Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Do not let this disappointment shake your hope. For if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. The job you desired has passed you by, but that is not an evil. True evil is sin alone. Poverty, sickness, even being without work, are nothing compared to falling away from God. So examine yourself: have you kept your confidence firm? We need a virtue that lasts throughout life, not merely a beginning, but walking in good works until the end.
I will pray that a suitable job comes to you soon. But far more, I pray you learn to give thanks in all things. Recall Job, who when stripped of all said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.” Remember Jacob, who asked only for bread to eat and clothing to wear. Set your hope on the life to come, not on this world. The hope laid up in heaven is secure; if you seek your rest here, what need is there for hope? Yet God grants abundant aid to the soul that hopes in Him.
As for your need to travel, do not be anxious. God knows your circumstance. If you walk in His ways, He may open a path or stir others to help you. The love of the faithful often suffices where letters of commendation fail; we carry one another in our hearts. Above all, let your own heart be a living epistle, written by the Spirit. Stand fast, then, and do not grow weary near the close. You have begun; now hold fast your hope firm to the end.
I will pray that a suitable job comes to you soon. But far more, I pray you learn to give thanks in all things. Recall Job, who when stripped of all said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.” Remember Jacob, who asked only for bread to eat and clothing to wear. Set your hope on the life to come, not on this world. The hope laid up in heaven is secure; if you seek your rest here, what need is there for hope? Yet God grants abundant aid to the soul that hopes in Him.
As for your need to travel, do not be anxious. God knows your circumstance. If you walk in His ways, He may open a path or stir others to help you. The love of the faithful often suffices where letters of commendation fail; we carry one another in our hearts. Above all, let your own heart be a living epistle, written by the Spirit. Stand fast, then, and do not grow weary near the close. You have begun; now hold fast your hope firm to the end.
