Or perhaps God wants to give you a period of rest
from the burden of sin, so that your soul is not swallowed
up by despair.

Since the continual succession of falls, drags the sinner to
despair. That is why God’s mercies reach out to him, giving him rest, even if it is for a short while, and lifts the war from him. Grace protects and supports him, even if it is for some time. So he passes through a period of calmness, in which sin does not trouble him. Not because he has been purified, but because he is not fighting.

—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, The Life of Repentance and Purity