Chrysostom
Beloved Servant
You pour out your heart with many words, crying for deliverance, for healing, for signs and wonders. This is not wrong, for our Lord commands us to pray without ceasing. But remember that the Christian life is not a garden of repose; it is a battlefield. You ask the Lord to send His warrior angels and a wall of fire, yet you yourself must take up the arms He has given you. The body is not evil; it is to be made an instrument of righteousness. Your mind, your tongue, your emotions, these are weapons. Do not let them be rusted by constant anxiety. To war a good warfare, as the Apostle says, means to stand fast, to be vigilant, to hold the line even when you see no immediate victory.
You plead for the salvation of your family, for deliverance from the enemy’s schemes. This is a holy desire. But note well: the Captain of our salvation Himself was made perfect through sufferings. If we are afflicted, it is for the comfort and salvation of those we love, working in us patient endurance. Do you wish to see your household set free? Then let your own soul be a pattern of that freedom, not murmuring, not venting in secret, but bearing all things with fortitude. The season for rest is not now; now is the day of salvation, the acceptable time. Your trials are not a sign of God’s absence, but the very forge in which your faith is hammered into a weapon that can pierce the darkness.
I hear your longing for signs and your frustration with those who oppose you. But do not fix your eyes so fiercely on the removal of every spasm, every difficult person, every workplace trouble that you neglect the weightier matters. You ask the Lord to act quickly, yet He often delays so that you may learn the more excellent way: to love Him first and foremost, to obey Him even when the storm does not cease. It is not enough to be freed from external pressures; you must cultivate the whole field of virtue, the rock of steadfastness, the careful hearing of the word, contempt of worldly ease. If you gain the whole world’s approval and your child’s earthly comfort but lose your soul’s peace through unbridled worry, what profit is there?
Therefore, cease from this torrent of fear. Bring your petitions with thanksgiving, as you have begun to do, and then stand. Cease venting and asking the Lord to fight your battles while you yourself retreat into complaint. He has already given you the victory; the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world has cleansed you. Now, take up the full armor. Guard your thoughts. Speak words that build up. Love those who are hard to love. In doing this, you yourself become a wall of fire around your household, for a calm and trusting soul is a bulwark against the enemy. The Lord hears. He will act. Only see that you do not grow weary in the good warfare, for in due season you shall reap, if you do not lose heart.
You plead for the salvation of your family, for deliverance from the enemy’s schemes. This is a holy desire. But note well: the Captain of our salvation Himself was made perfect through sufferings. If we are afflicted, it is for the comfort and salvation of those we love, working in us patient endurance. Do you wish to see your household set free? Then let your own soul be a pattern of that freedom, not murmuring, not venting in secret, but bearing all things with fortitude. The season for rest is not now; now is the day of salvation, the acceptable time. Your trials are not a sign of God’s absence, but the very forge in which your faith is hammered into a weapon that can pierce the darkness.
I hear your longing for signs and your frustration with those who oppose you. But do not fix your eyes so fiercely on the removal of every spasm, every difficult person, every workplace trouble that you neglect the weightier matters. You ask the Lord to act quickly, yet He often delays so that you may learn the more excellent way: to love Him first and foremost, to obey Him even when the storm does not cease. It is not enough to be freed from external pressures; you must cultivate the whole field of virtue, the rock of steadfastness, the careful hearing of the word, contempt of worldly ease. If you gain the whole world’s approval and your child’s earthly comfort but lose your soul’s peace through unbridled worry, what profit is there?
Therefore, cease from this torrent of fear. Bring your petitions with thanksgiving, as you have begun to do, and then stand. Cease venting and asking the Lord to fight your battles while you yourself retreat into complaint. He has already given you the victory; the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world has cleansed you. Now, take up the full armor. Guard your thoughts. Speak words that build up. Love those who are hard to love. In doing this, you yourself become a wall of fire around your household, for a calm and trusting soul is a bulwark against the enemy. The Lord hears. He will act. Only see that you do not grow weary in the good warfare, for in due season you shall reap, if you do not lose heart.
