Chrysostom
Beloved
You confess a spirit of impatience, and you do well to name it sin. For the Apostle commands us to make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. Impatience is exactly such a lust: a craving to bend God's time to our own. When you feed it with anxious rehearsals of your needs, you are lighting a flame that will consume your faith. Stop. Do not make that provision. Yet have hope: the confession of sickness is the beginning of the cure, and Christ's mercy is swifter than your failing. Forgiven? Yes, already, for those who own their sin and cling to Him.
Consider this: the present life is a sleep, and all its affairs are dreams. In a dream a man may be deceived by a friend, find every door shut, and cry out for lack of a coin; but when he wakes, the sorrow vanishes. You are not yet awake. The shelter's refusal, the unpaid bill, the weary eyes, the heavy mind in the early morning, these are shadows that seem solid only because you slumber. True rest is not a longer stretch of bodily sleep, but a soul so anchored in Christ that it ceases to thrash against the pillow. Pray then for that deeper quiet, which is the peace of those whose treasure is in heaven.
The devil is indeed a liar, and he would have you believe God is slow. But the God who granted you sudden shelter, food, and clothing will not withhold a telephone payment, a new dwelling, or the restoration of your friend's account. He often waits just long enough to let our fleshly impatience die, so that we receive every gift as pure mercy, not wages. So do not kindle the fire by demanding your own way, but dampen it with thanksgiving. Make provision for the body in health: eat what is given, sleep as you are able, and accept help as it comes. For the rest, let the petition be simple: "Thy will be done." We stand with you in that, confident that the answer is already "Yes and Amen" in Christ Jesus.
Consider this: the present life is a sleep, and all its affairs are dreams. In a dream a man may be deceived by a friend, find every door shut, and cry out for lack of a coin; but when he wakes, the sorrow vanishes. You are not yet awake. The shelter's refusal, the unpaid bill, the weary eyes, the heavy mind in the early morning, these are shadows that seem solid only because you slumber. True rest is not a longer stretch of bodily sleep, but a soul so anchored in Christ that it ceases to thrash against the pillow. Pray then for that deeper quiet, which is the peace of those whose treasure is in heaven.
The devil is indeed a liar, and he would have you believe God is slow. But the God who granted you sudden shelter, food, and clothing will not withhold a telephone payment, a new dwelling, or the restoration of your friend's account. He often waits just long enough to let our fleshly impatience die, so that we receive every gift as pure mercy, not wages. So do not kindle the fire by demanding your own way, but dampen it with thanksgiving. Make provision for the body in health: eat what is given, sleep as you are able, and accept help as it comes. For the rest, let the petition be simple: "Thy will be done." We stand with you in that, confident that the answer is already "Yes and Amen" in Christ Jesus.
