps into our heart, and our strength changes to weakness. But, if we turn away from the gloom, and take up the tasks…” quote by Lettie Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fc/lettie-cowman-32032_brooding_god-has-so-ordered-that-in-pressing-on-i_2441476.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fc/lettie-cowman-32032_brooding_god-has-so-ordered-that-in-pressing-on-i_2441476.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fc/lettie-cowman-32032_brooding_god-has-so-ordered-that-in-pressing-on-i_2441476.png) > “God has so ordered, that in pressing on in duty we shall find the truest, richest comfort for ourselves. Sitting down to brood over our sorrows, the darkness deepens about us and creeps into our heart, and our strength changes to weakness. But, if we turn away from the gloom, and take up the tasks and duties to which God calls us, the light will come again, and we shall grow stronger.” [Lettie Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lettie-cowman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Focusing on duty and divine purpose transforms sorrow into strength and brings comfort. **In simple terms:** Doing God's work eases pain. Key Takeaway Embrace responsibility for relief. Themes faith purpose resilience Mood hopeful determined Type inspirational spiritual When to use this quote - personal crisis - volunteering - career challenges Key Concepts spirituality psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does service change your pain? - What duties can you accept now? A Different Perspective Comfort may be temporary if duties are neglected. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brooding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brooding/) [Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [Creeps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creeps/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Duties God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duties-god-491472/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Duty Shall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty-shall-312275/) [Gloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gloom/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-strength-491471/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Pressing on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressing-on/) [Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad/) [Sitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting/) [Sitting down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting-down/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) [Stronger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stronger/) [Tasks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tasks/) [Truest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truest/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakness/) ## Related quotes > [To keep the body in good health is a duty, for otherwise we shall not be able to trim the lamp of wisdom, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/to-keep-the-body-in-good-health-is-a-duty-for-otherwise-we-shall-not-2/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddha/to-keep-the-body-in-good-health-is-a-duty-otherwise-we-shall-not-be/) [Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddha/) > [There is nothing in the universe that I fear, but that I shall not know all my duty, or shall fail to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lyon/there-is-nothing-in-the-universe-that-i-fear-but-that-i-shall-not/) [Mary Lyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lyon/) > [But, sir, I shall take the path of duty and shall not swerve from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-f-wade/but-sir-i-shall-take-the-path-of-duty-and-shall-not-swerve-from-it/) [Benjamin F. Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-f-wade/) > [What wouldst thou do, old man? Think'st thou that duty shall have dread to speak When power to flattery bows?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/what-wouldst-thou-do-old-man-think-st-thou-that-duty-shall-have-dread/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Take heed of driving so hard after this world, as to hinder thyself and family from those duties towards God, which thou art by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/take-heed-of-driving-so-hard-after-this-world-as-to-hinder-thyself/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [The duties God requires of us are not in proportion to the strength we possess in ourselves. Rather, they are proportional to the resources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/the-duties-god-requires-of-us-are-not-in-proportion-to-the-strength/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [Keep me rather in this cage, and feed me sparingly, if you dare. Anything that brings me closer to illness and the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/keep-me-rather-in-this-cage-and-feed-me-sparingly-if-you-dare/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ “Faith left to itself … exalts itself above the laws of natural morality. … \[B\]y so much higher are duties to God than duties… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-feuerbach/faith-left-to-itself-exalts-itself-above-the-laws-of-natural-morality/) [Ludwig Feuerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-feuerbach/) > [“Often misunderstood, Dionysus is far more than a wine deity. He is the Breaker of Chains, who rescues not only the flesh but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/often-misunderstood-dionysus-is-far-more-than-a-wine-deity-he-is-the/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [True happiness is to understand our duties toward God and man; to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence on the future; not to amuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/true-happiness-is-to-understand-our-duties-toward-god-and-man-to/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [I've struggled in my life. I've had hard times, but I kept pressing on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwyane-wade/i-ve-struggled-in-my-life-i-ve-had-hard-times-but-i-kept-pressing-on/) [Dwyane Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwyane-wade/) > [What do you know of my heart? What do you know of anything but your own suffering. For weeks, Marianne, I've had this pressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/what-do-you-know-of-my-heart-what-do-you-know-of-anything-but-your/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Terror is only justice: prompt, severe and inflexible. It is then an emanation of virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilien-robespierre/terror-is-only-justice-prompt-severe-and-inflexible-it-is-then-an/) [Maximilien Robespierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilien-robespierre/) > [Nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-is-more-common-than-unsuccessful-people-with-talent/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Lettie Cowman > [God delights to disappoint man's fears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lettie-cowman/god-delights-to-disappoint-man-s-fears/) [Lettie Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lettie-cowman/) > [It is such a comfort to drop the tangles of life into God's hands and leave them there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lettie-cowman/it-is-such-a-comfort-to-drop-the-tangles-of-life-into-god-s-hands-and/) [Lettie Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lettie-cowman/) > [I always thought a yard was three feet, then I started mowing the lawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lettie-cowman/i-always-thought-a-yard-was-three-feet-then-i-started-mowing-the-lawn/) [Lettie Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lettie-cowman/) > [Sorrow is God's plowshare that turns up and subsoils the depths of the soul, that it may yield richer harvests. If we had never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lettie-cowman/sorrow-is-god-s-plowshare-that-turns-up-and-subsoils-the-depths-of/) [Lettie Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lettie-cowman/) > [Our character is determined by what we do if every restraint were removed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lettie-cowman/our-character-is-determined-by-what-we-do-if-every-restraint-were/) [Lettie Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lettie-cowman/) > [Strong minds suffer without complaining; weak minds complain without suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lettie-cowman/strong-minds-suffer-without-complaining-weak-minds-complain-without/) [Lettie Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lettie-cowman/) > [Never yield to gloomy anticipation. Place your hope and confidence in God. He has no record of failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lettie-cowman/never-yield-to-gloomy-anticipation-place-your-hope-and-confidence-in/) [Lettie Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lettie-cowman/) > [The man who forms the habit of beginning without finishing has simply formed the habit of failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lettie-cowman/the-man-who-forms-the-habit-of-beginning-without-finishing-has-simply/) [Lettie Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lettie-cowman/) > [When God wants to make a man, he puts him into some storm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lettie-cowman/when-god-wants-to-make-a-man-he-puts-him-into-some-storm/) [Lettie Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lettie-cowman/) > [In times of uncertainty, wait. Always, if you have any doubt, wait. Do not force yourself to any action. If you have a restraint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lettie-cowman/in-times-of-uncertainty-wait-always-if-you-have-any-doubt-wait-do-not/) [Lettie Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lettie-cowman/) > [The worker is far more important to our Lord than the work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lettie-cowman/the-worker-is-far-more-important-to-our-lord-than-the-work/) [Lettie Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lettie-cowman/) > [There is a spiritual law of choosing, believing, abiding, and holding steady in our walk with God, which is essential to the working of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lettie-cowman/there-is-a-spiritual-law-of-choosing-believing-abiding-and-holding/) [Lettie Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lettie-cowman/) > [Faith has nothing to do with circumstances, it deals entirely with the Word of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lettie-cowman/faith-has-nothing-to-do-with-circumstances-it-deals-entirely-with-the/) [Lettie Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lettie-cowman/) > [We have so much patience with ourselves, why not borrow some of that and use it on others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lettie-cowman/we-have-so-much-patience-with-ourselves-why-not-borrow-some-of-that/) [Lettie Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lettie-cowman/) > [In the deep jungles of Africa, a traveler was making a long trek. Coolies had been engaged from a tribe to carry the loads.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lettie-cowman/in-the-deep-jungles-of-africa-a-traveler-was-making-a-long-trek/) [Lettie Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lettie-cowman/) [Explore all 16 Lettie Cowman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lettie-cowman/) ## More Brooding quotes > [Do not look down, brooding over your weakness! Do not look back upon your past, strewn with failure! Look up to the living Christ!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-b-meyer/do-not-look-down-brooding-over-your-weakness-do-not-look-back-upon/) [F.B. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-b-meyer/) > [Rest you well, beloved Jesus, Caesar’s Lord and Israel’s King, In the brooding of the Spirit, in the darkness of the spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/rest-you-well-beloved-jesus-caesar-s-lord-and-israel-s-king-in-the/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) > [People are incredibly literal sometimes in how they view you. You have dark hair and pale skin? You must be brooding. The second you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-paquin/people-are-incredibly-literal-sometimes-in-how-they-view-you-you-have/) [Anna Paquin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-paquin/) > [You can rake the muck this way, rake the muck that way-- it will always be muck. Have I sinned or have I not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/you-can-rake-the-muck-this-way-rake-the-muck-that-way-it-will-always/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [The brooding is better than the joy because even if the heart fills with happiness, it still mourns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/the-brooding-is-better-than-the-joy-because-even-if-the-heart-fills/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [This element of surprise or mystery - the detective element as it is sometimes rather emptily called - is of great importance in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/this-element-of-surprise-or-mystery-the-detective-element-as-it-is/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Lately you are brooding too much about rights. Give up this dangerous habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/lately-you-are-brooding-too-much-about-rights-give-up-this-dangerous/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [The end of spring- the poet is brooding about editors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yosa-buson/the-end-of-spring-the-poet-is-brooding-about-editors/) [Yosa Buson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yosa-buson/) > [“Darkness lingered in those blue eyes, like ghosts haunted him despite only the two of them standing in this cabin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mcintyre/darkness-lingered-in-those-blue-eyes-like-ghosts-haunted-him-despite/) [Katherine McIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mcintyre/) > [I've always wanted to be a brooding, deep, dark artist, but I can never keep that facade going for more than 15 minutes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-callen/i-ve-always-wanted-to-be-a-brooding-deep-dark-artist-but-i-can-never/) [Bryan Callen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-callen/) > [Ideas come when we do not expect them, and not when we are brooding and searching at our desks. Yet ideas would certainly not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-weber/ideas-come-when-we-do-not-expect-them-and-not-when-we-are-brooding/) [Max Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-weber/) > [Lights of ships moved in the fairway-a great stir of lights going up and going down. And farther west on the upper reaches the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/lights-of-ships-moved-in-the-fairway-a-great-stir-of-lights-going-up/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [We are all prone to brood on the evil done us. That brooding becomes as a gnawing and destructive canker. Is there a virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/we-are-all-prone-to-brood-on-the-evil-done-us-that-brooding-becomes/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [“Great flocks of raindrops swelled and folded, and fell upon her like insects to a feast. She hadn’t thought to bring a raincoat; she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-tompkins/great-flocks-of-raindrops-swelled-and-folded-and-fell-upon-her-like/) [J.R. Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-tompkins/) > [I would like to break out of this dark, brooding image, cause I'm actually not like that at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-byrne/i-would-like-to-break-out-of-this-dark-brooding-image-cause-i-m/) [Gabriel Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-byrne/) [Browse all 176 Brooding quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brooding/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "God has so ordered, that in pressing on in duty we shall find the truest, richest comfort for ourselves. Sitting down to brood over our sorrows, the darkness deepens about us and creeps into our heart, and our strength changes to weakness. 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