He who opposes unpleasant events opposes the command of God unwittingly. But when someone accepts them with real knowledge, he ‘waits patiently for the Lord’ (Ps. 27:14).
—St. Mark the Ascetic
Philokalia, Vol. 1 p.142
Category: FAITH
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“So in every test, let us say: ‘Thank you, my God, because this was needed for my salvation.’”
—Elder Paisios of Mount Athos -
“Just as a man with fever has no right to commit suicide, so till our very last breath we must never give up hope.”
—St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent -
God always helps. He always comes in time, but patience is necessary. He hears us immediately when we cry out to Him, but not in accordance with our own way of thinking. You think that your voice did not immediately reach the saints, our Panagia, and Christ. On the contrary, even before you cried out, the saints rushed to your aid, knowing that you would call upon them and seek their God-given protection. However, since you do not see beyond what is apparent and do not know how God governs the world, you want your request to be fulfilled like lightning. But this is not how things are. The Lord wants patience. He wants you to show your faith. You cannot just pray like a parrot. It is necessary also to work towards whatever one prays for, and then to learn to wait. You see that what you longed for in the past has finally happened. However, you were harmed because you didn’t have the patience to wait, in which case you would have gained both the one and the other: both the temporal and the eternal.
—Elder Joseph the Hesychast
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“If you examine your life well, you will find many instances when God showed His unmistakable mercy to you. Trouble was brewing, but it passed you by for some reason. God delivered you. Acknowledge these and thank God, Who loves you.”
—St. Theophan the Recluse -
St. Barsanuphius recounts that his disciple, “Abba Seridos was gravely ill one day, afflicted with a high fever that would not subside. Nevertheless he did not ask God to heal him or even to lessen his suffering. He asked only that God would grant him endurance and a spirit of thanksgiving.”
—Jean-Claude Larchet, The Theology of Illness -
…God never abandons us; we are the ones who forget and abandon Him. When man does not live spiritually, he is no entitled to divine help. But when he does live spiritually and is near God, he is entitled to it.
…We sit for hours on end in vain, trying by ourselves to find solution to a problem, using all of our inexperience. Our head spins, our eyes burn, sleep escapes us, because the little demon has hooked us with obsessive thoughts. We may finally find a solution, but later God will found for us a better solution, which we had not thought of, leaving us with the headaches and the sleepless nights. No matter how right our thought might be, if God is not foremost, the head will tire and ache, while prayer with trust in God brings restfulness. For this reason, we can leave to God those activities which are difficult to achieve by human means and not be dependent upon our human efforts, reassured that God will do what is best.
—Saint Paisios the Athonite
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There is one person particular I knew who, the two words that would be constantly reiterated is, “Thank God.”
No matter what the question was, no matter what the situation was, “How are you feeling?”
“Thank God.”
“That’s not what I’m asking. Are you well?”
“Thank God.”
“But, that’s not what I’m asking, that’s not the answer to my question.”
And then as you know the person more and more, you realize, well actually, it is the answer to my question. We say it in the Prayer of Thanksgiving every day. We thank You for every condition, concerning every condition, and in every condition.
How can you be thankful for illness? Because it’s been given to me. Because I know that everything I have is either from God’s hand or by His permission. Either from His hand directly or by His permission. If it’s from His hand directly, it must be good. And if it’s by His permission, it can’t harm me.
—H.G. Bishop Angaelos – How obstacles become stepping stones
SO GOOD QUOTES 