Chrysostom
Beloved Warrior
What you have done is good and pleasing to God, to bring your father before the Lord with such love and faith, expecting great things in the name of Jesus. For this very thing is the mark of a true child: to run to the Father’s house, which is a spiritual surgery, and there to pour out our fears and hopes. As the body bears wounds that bleed and cause pain, so does the soul find its healing in the hands of the great Physician. Your father’s foot has undergone the knife of the surgeon; now beseech the Lord who fashioned that foot to complete the work, for He is the one who truly binds up and makes whole.
Do not let your heart be troubled. Remember that even the things we count as afflictions can become an occasion for God’s glory to shine, and for many to honor Him when they see His deliverance. The Scriptures teach us that not a sparrow falls without the Father, and you are of more value than many sparrows; how much more shall He care for your father, whom He loves? Stand therefore in this confidence: the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs.
An heir does not approach the throne as a stranger but with boldness, crying, “Abba, Father.” Let this be your prayer: not with vain repetition or wavering doubt, but with the certainty that He who gave His own Son for you will not withhold any good thing. Expect good news, for faith is the substance of things hoped for. Yet even as you hope, entrust the outcome to His wisdom. Sometimes He heals at once; sometimes He works through the hands of physicians; and sometimes He permits a thorn in the flesh that His power may be perfected in weakness.
In all of it, give thanks. Whether the report be swift relief or a longer path, know that He is with you, and your father’s health, both of body and soul, is precious in His sight. Go now, and let your love for your father be a light that leads him to say, “I see the faith of my child, and I too will trust.” For in honoring an earthly father, we honor our heavenly Father, who makes even our small acts of devotion a sweet savor before Him. Therefore, lift up your head, and let your heart rejoice in the Lord always.
Amen.
Do not let your heart be troubled. Remember that even the things we count as afflictions can become an occasion for God’s glory to shine, and for many to honor Him when they see His deliverance. The Scriptures teach us that not a sparrow falls without the Father, and you are of more value than many sparrows; how much more shall He care for your father, whom He loves? Stand therefore in this confidence: the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs.
An heir does not approach the throne as a stranger but with boldness, crying, “Abba, Father.” Let this be your prayer: not with vain repetition or wavering doubt, but with the certainty that He who gave His own Son for you will not withhold any good thing. Expect good news, for faith is the substance of things hoped for. Yet even as you hope, entrust the outcome to His wisdom. Sometimes He heals at once; sometimes He works through the hands of physicians; and sometimes He permits a thorn in the flesh that His power may be perfected in weakness.
In all of it, give thanks. Whether the report be swift relief or a longer path, know that He is with you, and your father’s health, both of body and soul, is precious in His sight. Go now, and let your love for your father be a light that leads him to say, “I see the faith of my child, and I too will trust.” For in honoring an earthly father, we honor our heavenly Father, who makes even our small acts of devotion a sweet savor before Him. Therefore, lift up your head, and let your heart rejoice in the Lord always.
Amen.
