Daily

“There will be good days – those days when things fall into place and you feel that God is using the gifts that He has given you for His purposes. You will sense that He has placed you in a certain situation for which you are uniquely prepared. You will succeed and hopefully you will honor Him with your success, knowing that all that you accomplish has come from Him. There will be bad days – those days when the world seems to reward those who do not honor God or His commandments, those who strive to succeed regardless of the spiritual cost to themselves and others. Success, as it is measured in the world today seems to reward unethical, un-Christian behavior. As Christians living and working in this world, we struggle to remain faithful, and are wounded in the battle.” (Father James W. Kordaris)

“There are always evil days in this world, but always good days in God. Abraham enjoyed good days, but only within his own heart; he had bad days when a famine forced him to migrate in search of food. But everyone else had to search, too. What about Paul: did he have good days, he who had “often gone without food, and endured cold and exposure” [2Co 11:27]? But the servants have no right to be discontented; even the Lord did not have good days in this world. He endured insults, injuries, the cross and many a hardship.” (St. Augustine)

“How do we handle the daily pressures of life? By (1) faith that the Lord is at hand, present with us (Philippians 4:5); (2) refusing to worry, being anxious for nothing (Philippians 4:6); (3) prayer (Philippians 4:6); (4) thanksgiving . . . to God (Philippians 4:6); (5) meditation on that which is virtuous Philippians 4:8); and (6) imitating the godly (Philippians 4: 9).” (Orthodox Study Bible, Philippians 4:5-9)

“Stress doesn’t always have to be as stressful as we make it. To be sure, there will be good days and bad days. But if we are living prayerfully and focused on Christ as we should, we will have a higher perspective that helps us not judge and react to a temporary stressful situation as if it is a permanent reality.” (Sacramental Living Ministries)

“We pray silently, daily, and receive the peace of Christ which keeps us afloat despite what is going on around us. We then carry that peace the rest of the day, and guard it vigilantly, so as not to lose it. We then replenish that peace the next day during our next time of prayer. This is how we live. This is how we experience the miracle of the sea each day in our own life. As we journey from prayer to prayer, we carry with us the awareness and knowledge that only Christ can keep us afloat during turbulent times. His peace (that is given as a gift when we pray with humility) acts as a lifejacket that keeps us from sinking into the depths of anxiety and despair. We go through our daily life fully aware of the chaos and storm going on around us. However, we refrain from focusing too long on storm and chaos, and keep our gaze focused on Christ. Prayer maintains this focus. Prayer itself is an exercise in letting go; for when we pray, we say “no” to the world and our many tasks and say “yes” to God.” (Fr. Joshua Makoul)

“…seek the eternal within the temporal…Welcoming the eternal God into every moment of their lives, the patriarchs allow the light of eternity to shine upon whatever occurs. Indeed, God’s uncreated light illumines the activities of all mortal men when we awaken to His presence. “Even to your gray hairs, I Am. I bear you; I made you and will forgive you. I will take up and save you” (Is 46:4).…we yearn to be united heart, soul, and body with the eternal God – to realize our true destiny…We understand history and each person’s life from the perspective of our ultimate goal of union with Him.” (Dynamis 10/17/2013, 4/23/2021. 3/30/2018)

“He knows all things because, for Him, time is irrelevant. For God, all eternity is today, the present moment. This is impossible for us to understand, but that is because we are limited…As the womb is preparation for our bodies here on earth, so our time on earth is preparation for our time in eternity…Eternity is the experience of god’s forever giving of Himself, revealing Himself in greater depth and glory.” (Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica, Pat Warren, Father Spyridon Baily)

“Who gives you the day will give you also the things necessary for the day…When we start each day by sitting down with our morning coffee or tea to spend some brief quiet time with the Lord, God's grace will lead us into greater divine union.” (St. Gregory of Nyssa, Robert J. Wicks)

“Here’s the thing—to invite Christ into daily life and decisions, big and little, is to feel the weight of the future lifted…With the shortening of time comes a more accurate measure of what is valuable…Relationships become ever more important. The question of God looms over everything.” (Dr. Ann Bezzerides, Father Stephen Freeman)

“Humans live in time . . . therefore . . . attend chiefly to two things, to eternity itself and to . . . the Present. For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity . . . in it alone freedom and actuality are offered…Where, except in the present, can the Eternal be met?” (C.S. Lewis)

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