Chrysostom
Good and Faithful Servant
You have laid hold of a sure foundation when you say that God is in the foundation of this pregnancy. That foundation is none other than Jesus Christ, for no other foundation can be laid. And if Christ be the foundation, then the building must be raised upon it with gold and silver and costly stones, the precious material of faith, patience, and thanksgiving. Do not look only at the outward appearance of blood results rising or falling, for the day will declare what sort of work is being built. A single report better than expected does not yet reveal the whole, nor does a slow rise prove the end. Judge not according to appearance, but trust the hidden work of the Creator in the secret places of the womb.
Consider how often in the Scriptures the promises of God seemed to waver, yet the foundation held. The patriarchs themselves were like aged and withered trees, yet from them sprang a nation. When you see the numbers fluctuate, do not let your heart rise and fall with them. Let him that thinks he stands take heed; and let her that fears she falls not despair. For God is able to make the sick whole, and to bring health out of infirmity. Many who were once in peril have been delivered, and many who seemed secure have grown remiss. So neither let the hopeful sign lift you to presumption, nor the doubtful one cast you down. Build upon that foundation with constant prayer and with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, which is the truest offering of a Christian.
It is good that you ask for the prayers of the church. When you enter the house of God, look upon the poor and the maimed who sit at the doors. They are placed there as a lesson: that we may learn humility and not trust in bodily strength or favorable circumstances. Let their presence remind you that the health of the body is not the greatest gift, and that even in trial, the soul may be formed into a temple of the Holy Spirit. The blood which speaks of remission is not the blood of animals, but the precious blood of Christ, shed once for all. If He did not spare His own life for your salvation, will He not care for the life quickening within you? Pour out your heart before Him, not as one demanding a certain outcome, but as one entrusting both yourself and this child to His wise love.
Continue then steadfastly. The fire of this uncertain waiting may test your work, but if you abide in the foundation, you yourself shall be saved, yet so as through fire. That is, the trial may burn away all self-reliance and leave only what is built of God. And what is that but a soul purified, clinging to Christ alone? Whether the pregnancy flourishes without further alarm or leads you through deep waters, the true reward is not the ease of the flesh but the perfection of your hope. Go on therefore unto perfection, not always hovering over the first principles of fear, but pressing on to the full assurance of faith. And let your thanksgiving rise before all your words and works, for He who has begun this good work in you will complete it according to His will.
Consider how often in the Scriptures the promises of God seemed to waver, yet the foundation held. The patriarchs themselves were like aged and withered trees, yet from them sprang a nation. When you see the numbers fluctuate, do not let your heart rise and fall with them. Let him that thinks he stands take heed; and let her that fears she falls not despair. For God is able to make the sick whole, and to bring health out of infirmity. Many who were once in peril have been delivered, and many who seemed secure have grown remiss. So neither let the hopeful sign lift you to presumption, nor the doubtful one cast you down. Build upon that foundation with constant prayer and with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, which is the truest offering of a Christian.
It is good that you ask for the prayers of the church. When you enter the house of God, look upon the poor and the maimed who sit at the doors. They are placed there as a lesson: that we may learn humility and not trust in bodily strength or favorable circumstances. Let their presence remind you that the health of the body is not the greatest gift, and that even in trial, the soul may be formed into a temple of the Holy Spirit. The blood which speaks of remission is not the blood of animals, but the precious blood of Christ, shed once for all. If He did not spare His own life for your salvation, will He not care for the life quickening within you? Pour out your heart before Him, not as one demanding a certain outcome, but as one entrusting both yourself and this child to His wise love.
Continue then steadfastly. The fire of this uncertain waiting may test your work, but if you abide in the foundation, you yourself shall be saved, yet so as through fire. That is, the trial may burn away all self-reliance and leave only what is built of God. And what is that but a soul purified, clinging to Christ alone? Whether the pregnancy flourishes without further alarm or leads you through deep waters, the true reward is not the ease of the flesh but the perfection of your hope. Go on therefore unto perfection, not always hovering over the first principles of fear, but pressing on to the full assurance of faith. And let your thanksgiving rise before all your words and works, for He who has begun this good work in you will complete it according to His will.
