In Chapter 10 Julian moves from her first showing—Christ crowned with thorns—to her second showing: The bloodied and discolored face of Jesus on the cross.
Again, what Julian does in her Revelations is share spiritual insights from each of her showings. Concerning this second showing, the discolored face of Christ, Julian spends her time reflecting upon how much God is pleased with our seeking Him. As she writes: "the continual sekyng of the soule plesith God ful mekyl, for it may do no more than sekyn, suffrin, and trusten." Translation: "the continual seeking of the soul pleases God very much, for it may do no more than seek, suffer, and trust."
Crucially for Julian, seeking does not always lead to seeing. As she observes: "And thus was I lernyd to myn understondyng, that sekyng is as good as beholdyng for the tyme that He will suffer the soule to be in travel." Translation: "And thus I learned, to my understanding, that seeking is as good as beholding for the time that He suffers the soul to be in travail." As Julian goes on to say, the seeking part is the only part we can control. The beholding is in God's hands. In the meantime, and through the travail, we learn patience.
And Julian is confidant that if we are faithful in the seeking, God will, in His own time, reveal Himself: "We knowen He shall appere sodenly and blisfully to al His lovers, for His werkyng is privy, and He wil be perceivid; and His appering shal be swith sodeyn, and He wil be trowid..." Translation: "We know He shall appear suddenly and blissfully to all His lovers, for His working is secret, and He wishes to be perceived; and His appearing shall be very sudden, and He wills to be believed..."
Stepping back, Chapter 10 is an encouragement to keep seeking God, trusting that He will at some point, reveal Himself. As Julian says, the continual seeking of the soul pleases God very much, even if sight is delayed and the soul is in travail. I'm put in mind of Thomas Merton's famous prayer:
My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
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