We must have our gaze fixed on heaven. Then nothing here can shake us. "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me. Ps. 49:15
The beginning of comfort in times of sorrow is recognizing in the trial - God's visit, His very presence. When tribulations come of their own accord, do not fear them. Do not think they came by chance or coincidence. No. They are engulfed by the incomprehensible Providence and Love of God. Among Orthodox Christians, there is a well-known saying - an excerpt from a poem by the famous Russian poet Apollon Maykov:
The deeper the sorrow, the closer is God.
What does this mean? It's about how in moments of life's trials, heavy sorrows, and illnesses, we need to feel the presence of God in our lives reliably, clearly and convincingly. This feeling, together with the understanding of God's close sympathy to our sorrows should be found living in our hearts, actively strengthening and consoling us. It should...but do we truly feel this in these moments? Priests today are increasingly confronted with the opposite; the abundance of sorrows and trials makes a person troubled: "Why is this happening to me?" "Why now?" "What did I do to deserve this?" All of this oppresses both him, and the sick person, and it leads a weak person to doubt the reality of the Providence of God. It causes weakness of faith, and as a result, brings people to the brink of despair. And we are talking about believers and church people, those who in the event of spiritual problems are the first to run to a priest for an explanation.
Our time on this earth is filled with sorrows, and they are by the grace of the Creator an instrument of God's providential love, and yet, at the same time, people also manage to serve "two masters", becoming loyal servants of the enemy of the human race, the anti-Christ, the devil. It is this weapon of doubt and fear that our enemy uses most effectively, undermining the faith of the weak, causing cowardice, mumuring and despair. All this leaves a person with only sorrow itself alone, depriving them of saving fruit, which can also come from moments of pain, affliction and sorrow.
So what are we to do?
When sorrows surround us, it is necessary to hasten to prayer to attract the special grace of God. Only with the help of special grace can we trample down all temporary disasters. When tribulations come of their own accord, do not fear them. Do not think they came by chance or coincidence. No. They are engulfed by the incomprehensible love of God. St. Ignatius Brianchaninov
"The holy martyrs sang a joyful song in the fiery furnace, walking on nails, along the edge of the sword, sitting in boiling cauldrons of water and oil....
...so will your heart also draw grace-filled comfort to itself through prayer, keeping vigilance over itself, and in the midst of depression and misery will sing a joyful song of praise and thanksgiving to God." St. Ignatius Brianchaninov
And when you walk, and when you cannot stand, or move anymore.
He will carry you.
+ Glory to God for All Things +
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