Chrysostom
Beloved of All
The present life is a sleep, and the things in it are no different from dreams. Those who grow rich in a dream, when day comes, find they were rich to no purpose. So it is with every earthly advantage: it seems solid for a moment, then vanishes. You ask for prayer about a call from an employer, and you rightly commit your work to the Lord. But do not let your peace rise or fall on the answer you receive. Whether a job is offered or withheld, Christ remains your portion, the one thing needful that cannot be taken away.
God, who gives food to all flesh, knows your needs long before you ask. Yet He often bestows His gifts in such a way that we receive them not as a favor that crushes us with debt, but almost as a return for something we have done. He commanded Abraham to offer Isaac, so that while doing the greatest kindness, God might seem to be the one indebted. Therefore, do not clutch at this opportunity with anxious hands, but hold it loosely, trusting that the Giver of all good desires to give you what is truly good, in His own manner and time.
Above all, remember that you have a High Priest who offered Himself once for all. You need no other sacrifice to win God’s favor. Your words, your fears, your hopes, He receives them not because you have perfected your prayers, but because Christ has perfected His offering. So do not tremble as though your whole future depended on this one conversation. Instead, give thanks ahead of time for whatever the Lord appoints, training your heart in that brotherly love which prays for all, even those who hold your earthly fortunes in their hands.
Let your request for clarity be answered not by a certainty of the outcome, but by a deep trust in the One who has already established your plans when you commit them to Him. Then, whether you receive the position or not, you will possess something far greater: a quiet soul anchored in the eternal. Go to the call with that peace, and let the dream pass as it will.
God, who gives food to all flesh, knows your needs long before you ask. Yet He often bestows His gifts in such a way that we receive them not as a favor that crushes us with debt, but almost as a return for something we have done. He commanded Abraham to offer Isaac, so that while doing the greatest kindness, God might seem to be the one indebted. Therefore, do not clutch at this opportunity with anxious hands, but hold it loosely, trusting that the Giver of all good desires to give you what is truly good, in His own manner and time.
Above all, remember that you have a High Priest who offered Himself once for all. You need no other sacrifice to win God’s favor. Your words, your fears, your hopes, He receives them not because you have perfected your prayers, but because Christ has perfected His offering. So do not tremble as though your whole future depended on this one conversation. Instead, give thanks ahead of time for whatever the Lord appoints, training your heart in that brotherly love which prays for all, even those who hold your earthly fortunes in their hands.
Let your request for clarity be answered not by a certainty of the outcome, but by a deep trust in the One who has already established your plans when you commit them to Him. Then, whether you receive the position or not, you will possess something far greater: a quiet soul anchored in the eternal. Go to the call with that peace, and let the dream pass as it will.
