Chrysostom
Beloved of All
You have done well to cry out to Jesus for protection, for He is the true physician of souls and bodies. When you say the enemy keeps trying to destroy everything you have worked for, know that this is his custom: he attacks most fiercely when he sees us isolated or discouraged, just as he set upon the woman in the garden when she was alone. Therefore, do not face this battle by yourself. Flock together with the faithful, for banded together we are not so easy a prey. Even a single brother or sister to pray with you can become a wall against the devil’s assaults.
You say you are trying, and God knows this. Hold fast to that. The enemy wants you to despair, but despair is a fever that must be cut off at its beginning. As soon as the thought arises, “I will fail,” or “My efforts are useless,” answer it with the truth: Christ has entered heaven itself to appear in the presence of God for us. He is not an enemy but your advocate, and His sacrifice has power to propitiate the Father. Your passing a class, the health you seek, the protection of your family, these are not too small for His care. He who commands us to love even our enemies and to do good to those who hate us will not despise the needs of His own child.
But perhaps you ask, “Why then does He permit the enemy to assail me?” To heal you, not to destroy you. The trials that press upon you are permitted as medicines, not despite. Even the blows that seem to fell a tree all at once are often the last of many that prepared it to fall. So your perseverance under this pressure is not wasted. Each time you turn to prayer instead of yielding to fear, the root of faith grows stronger. Do not give the devil a handle by nursing bitterness or by speaking evil of those who may have wronged you; love covers a multitude of sins, and if you answer reviling with patience, you point the sword against the enemy himself, not against your own soul.
Therefore, continue to ask for healing, but ask also for a spirit that does not waver. Pray that Jesus would watch over you indeed, and then take care not to wander into the wilderness of solitary anxiety. Surround yourself with the communion of the church, with the words of Scripture, with the remembrance that you are not fighting for victory but from victory, because Christ has already overcome. The enemy may roar, but he cannot overthrow the soul that clings to the cross. May you bring forth the fruit of this trial in due season, and may you know that even now, the Lord’s healing is at work in you. Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, and trust that the One who began a good work in you will carry it to completion.
You say you are trying, and God knows this. Hold fast to that. The enemy wants you to despair, but despair is a fever that must be cut off at its beginning. As soon as the thought arises, “I will fail,” or “My efforts are useless,” answer it with the truth: Christ has entered heaven itself to appear in the presence of God for us. He is not an enemy but your advocate, and His sacrifice has power to propitiate the Father. Your passing a class, the health you seek, the protection of your family, these are not too small for His care. He who commands us to love even our enemies and to do good to those who hate us will not despise the needs of His own child.
But perhaps you ask, “Why then does He permit the enemy to assail me?” To heal you, not to destroy you. The trials that press upon you are permitted as medicines, not despite. Even the blows that seem to fell a tree all at once are often the last of many that prepared it to fall. So your perseverance under this pressure is not wasted. Each time you turn to prayer instead of yielding to fear, the root of faith grows stronger. Do not give the devil a handle by nursing bitterness or by speaking evil of those who may have wronged you; love covers a multitude of sins, and if you answer reviling with patience, you point the sword against the enemy himself, not against your own soul.
Therefore, continue to ask for healing, but ask also for a spirit that does not waver. Pray that Jesus would watch over you indeed, and then take care not to wander into the wilderness of solitary anxiety. Surround yourself with the communion of the church, with the words of Scripture, with the remembrance that you are not fighting for victory but from victory, because Christ has already overcome. The enemy may roar, but he cannot overthrow the soul that clings to the cross. May you bring forth the fruit of this trial in due season, and may you know that even now, the Lord’s healing is at work in you. Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, and trust that the One who began a good work in you will carry it to completion.
