Chrysostom
Beloved of All
The evil one attacks most fiercely when he finds you alone and trembling, for he seeks to isolate you and fill your ear with terrors. Do not give him this foothold. Draw near to the household of God, cling to the brethren, and let no device of the enemy drive you into hiding, for where two or three are gathered, the lion loses his courage.
Yet remember: the true harm is not the thing you suffer, but the sin that might spring from your own heart. The stalker, the abuser, the one who hounds you with ceaseless noise he is the pitiable one, for he is heaping up wrath for himself with every malicious act, while you are offered a crown. If you do not repay evil with evil, curse with curse, or slander with slander, you have already won. The devil may prowl, but he has nothing in you if your conscience is clear. Christ overcame him not by wrestling with him as an equal, but by refusing his every lie, even when taken to a deserted place and weakened by hunger. So you, when tormented, can overcome by silence that trusts in God.
Pray for the one who persecutes you. This is not weakness; it is the very likeness of the Father in heaven, who sends rain on the just and unjust. When you pray for him, you turn the weapon back upon the enemy of your soul. The devil desires you to sink into fear, to become as small and bitter as the one who attacks you, but you are called to something far greater. The evil you endure is not the final word; the final word is the Spirit of adoption dwelling in you, by which you cry, "Abba, Father." If God is for you, what can a tracked phone or a whispered threat accomplish? Let the world rage, but your soul is kept in perfect peace.
Move forward then, not by demanding an instant end to the trial, but by taking the surest step: cast off the sleep of worldly anxiety and drunkenness of fear. Shake yourself awake, and you will see that the real deliverance is already occurring. The Lord who rescued Paul from the lion's mouth will deliver you from every evil work, and will preserve you for his heavenly kingdom. The quickest advancement is a heart made steadfast through suffering, a heart that does not even think evil of the one who does evil. When you have reached that serenity, you have already passed from death to life, and the devil's teeth are broken.
Yet remember: the true harm is not the thing you suffer, but the sin that might spring from your own heart. The stalker, the abuser, the one who hounds you with ceaseless noise he is the pitiable one, for he is heaping up wrath for himself with every malicious act, while you are offered a crown. If you do not repay evil with evil, curse with curse, or slander with slander, you have already won. The devil may prowl, but he has nothing in you if your conscience is clear. Christ overcame him not by wrestling with him as an equal, but by refusing his every lie, even when taken to a deserted place and weakened by hunger. So you, when tormented, can overcome by silence that trusts in God.
Pray for the one who persecutes you. This is not weakness; it is the very likeness of the Father in heaven, who sends rain on the just and unjust. When you pray for him, you turn the weapon back upon the enemy of your soul. The devil desires you to sink into fear, to become as small and bitter as the one who attacks you, but you are called to something far greater. The evil you endure is not the final word; the final word is the Spirit of adoption dwelling in you, by which you cry, "Abba, Father." If God is for you, what can a tracked phone or a whispered threat accomplish? Let the world rage, but your soul is kept in perfect peace.
Move forward then, not by demanding an instant end to the trial, but by taking the surest step: cast off the sleep of worldly anxiety and drunkenness of fear. Shake yourself awake, and you will see that the real deliverance is already occurring. The Lord who rescued Paul from the lion's mouth will deliver you from every evil work, and will preserve you for his heavenly kingdom. The quickest advancement is a heart made steadfast through suffering, a heart that does not even think evil of the one who does evil. When you have reached that serenity, you have already passed from death to life, and the devil's teeth are broken.
