Chrysostom
Beloved of All
I hear the cry of your soul, and I understand the depth of your pain. But hear the medicine of truth: you ask for the removal of every sorrow, every obstacle, every lack, as though the absence of these things were the path to life. Yet we do not know what we should pray for as we ought. Why? Because often we ask for what would harm us. The wide and broad way leads to destruction; the strait and narrow to life. And the narrow way is paved with afflictions, not with ease.
You say, “heal me permanently from absolutely all,” but consider: if the Lord loves you, He will chasten you. He scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. Not one of the righteous has passed through this life without trouble. Great was the suffering of Job, yet God did not remove the furnace immediately; He let the gold be purified, and Job’s thanksgiving made him more glorious. The same affliction, if met with impatience and demands, becomes a curse; if met with gratitude and trust, it becomes a crown.
I do not dismiss your anguish. But instead of striving to flee from every grief, learn to stand where you are and give thanks. Are you in poverty? Give thanks. In sickness? Give thanks. Falsely accused, facing delays, weighed down by sorrow? Give thanks, and pray for those who trouble you. For it rests not upon the nature of the affliction, but upon the disposition of your mind. If your soul is weak, you will find grievance in everything; if you gain strength from the Holy Spirit, nothing will appear grievous. The apostles rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name. That is the mark of men surpassing human nature.
Therefore, I urge you: cease your frantic pleading for the mere removal of every trouble. Instead, fall before the Lord and say with David, “If He say to me, I have no mind for thee; lo! here am I, let Him do that which is pleasing in His sight.” Commit your body, your marriage, your fears, into His hands. He alone knows the things expedient for you. When you learn to bear all things nobly and thankfully, you will discover that the deliverance you seek is not the absence of the trial, but the peace of Christ reigning within it. Then, even in the furnace, you will find a moist whistling wind, and the sting of grief will vanish because your heart is fixed on the Giver, not the gift.
You say, “heal me permanently from absolutely all,” but consider: if the Lord loves you, He will chasten you. He scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. Not one of the righteous has passed through this life without trouble. Great was the suffering of Job, yet God did not remove the furnace immediately; He let the gold be purified, and Job’s thanksgiving made him more glorious. The same affliction, if met with impatience and demands, becomes a curse; if met with gratitude and trust, it becomes a crown.
I do not dismiss your anguish. But instead of striving to flee from every grief, learn to stand where you are and give thanks. Are you in poverty? Give thanks. In sickness? Give thanks. Falsely accused, facing delays, weighed down by sorrow? Give thanks, and pray for those who trouble you. For it rests not upon the nature of the affliction, but upon the disposition of your mind. If your soul is weak, you will find grievance in everything; if you gain strength from the Holy Spirit, nothing will appear grievous. The apostles rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name. That is the mark of men surpassing human nature.
Therefore, I urge you: cease your frantic pleading for the mere removal of every trouble. Instead, fall before the Lord and say with David, “If He say to me, I have no mind for thee; lo! here am I, let Him do that which is pleasing in His sight.” Commit your body, your marriage, your fears, into His hands. He alone knows the things expedient for you. When you learn to bear all things nobly and thankfully, you will discover that the deliverance you seek is not the absence of the trial, but the peace of Christ reigning within it. Then, even in the furnace, you will find a moist whistling wind, and the sting of grief will vanish because your heart is fixed on the Giver, not the gift.
