Therefore, do not let yourself be troubled by what’s happening. And stop beseeching this or that person for help, and running after shadows—for this is what human assistance amounts to—and instead, ceaselessly beseech God, whom you serve, simply to give a nod; and in one moment of time everything is brought into proper order. But if, in beseeching him for help, this does not come about quickly, this is how He often works—not crushing the evils immediately, but when they come to a head, when they increase, when there remains almost nothing that has not been ravaged by the evils of the enemies, then all at once he changes everything to tranquillity, and leads things to an unexpected stability. For He is able to accomplish not only what we expect and hope for, but what is much more, and what is infinitely greater. Therefore Paul says, “to the One who is able to do more than everything, even exceedingly more than we can ask or think.”

—Saint John Chrysostom, Letters to Saint Olympia