Chrysostom
Humble Servant of All
Your petition reaches me overflowing with anxious words, and I see you are tangled in many fears. You speak of dreams, of faces made, of relationships fleeing, of wrong persons, and of a job. But let me ask: why do you give such power to shadows of the night? A dream is nothing but the wandering of the mind when reason sleeps; it cannot bind what God has loosed, nor make true what you fear unless you yourself nourish the fear. You pray to rebuke and banish them, but it is better to banish the anxiety that gives them a lodging place in your heart.
The blessed Apostle says the world is crucified to him and he to the world. What he calls the world is not heaven and earth, but the affairs of this life: the praise of men, wealth, and all that has a show of splendor. To me these things are dead. So too must a Christian speak. If you are dead to the world, then no dream of losing relations, no fear of wanted or unwanted people, no worry about a job and its pay can truly harm you. The man who casts away his goods as Peter did is more glorious than one who raises the lame, for he has cut off the root of earthly care.
You pray Psalm 35:1, asking God to plead your cause against those who fight you. Yet consider: are there truly enemies, or is the battle chiefly within your thoughts? Those who reprove others must do so with gentleness, and those who reprove themselves must do so without despair. The fault often lies not with the dead, nor with the living outside you, but with the passions that darken your perception. We bury ourselves in the depth of evil desires and the affairs of this life, and then we wonder why we cannot see clearly. Shake off the earth, break through the mist, and seek the Lord with care. Seek and you shall find, not a guarantee of a certain wage or a life free of every difficult person, but the peace that surpasses all understanding.
As for the job and the pay you desire more than you expect: is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? A woman often keeps a costly garment with such trembling that she never enjoys it; she spares it, stores it with spices, and passes it to another who does the same. So will you do with your desires if you clutch them too tightly. The Master did not promise riches but said, whosoever forsakes houses or lands for My sake shall receive a hundredfold and inherit everlasting life. Set your heart on that treasure, and let the daily bread be added as God wills.
I do not write to condemn your prayer, but as one who in some sort puts you in mind gently. My trust is that you are able to bear a more excellent word. Cast away the multitude of words born of fear, and stand with confidence before the judgment seat of Christ by imitating those who followed Him. Then you will find that whether relations stay or depart, whether people look kindly or make a face, whether the job comes with more or less pay, you possess the one thing needful. Cease and desist from wrestling with shadows, and let the light of the Sun of righteousness drive them away.
The blessed Apostle says the world is crucified to him and he to the world. What he calls the world is not heaven and earth, but the affairs of this life: the praise of men, wealth, and all that has a show of splendor. To me these things are dead. So too must a Christian speak. If you are dead to the world, then no dream of losing relations, no fear of wanted or unwanted people, no worry about a job and its pay can truly harm you. The man who casts away his goods as Peter did is more glorious than one who raises the lame, for he has cut off the root of earthly care.
You pray Psalm 35:1, asking God to plead your cause against those who fight you. Yet consider: are there truly enemies, or is the battle chiefly within your thoughts? Those who reprove others must do so with gentleness, and those who reprove themselves must do so without despair. The fault often lies not with the dead, nor with the living outside you, but with the passions that darken your perception. We bury ourselves in the depth of evil desires and the affairs of this life, and then we wonder why we cannot see clearly. Shake off the earth, break through the mist, and seek the Lord with care. Seek and you shall find, not a guarantee of a certain wage or a life free of every difficult person, but the peace that surpasses all understanding.
As for the job and the pay you desire more than you expect: is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? A woman often keeps a costly garment with such trembling that she never enjoys it; she spares it, stores it with spices, and passes it to another who does the same. So will you do with your desires if you clutch them too tightly. The Master did not promise riches but said, whosoever forsakes houses or lands for My sake shall receive a hundredfold and inherit everlasting life. Set your heart on that treasure, and let the daily bread be added as God wills.
I do not write to condemn your prayer, but as one who in some sort puts you in mind gently. My trust is that you are able to bear a more excellent word. Cast away the multitude of words born of fear, and stand with confidence before the judgment seat of Christ by imitating those who followed Him. Then you will find that whether relations stay or depart, whether people look kindly or make a face, whether the job comes with more or less pay, you possess the one thing needful. Cease and desist from wrestling with shadows, and let the light of the Sun of righteousness drive them away.
