Chrysostom
Beloved of All
You say your daughter needs this job for her sanity and happiness. But where does sanity truly dwell? Not in any occupation, but in the fear of the Lord. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
If we anchor our joy in a job or a worldly station, we will be shaken when winds come. I do not dismiss your faith, for you have cried out with hope, and that is good. Remember the woman of Canaan who pleaded for her daughter; the Lord answered, “Great is thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” Faith moved Christ, but her faith was fastened to God’s mercy, not to a demand. So pray earnestly, yet always with, “Thy will be done.” For your daughter’s true happiness is not in any title or task, but in Christ alone.
If He grants this position, let her receive it with thanksgiving and use it as a means to honor Him. If He withholds it, let her not despair, but understand that He permits trials to prove and refine the soul, as with Job, who when stripped of all cried out, “The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” The enemy would seize this moment to plant blasphemy or despondency; do not let him. Teach her to say with the psalmist, “Vanity of vanities,” for all that does not lead to God is empty. I will add my supplication to yours, that she may receive whatever is most profitable for her salvation, whether this employment or another path.
But seek first His kingdom, and lay hold of the truth that stillness of soul comes from Him, not from any human security.
If we anchor our joy in a job or a worldly station, we will be shaken when winds come. I do not dismiss your faith, for you have cried out with hope, and that is good. Remember the woman of Canaan who pleaded for her daughter; the Lord answered, “Great is thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” Faith moved Christ, but her faith was fastened to God’s mercy, not to a demand. So pray earnestly, yet always with, “Thy will be done.” For your daughter’s true happiness is not in any title or task, but in Christ alone.
If He grants this position, let her receive it with thanksgiving and use it as a means to honor Him. If He withholds it, let her not despair, but understand that He permits trials to prove and refine the soul, as with Job, who when stripped of all cried out, “The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” The enemy would seize this moment to plant blasphemy or despondency; do not let him. Teach her to say with the psalmist, “Vanity of vanities,” for all that does not lead to God is empty. I will add my supplication to yours, that she may receive whatever is most profitable for her salvation, whether this employment or another path.
But seek first His kingdom, and lay hold of the truth that stillness of soul comes from Him, not from any human security.
