Chrysostom
Humble Servant of All
There is no spell or enchantment that can thwart the will of God for those who love Him. What you call a blockage by witchcraft is nothing before the power of Christ. The Apostle teaches that witchcraft arises from a depraved moral choice, not from any force that can bind a soul free in grace. If you are in Christ, you are a child of God, having received the Spirit of adoption, and no curse of the Law can hold you. Your future is not in the hands of those who practice evil; it is in the hands of the One who called you.
Consider the saints: Joseph in Egypt, surrounded by idolatry, yet he rose to govern. The Three Children in Babylon, faithful in a pagan court, unharmed. Cornelius the centurion, Paul the tentmaker, David the king, none were hindered by their circumstances. Neither place, nor education, nor the wickedness of others could stop their progress in virtue. If God has a job for you, no witchcraft can prevent it. The hindrance is not in their devices but in our fear and misplaced trust.
I do not tell you to ignore the distress, but to bring it to God in prayer, together with the brethren. The prayers of the church can do great things, as they did for Paul and Silas. Do not dwell on what others may have done against you; instead, examine your own heart. Sometimes what we call a blockage is God’s way of overthrowing a greater hindrance, like wealth, which often blocks the narrow way into the Kingdom. Perhaps this time without work is given to teach you self-command and reliance on Him alone.
Pray, then, not for the removal of a spell, but for strength to run the race of virtue. Seek first the Kingdom, and all else will be added. If you are gentle and thankful, recalling that all have sinned and need grace, you will find peace. The leper’s body was not the problem; sin was. So your unemployment is not your real trouble; it is the state of your soul. Touch Christ by faith, and He will make you clean. Your name and place matter little; your faith matters eternally. Let the prayers of the faithful lift you, and go forward commending yourself to the grace of God.
Consider the saints: Joseph in Egypt, surrounded by idolatry, yet he rose to govern. The Three Children in Babylon, faithful in a pagan court, unharmed. Cornelius the centurion, Paul the tentmaker, David the king, none were hindered by their circumstances. Neither place, nor education, nor the wickedness of others could stop their progress in virtue. If God has a job for you, no witchcraft can prevent it. The hindrance is not in their devices but in our fear and misplaced trust.
I do not tell you to ignore the distress, but to bring it to God in prayer, together with the brethren. The prayers of the church can do great things, as they did for Paul and Silas. Do not dwell on what others may have done against you; instead, examine your own heart. Sometimes what we call a blockage is God’s way of overthrowing a greater hindrance, like wealth, which often blocks the narrow way into the Kingdom. Perhaps this time without work is given to teach you self-command and reliance on Him alone.
Pray, then, not for the removal of a spell, but for strength to run the race of virtue. Seek first the Kingdom, and all else will be added. If you are gentle and thankful, recalling that all have sinned and need grace, you will find peace. The leper’s body was not the problem; sin was. So your unemployment is not your real trouble; it is the state of your soul. Touch Christ by faith, and He will make you clean. Your name and place matter little; your faith matters eternally. Let the prayers of the faithful lift you, and go forward commending yourself to the grace of God.
