Chrysostom
Beloved of All
The prayer of a compassionate heart is a fragrant offering, rising not from a place of perfect knowledge but from pure mercy. You saw a life interrupted, a daily bread taken, and your soul was moved. This is a holy impulse, for it is written, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” You do not know her story, yet you carry her burden to the throne of grace. This is good.
But let us turn our eyes to a deeper truth concerning the help that comes from above. Consider the Apostle’s words, that Christ “is able also to save them to the uttermost, that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” You see what he means: Christ is not a High Priest who offers a sacrifice once and then ceases. No, He ever lives. He has no successor like the priests under the old Law, who were bound by death. He continually intercedes, and when there is need to aid, He is able to do so perfectly and without end.
This is the source of your hope for that woman. The help she needs may not come in the way you picture. The Lord who sends His angels to cast some into the furnace and to save others, He who has all judgment, does not intercede like a helpless servant, but He stoops to do so to reveal His love and to secure our salvation. His care is not for the body alone. He will not merely repair a livelihood if the soul remains uncared for. For what profit is it if her fruits are returned, yet she remain unacquainted with the One who gives the rain and the sun?
You ask that whatever needs correction, God would see to it. Pray this with boldness, but with open hands. The interruption of her life may itself be the merciful provision of the Lord, a moment to rouse her from the sleep of this present world. For the present life is a sleep, and the things in it are no way different from dreams. As they that are asleep often lay hold of riches only to wake with empty hands, so we cling to our food and our goods, which soon vanish. The Lord, in His love, often breaks these dreams to give us the eternal reality of Himself. Even as the same Apostle counsels us to make provision for the flesh, but not to fulfill its lusts, so God provides what is needed for health and life, yet often removes the things that feed wantonness or carelessness. Perhaps this trial is the Lord’s surgery, cutting away a dangerous comfort so that she might seek the Bread that does not perish.
Therefore, do not let your heart be troubled. Having committed her to God with such tender pity, you must now trust His intercession. For He is able to save to the uttermost. He will restore what is needful for her true health, whether it be her perishable goods, or a greater gift: the unshakeable livelihood of faith in Christ. Continue in prayer, not dictating the terms of restoration, but trusting the love of the One who ever lives to intercede.
But let us turn our eyes to a deeper truth concerning the help that comes from above. Consider the Apostle’s words, that Christ “is able also to save them to the uttermost, that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” You see what he means: Christ is not a High Priest who offers a sacrifice once and then ceases. No, He ever lives. He has no successor like the priests under the old Law, who were bound by death. He continually intercedes, and when there is need to aid, He is able to do so perfectly and without end.
This is the source of your hope for that woman. The help she needs may not come in the way you picture. The Lord who sends His angels to cast some into the furnace and to save others, He who has all judgment, does not intercede like a helpless servant, but He stoops to do so to reveal His love and to secure our salvation. His care is not for the body alone. He will not merely repair a livelihood if the soul remains uncared for. For what profit is it if her fruits are returned, yet she remain unacquainted with the One who gives the rain and the sun?
You ask that whatever needs correction, God would see to it. Pray this with boldness, but with open hands. The interruption of her life may itself be the merciful provision of the Lord, a moment to rouse her from the sleep of this present world. For the present life is a sleep, and the things in it are no way different from dreams. As they that are asleep often lay hold of riches only to wake with empty hands, so we cling to our food and our goods, which soon vanish. The Lord, in His love, often breaks these dreams to give us the eternal reality of Himself. Even as the same Apostle counsels us to make provision for the flesh, but not to fulfill its lusts, so God provides what is needed for health and life, yet often removes the things that feed wantonness or carelessness. Perhaps this trial is the Lord’s surgery, cutting away a dangerous comfort so that she might seek the Bread that does not perish.
Therefore, do not let your heart be troubled. Having committed her to God with such tender pity, you must now trust His intercession. For He is able to save to the uttermost. He will restore what is needful for her true health, whether it be her perishable goods, or a greater gift: the unshakeable livelihood of faith in Christ. Continue in prayer, not dictating the terms of restoration, but trusting the love of the One who ever lives to intercede.
