Chrysostom
Beloved of All
You pour out your heart to the Lord Jesus, and that is good, for He is the physician of our souls and bodies. When the sick man is lamented, even that bewailing becomes a kind of healing treatment, foretelling and mourning over the illness often stirs the soul to amendment. Do not cease crying out to Him, for even if you see no immediate fruit, the many prayers and groans laid up before God are not wasted. They are like the many strokes upon a tree that seem to accomplish nothing, yet one day the single final blow brings it down. The earlier strokes made it ready. So your continual prayers, your relentless turning to Christ, are preparing a great harvest of healing and strength.
You ask for the removal of illness and strength for treatments. See how Christ the Lord dealt with those who were sick: He touched, He healed, He even restored the ear of the servant of the high priest in the very hour of His arrest. Nothing is impossible for Him who permits trials for a time. He is the physician who does not flee from the foulness of our infirmities, but becomes partaker of our suffering that we might be delivered. He will give strength sufficient for each treatment, each assessment, each day. Do not fix your eyes on the delays or the financial burden as though they could thwart His care. He who daily sat teaching and none laid hands on Him until He permitted it, He holds all provision in His hand.
As for your financial need, cast those anxieties upon Him as well. Yet remember the apostle who said that love endures all things. The trials that press upon you, the reproach of lack, the hardship of waiting, these are the very arena in which love is perfected. Do not let the fear of poverty or the dread of illness make you grasp at relief in a manner unworthy of your calling. Trust the physician’s treatment: the bitterness of the medicine is not the end. He who knows what you need before you ask will supply, sometimes through unexpected means, sometimes by teaching you that His grace is enough.
And while you beg for healing for yourselves, extend that same compassion to others who suffer with you and to those who support you. Pray for them, bless them, but also be a witness to them of patient endurance. The world observes how the faithful bear affliction. Do not fall into the fault of the Pharisee, who thanked God that he was not like other men, but rather let your suffering humble you and make you cling more tightly to the mercy of Christ alone. He hears the cry of the humble.
Therefore, continue in prayer, continue in treatment, continue in thanksgiving for this day and its blessings. Let every needle, every waiting room, every conversation with doctors become a moment of offering to God. He who healed the ear of an enemy will not neglect the bodies of those who call upon Him day and night. Only do not lose heart if the answer tarries, for the delay itself is a call to a deeper trust. The same Lord who fed thousands with a few loaves will supply what is needed for your treatments, whether by the hands of friends, the generosity of strangers, or the unlooked-for provision of His providence. Do not neglect the medicines He has given, nor despise the help of physicians, for they are His instruments. But set your hope entirely on Him who commands the winds and the waves.
You ask for the removal of illness and strength for treatments. See how Christ the Lord dealt with those who were sick: He touched, He healed, He even restored the ear of the servant of the high priest in the very hour of His arrest. Nothing is impossible for Him who permits trials for a time. He is the physician who does not flee from the foulness of our infirmities, but becomes partaker of our suffering that we might be delivered. He will give strength sufficient for each treatment, each assessment, each day. Do not fix your eyes on the delays or the financial burden as though they could thwart His care. He who daily sat teaching and none laid hands on Him until He permitted it, He holds all provision in His hand.
As for your financial need, cast those anxieties upon Him as well. Yet remember the apostle who said that love endures all things. The trials that press upon you, the reproach of lack, the hardship of waiting, these are the very arena in which love is perfected. Do not let the fear of poverty or the dread of illness make you grasp at relief in a manner unworthy of your calling. Trust the physician’s treatment: the bitterness of the medicine is not the end. He who knows what you need before you ask will supply, sometimes through unexpected means, sometimes by teaching you that His grace is enough.
And while you beg for healing for yourselves, extend that same compassion to others who suffer with you and to those who support you. Pray for them, bless them, but also be a witness to them of patient endurance. The world observes how the faithful bear affliction. Do not fall into the fault of the Pharisee, who thanked God that he was not like other men, but rather let your suffering humble you and make you cling more tightly to the mercy of Christ alone. He hears the cry of the humble.
Therefore, continue in prayer, continue in treatment, continue in thanksgiving for this day and its blessings. Let every needle, every waiting room, every conversation with doctors become a moment of offering to God. He who healed the ear of an enemy will not neglect the bodies of those who call upon Him day and night. Only do not lose heart if the answer tarries, for the delay itself is a call to a deeper trust. The same Lord who fed thousands with a few loaves will supply what is needed for your treatments, whether by the hands of friends, the generosity of strangers, or the unlooked-for provision of His providence. Do not neglect the medicines He has given, nor despise the help of physicians, for they are His instruments. But set your hope entirely on Him who commands the winds and the waves.
