Chrysostom
Humble Servant of All
You bring before God your bodily affliction and your lack of resources. Rightly do you cry out for a miracle, for He alone is the Physician of souls and bodies. Yet consider: when He delayed to feed the multitude until they had been three days without provision, it was that having first felt their want, they might receive His gift with greater eagerness and thanksgiving. So now, this cutting short of your hours and this pain in your teeth and gums, do not count it as abandonment, but as the loving surgery of the Master. He often permits the body to be weakened and the purse to be emptied, that the soul may be strengthened and learn to cling to Him alone.
Make provision for the flesh, indeed, for the Apostle himself counseled Timothy to use a little wine for his stomach’s infirmities. Care for your teeth and seek relief, but do so for health and not for luxury, and above all, not with anxious fretting that fulfills the lusts of worry. The present life is a sleep, and its hardships pass like dreams. But the God who formed the mouth and teeth is not idle. He who restored the withered hand with a word can command restoration into your gums. Cry out to Him, and do not cease, even if you feel no change after many prayers. For as a tree receives ten strokes before falling, so the soul often accumulates grace unseen until at last the healing springs forth. Do not take the devil’s bait of despair, which tears us from God and from one another; rather, trust that He who began a good work will complete it.
For your finances, remember the birds of the air and the grass of the field. Has He not fed you until now? Do not your past deliverances testify that you heard the word as if God Himself were exhorting you? Then do not choke the word with cares. Seek first the kingdom, and the things needful for the body will be added. And if you must endure a season of little, let it be the school of your soul, that you may have treasure in heaven. The day will declare every man’s work; make it your work now to trust without seeing, to hope without complaining. The God who multiplied loaves in the wilderness can stretch your diminished hours into sufficiency. Only believe, and do not limit the Holy One of Israel by measuring tomorrow with today’s eyes. In all things, hold fast to the confession that Christ is Lord, and let your meekness be known to all men, even those who see your affliction, for a calm and trusting soul is a greater wonder than the raising of the dead.
Make provision for the flesh, indeed, for the Apostle himself counseled Timothy to use a little wine for his stomach’s infirmities. Care for your teeth and seek relief, but do so for health and not for luxury, and above all, not with anxious fretting that fulfills the lusts of worry. The present life is a sleep, and its hardships pass like dreams. But the God who formed the mouth and teeth is not idle. He who restored the withered hand with a word can command restoration into your gums. Cry out to Him, and do not cease, even if you feel no change after many prayers. For as a tree receives ten strokes before falling, so the soul often accumulates grace unseen until at last the healing springs forth. Do not take the devil’s bait of despair, which tears us from God and from one another; rather, trust that He who began a good work will complete it.
For your finances, remember the birds of the air and the grass of the field. Has He not fed you until now? Do not your past deliverances testify that you heard the word as if God Himself were exhorting you? Then do not choke the word with cares. Seek first the kingdom, and the things needful for the body will be added. And if you must endure a season of little, let it be the school of your soul, that you may have treasure in heaven. The day will declare every man’s work; make it your work now to trust without seeing, to hope without complaining. The God who multiplied loaves in the wilderness can stretch your diminished hours into sufficiency. Only believe, and do not limit the Holy One of Israel by measuring tomorrow with today’s eyes. In all things, hold fast to the confession that Christ is Lord, and let your meekness be known to all men, even those who see your affliction, for a calm and trusting soul is a greater wonder than the raising of the dead.
