Chrysostom
Humble Servant of All
The trials you endure are heavy, but they are not without purpose. When the enemy sees a soul drawing near to God, he redoubles his assaults, knowing his time is short. Yet the Lord permits these struggles to intensify just before relief, as He did with Abraham, whose hardest test came at the end. Your brother’s outbursts, though sharp and unreasonable, are the fruit of a sickness that clouds his mind. Do not take his words into your heart as though they were spoken by one in full command of himself. You do well not to answer in kind. That silence is not weakness but the noblest form of victory, for when we are dragged into conflict, we must stand firm; but when we are not summoned, it is wisdom to remain quiet and wait. Your patience with his insults, even when he twists old memories into weapons, is a living sacrifice, and God sees it.
You worry for your mother, and rightly so. Continue to answer the calls, not because his words are true, but because mercy must rule the Christian heart. Nothing so marks a follower of Christ as a merciful soul. Yet mercy does not mean you must absorb every blow without respite. To say you have a visitor when you are overwhelmed is not deceit but prudence, a way to withdraw from the heat of the furnace so that you may return to it cooled and strengthened. You are not abandoning him; you are preserving yourself to love another day. And even in this, God has already begun to answer your prayers: the morning calls have lessened. Give thanks for that small thinning of the cloud, and trust that He who began this work will complete it.
Do not let your heart be troubled by the false accusations. “All my friends have abandoned me,” he cries, but it is his own isolation he describes, not yours. He shouts into the empty room of his own pain. Remember that the conflicts of this life spring from the things of this life, envy, vainglory, covetousness. Cut out the root, and the fruit withers. You have already cut that root by refusing to cling to old reputations or past relationships. What he says about friends from twenty years ago or ### is a shadow; do not chase shadows. Your treasure is above, where no thief can reach.
Your housing situation appears impossible, but with God all things are possible. He makes a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The insurance company may harden its heart, but the Lord can soften the hardest heart. He can open a door no man can shut. I urge you to bring this need before Him continually, not with anxious striving but with quiet confidence. The present life is a sleep, and its troubles are like dreams that vanish at daybreak. What seems an impassable wall today will be a memory when His deliverance comes. Do not make provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts, that is, do not feed worry and fear as though they could add a single hour to your life. Make provision for the health of your soul: prayer, thanksgiving, and trust.
Finally, let no one tempt you to call your brother an impostor or to harden yourself against him because of his raving. The poor and the afflicted, even when their behavior is difficult, are Christ’s own. If we hear someone crying out in nakedness and want, we must not accuse but give, if not always bread, then at least the alms of patience and prayer. You are not idle; you are laboring under a heavy burden. And for those who cannot work, Paul himself, while commanding that the idle not eat, also says, “Be not weary in well doing.” So I say to you: be not weary. Do not let the cruelty of his words extinguish the mercy in your heart.
I will pray with you: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on this servant and her mother. Quiet the storm in her brother’s mind. Speak peace to the chaos that twists his thoughts and words. Provide a safe dwelling, and move the hearts of those who hold power over her housing, that they may act with justice and compassion. Strengthen her patience, guard her tongue, and fill her with the hope that does not disappoint. For You are the God who sees, and Your mercy endures forever. Amen.
You worry for your mother, and rightly so. Continue to answer the calls, not because his words are true, but because mercy must rule the Christian heart. Nothing so marks a follower of Christ as a merciful soul. Yet mercy does not mean you must absorb every blow without respite. To say you have a visitor when you are overwhelmed is not deceit but prudence, a way to withdraw from the heat of the furnace so that you may return to it cooled and strengthened. You are not abandoning him; you are preserving yourself to love another day. And even in this, God has already begun to answer your prayers: the morning calls have lessened. Give thanks for that small thinning of the cloud, and trust that He who began this work will complete it.
Do not let your heart be troubled by the false accusations. “All my friends have abandoned me,” he cries, but it is his own isolation he describes, not yours. He shouts into the empty room of his own pain. Remember that the conflicts of this life spring from the things of this life, envy, vainglory, covetousness. Cut out the root, and the fruit withers. You have already cut that root by refusing to cling to old reputations or past relationships. What he says about friends from twenty years ago or ### is a shadow; do not chase shadows. Your treasure is above, where no thief can reach.
Your housing situation appears impossible, but with God all things are possible. He makes a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The insurance company may harden its heart, but the Lord can soften the hardest heart. He can open a door no man can shut. I urge you to bring this need before Him continually, not with anxious striving but with quiet confidence. The present life is a sleep, and its troubles are like dreams that vanish at daybreak. What seems an impassable wall today will be a memory when His deliverance comes. Do not make provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts, that is, do not feed worry and fear as though they could add a single hour to your life. Make provision for the health of your soul: prayer, thanksgiving, and trust.
Finally, let no one tempt you to call your brother an impostor or to harden yourself against him because of his raving. The poor and the afflicted, even when their behavior is difficult, are Christ’s own. If we hear someone crying out in nakedness and want, we must not accuse but give, if not always bread, then at least the alms of patience and prayer. You are not idle; you are laboring under a heavy burden. And for those who cannot work, Paul himself, while commanding that the idle not eat, also says, “Be not weary in well doing.” So I say to you: be not weary. Do not let the cruelty of his words extinguish the mercy in your heart.
I will pray with you: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on this servant and her mother. Quiet the storm in her brother’s mind. Speak peace to the chaos that twists his thoughts and words. Provide a safe dwelling, and move the hearts of those who hold power over her housing, that they may act with justice and compassion. Strengthen her patience, guard her tongue, and fill her with the hope that does not disappoint. For You are the God who sees, and Your mercy endures forever. Amen.
