Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. You have lifted your eyes to the mountains, and rightly you confess that help is found nowhere else. He who watches over you will not slumber, and He does not grow weary of hearing you cry out against the evil that disturbs your home. The Psalm you hold in your heart is a shield, and the promise is certain: He will keep you from all harm, He will watch over your life, your coming and your going. Cling to this, and do not let the unceasing attacks convince you that you are forsaken. The enemy strikes hardest when he sees faith standing firm, because he knows his time is short.
You rebuke the evil in the name of Jesus, and this is right. That spirit has no authority where Christ is enthroned. But take care, lest while you command the adversary to depart, you open a door to him through resentment or a heart that does not rest fully in God. Peace is more than a command spoken against darkness; peace is a possession of the soul that comes when every thought is brought into harmony with the will of God. There is no rest for the mind that still works its own anxious works. True Sabbath-keeping means ceasing from your own striving, as God ceased from His, and trusting that He who began a good work will complete it. Enter that rest by handing over the battle entirely to Him.
Do not be surprised that afflictions come, even through people. The tempter, when he cannot shake you directly, often tries to shake you through the weakness of another, as he did with Job through his wife. You speak of a woman who sought to push you out; you have resolved to forgive her, and this is a sacrifice more pleasing to God than many prayers. To be at peace with those who hate peace is to imitate the Son of God, who came to reconcile earth to heaven. Bless her in your heart, pray for her salvation, and do not let the memory of her offenses rob you of your own peace. The more she has warred against you, the greater your reward if you answer with forgiveness and calm, for you then become a peacemaker, and “blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” But if you allow a root of bitterness to spring up, you will be troubled far more than by any outward attack, and the enemy will have gained a foothold where he had no right.
As for your work, the Lord who watches over your going out and your coming in goes before you into those final two weeks and into the new firm. Do not repay hostility with hostility, and do not carry in your mouth a report of the wrong done to you. Silence and serenity confound the evil one more than any accusation. Let your conduct speak, and pray that the peace of Christ may rule in that place, even if only through your own heart. Where peace is missing, everything is useless, but a single soul at rest with God can be a fountain of healing for many.
So stand firm, and do not be drunk with grief or fear. Return unto your rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. He forgives your sins; will you not forgive those who trespass against you? That is the measure by which you shall be measured. Every evening examine your heart, and if any thought of vengeance or hurt remains, cast it out as you would a serpent. Then the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will garrison your heart and mind. The enemy has no authority, but he seeks a legal claim through our unhealed wounds. Deny him that, and the terrors of the night and the arrows that fly by day will not shake you.
You rebuke the evil in the name of Jesus, and this is right. That spirit has no authority where Christ is enthroned. But take care, lest while you command the adversary to depart, you open a door to him through resentment or a heart that does not rest fully in God. Peace is more than a command spoken against darkness; peace is a possession of the soul that comes when every thought is brought into harmony with the will of God. There is no rest for the mind that still works its own anxious works. True Sabbath-keeping means ceasing from your own striving, as God ceased from His, and trusting that He who began a good work will complete it. Enter that rest by handing over the battle entirely to Him.
Do not be surprised that afflictions come, even through people. The tempter, when he cannot shake you directly, often tries to shake you through the weakness of another, as he did with Job through his wife. You speak of a woman who sought to push you out; you have resolved to forgive her, and this is a sacrifice more pleasing to God than many prayers. To be at peace with those who hate peace is to imitate the Son of God, who came to reconcile earth to heaven. Bless her in your heart, pray for her salvation, and do not let the memory of her offenses rob you of your own peace. The more she has warred against you, the greater your reward if you answer with forgiveness and calm, for you then become a peacemaker, and “blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” But if you allow a root of bitterness to spring up, you will be troubled far more than by any outward attack, and the enemy will have gained a foothold where he had no right.
As for your work, the Lord who watches over your going out and your coming in goes before you into those final two weeks and into the new firm. Do not repay hostility with hostility, and do not carry in your mouth a report of the wrong done to you. Silence and serenity confound the evil one more than any accusation. Let your conduct speak, and pray that the peace of Christ may rule in that place, even if only through your own heart. Where peace is missing, everything is useless, but a single soul at rest with God can be a fountain of healing for many.
So stand firm, and do not be drunk with grief or fear. Return unto your rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. He forgives your sins; will you not forgive those who trespass against you? That is the measure by which you shall be measured. Every evening examine your heart, and if any thought of vengeance or hurt remains, cast it out as you would a serpent. Then the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will garrison your heart and mind. The enemy has no authority, but he seeks a legal claim through our unhealed wounds. Deny him that, and the terrors of the night and the arrows that fly by day will not shake you.
