You ask for prayers for your safety. I will indeed pray, but hear now what true safety is and where it is found. The world supposes that riches and power bring security, but listen: riches require you to flatter rulers, to dread false accusers, to suspect the envious. That is no safety, but a chain of fears. Poverty with God, however, is a place of refuge, a calm harbor, a training ground of self-control, an imitation of the life of angels. Do not, then, pursue safety in the comfort of the present age; Demas forsook the Apostle because he loved ease and shunned danger, and that love of the world was his undoing.
Seek the safety that is in the pasture of Christ. He said, “I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” That means he shall dwell in security, and none shall thrust him out. This the Apostles proved: they went through the whole world, and though dangers pressed, they remained within that fold, and no tyrant could cast them out. So run to the house of the young Child, like the magi. They left Persia behind; they abandoned their former customs, and as long as they were in their own land they saw only a star, but when they journeyed, they beheld the Sun of Righteousness. Before they adored Christ, fears and troubles pressed them from every side; after the adoration, calm and security came, and an angel guided them. So you too: separate yourself from barbarian customs, that is, from worldly passions, and draw near to Christ. Then, even if kings threaten or tyrants block your path, your desire for him will repel every danger.
Yet do not suppose that following Christ means a life free from outward peril. He calls you to take up your cross and follow him. He says, “Be ever prepared against dangers, against death, against your departure hence.” But after that hard saying, he sets the prize: that you shall be where he is. So do not cast yourself needlessly into trials to test God, that is the devil’s temptation, but when duties call, do not flee from toil for love of ease. If you must flee for faith’s sake, as Moses did, even flight can be an act of faith, for you commit yourself not to visible protectors but to Him who is invisible.
Do you want to sleep without care, to have friends instead of enemies, to be surrounded by prayers rather than plots? Then pursue justice instead of covetousness. Covetousness makes all men your foes, like a wild beast; but righteousness wins you friends, and even your sleep comes in fearless safety. In all your good works, fasting, almsgiving, prayer, do them not to be seen of men, but for the Father who sees in secret. He then will reward you openly, and your labor will not lose its crown. The hypocrites have their fleeting praise, but you, if you do all for God, gather your wages with all security.
Finally, if you have laid hold of some virtue, say, chastity or patience, do not linger near the enemy’s claws. Run vigorously at the beginning, flee beyond the devil’s reach. Hasten past all that would entangle you; look to nothing but the prize. Once you are out of his grasp, he will cease to pursue, and you will be in safety, enjoying unspeakable blessings. I will pray that you find this true safety, the safety that abides in the flock of the Good Shepherd, who both leads and guards. Let us then run to him, and none shall thrust us out.