“We often lose hope in the face of worldly troubles. However, it is precisely while on such tough journeys that God calls us to move forward confidently… He comes even when His beloved are dislocated and in search of life’s truth…Troubles are usually the brooms and shovels that smooth the road to a good man’s fortune.” Dynamis 9/7/2019, St. Basil the Great)
“James doesn’t say if trouble comes your way but when it does. He assumes that we will have troubles and that it is possible to profit from them…Right now you may feel unable to see through your troubles. Focus instead on God, and trust Him for the way out. That is all He needs to begin his work in you…God knows the best time to act. When you feel that God has forgotten you in your troubles, remember that God has a time schedule we can’t see… Our troubles should cause us to cling tightly to God, not attempt to bargain our way out of the pain.” (Life Application Study Bible, James 1:2-3, Exodus 2:9, Exodus 2:23-25, Jonah 2:9)
“Are you in a state of calmness and serenity? Then, beseech the Lord to make more permanent this joy in your heart. Are you troubled by the onslaught of tribulations and temptations? Beseech the Lord to calm the storm in your life. Has your prayer been heard? Thank God. Have you not been heard? Persist in your prayer until you are heard.” (St. John Chrysostom)
“We become like roaring lions when we get a good grip on the prayer…not when we pray carelessly or lukewarmly, but with strength of soul! Invigorate yourselves with the thought that the prayer is everything. Without the prayer, expect a general decline, going from one fall to another. If we hold on to the prayer with all our strength during temptations, we will certainly overcome the devil and we shall ascribe the victory to the all-holy name of Christ.” (Elder Ephraim of Arizona)
“…feel with our whole heart that we have no one to rely on except God, and that from Him and Him alone can we expect every kind of good, every manner of help, and victory.” (Saint Theophan the Recluse)
Peace in the world begins with peace with yourself. It takes a next step when we seek to be peacemakers and not peace-takers. It is when we learn to come into a situation bringing peace and seeking peace, rather than bringing chaos and always seeking victory.” (Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis)
“Chaos is always the greatest danger to human existence. Our creativity and adaptability also mean that we have greater opportunity to get things wrong. Most of our chaotic episodes come as the result of unintended consequences. Social and economic decisions in one place undermine fundamental structures in another. Drive through the Rust Belt, or the swath of former coal-mining communities and you’ll see what I mean. A war would have caused less damage. It strikes me as interesting that we imagine war to be an answer to chaos. In the 60’s, the government created the “War on Poverty,” while we continue fighting the “War on Drugs” in what is now becoming its sixth decade. Neither, of course, has made much of a dent in its stated goals. “War” is a modern image of a form of progress….In point of fact, war is chaos. Chaos itself is never the solution to chaos, short of annihilation.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“Christ…has already won the victory. However, He did not win that victory by taking vengeance or punishing those in the world who opposed Him, who ultimately murdered Him. He did not fight back with the weapons of violence and death that the Devil used against Him and uses against us. Rather, when we were, to all appearances, the enemies of God and of His Christ, Jesus Christ died for us, to free us from bondage to Satan. Christ defeated Satan by binding him, and taking back from the Enemy what he had stolen, the hostages he had taken, we ourselves. Satan had deluded us into becoming God's enemies, Christ defeated him by reconciling us to God, and making us His friends.” (Father Stephen De Young)
“Our life on this earth is such that we are always becoming enslaved to material things, while the angels never are. This life was given to us so that we may learn about eternal life, that we may learn how to become free, to walk freely and with a clear conscience and pure thoughts. When we are free, then there are no spiritual battles or warfare; victory is ours only because we have abandoned ourselves to God, because we worship Him in our hearts and have united with Him, giving no more thought to this world. He is the One Who determines our life, and we receive everything that comes to us as from His own hand.” (Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica)
“The path to victory over this life, this world, and over all of our pain, losses, and suffering, lies with clinging onto Christ with blind trust and hope every moment of our life. The joy and hope of God’s love and promise to us will always be there and be the final word. Every cross will be empty and a place of hope and peace. Every broken heart will be like the space of the empty tomb, filled with light and devoid of pain and sorrow. God wouldn’t have it any other way.” (Father Joshua Makoul)