Spiritual trial

The following passage is from one of Kierkegaard's later works called For Self-Examination.  The second period of K.'s writing, called the secondary literature, is mored direct and more Christian.  In a general sense, with regard to Christianity, K. was concerned with emphasizing the negative aspects of Christianity - the struggle, the suffering, the uncertainty - as a reminder to those who had forgotten these aspects.  He did write about the positive as well, but he was writing to a culture (19th century Copenhagen) where everyone believed they were Christian by virtue of their nationality, their attendance at church, their baptism, etc.  In a culture where Christianity had become too easy, K. wanted to re-establish the difficulty that can come with being a Christian (dying to the world, persecution, being an offense, etc).  This passage on spiritual trial is a good example:

"These thousands and thousands and millions, each one is looking after his own business; the public official is looking after his, and the scholar his, and the artist his, and the businessman his, and the slanderer his, and the loafer, no less busy, his, and so on and on; everyone is looking after his own business in this criss-crossing game of diversity that is actuality.  Meanwhile, like Luther in a cloister cell or in a remote room, there is not far away a solitary person in fear and trembling and much spiritual trial.  This is the state of that solitary person sitting there; he is sitting - or, if you so wish, he is pacing, perhaps up and down the floor like a lion imprisoned in a cage; and yet what imprisons him is remarkable - he is by God or because of God imprisoned within himself.

That for which he has suffered in spiritual trial must now be transposed into actuality. Do you think he enjoys it? Truly, rest assured that anyone who comes down these paths shouting with joy has not been called. There is not one of those called who has not preferred to be exempted, not one who, as a child begs and pleads to be let off, has not pleaded for himself, but it does not help - he must go on. 

Thus he knows that when he now takes this step the terror will rise up. When the terror rises up, the person who is not called becomes so alarmed that he turns and runs. But the one who is called - ah, my friend, he would rather turn back, shuddering before the terror, but as soon as he turns to flee he sees - he sees an even greater horror behind him, the horror of spiritual trial, and he must go forward - so he goes forward; now he is perfectly calm, because the horror of spiritual trial is a formidable disciplinarian who can give courage.  The terror rises up. Everything that closely or remotely belongs to the given actuality arms itself against this man of spiritual trial whom it nevertheless is impossible to terrify because, strangely enough, he is so afraid - of God. All attack him, hate him, curse him. The few who are loyal to him cry out, 'Be careful! You are making yourself and everybody else unhappy. Stop now and do not make the terror more intense. Check the words on your lips and recant what you have just said'.  O my listener, faith is a restless thing." (For Self-Examination, 19-20)