20 February 2023
04 February 2023
Stand Courageously and Trust Firmly in God - St. Silouan the Athonite
Stand Courageously
and Trust Firmly in God. St. Silouan the Athonite
https://youtu.be/oa4EjLiuFvM
And
sometimes for a long time the Lord tests the soul whether it is faithful to Him,
and the soul, not seeing in itself the sweetness that it has known, craves that sweetness again and humbly waits for it and is constantly attracted to the Lord by the fervor of love.
With
grace, it is easy to love God and pray day and night. But the wise soul tolerates even dryness
and trusts firmly in the Lord and knows that He will not shame hopes and will provide
in due time.
The grace
of God comes sometimes soon, and sometimes it is not given over an extended period. But the wise soul humbles itself
and loves its neighbor and meekly bears its cross and thereby defeats the
enemies who try to tear it away from God. When sins like clouds hide from the
soul the light of God's new indwelling, then the soul – although it thirsts for
the Lord – is still weak and powerless as a bird imprisoned in a cage, although
it breaks into a green grove it cannot fly to sing in freedom a song of praise
to God. For a
long time I suffered not knowing the way of the Lord. But now, through many
years and through many sorrows and by the Holy Spirit, I have come to know the
will of God. All that the Lord has commanded must be fulfilled exactly, for
this is the way into the Kingdom of Heaven and we
shall see God. But
think not that you shall see God but rather humble yourself and think that after
death you will be plunged into a dungeon and there you will languish and miss
the Lord.
When we
weep and humble our souls, the
grace of God keeps us, and if we leave weeping and humility, we can get
carried away by thoughts or visions. A humble soul has no visions and does not desire them,
but with a pure mind it prays to God, and a vain mind is not pure of thoughts
and imagination and can even go so far as to see demons and speak to them. I
write about this because I myself was in this misfortune. Twice I was in PRELEST [delusive
charm].
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