The devil tries to spoil every good

From Abbot Nikon in Letters to Spiritual Children:

Who shall roll away the stone from the door of the sepulchre...for it (is) very great? (Mark 16:3). Who rolled it away? An angel, at God's command. He will likewise roll away the stone of insensibility from our hearts, when the time is right for this. We must show faithfulness to the Lord during times of callousness, faintheartedness, doubts, coldness, times of sorrow, illness and various misfortunes. We must exert our willpower to strengthen faith in ourselves when, by God's allowance, it seems to be all but extinguished. He permits this in order that we may show again and again what it is we are striving for, where our choice lies.

There is a saying among the elders: a good deed is either preceded or followed by a temptation. A good deed, such as heartfelt prayer, or especially Holy Communion, will not pass without the devil taking revenge. He uses all his might to prevent fruitful prayer and/or communion. If unable to achieve this, he then tries to spoil everything after the fact, so that not a trace of the benefit acquired remains. This is very familiar to all those who have some experience in spiritual endeavor. For this reason it is necessary to ask the Lord, with humility and contrition of heart, that He preserve us from the snares of the devil, who acts either directly upon the soul, or indirectly, through people subject to his power.

Do not be surprised at this. This warfare is fierce. Except the Lord build the house, in vain do they labour that build it. Except the Lord guard the city, in vain doth he watch that guardeth her, (Psalm 126:1-2). We must surrender ourselves into the compassionate hands of God, acknowledging before Him our weakness and inability to guard ourselves from visible and invisible foes. Do not be afraid. The devil does not do what he would like, but only that which God allows him to do. Take a look at the book of Job.

May God's blessing always be with you. Never despair. May Christ's Cross always serve to remind you of God's boundless love toward fallen man. Is this thought not enough to inspire one to wholly give oneself over into God's hands? One must make at least a small effort to seek the Kingdom of God, and then the Lord will not leave such a person without His help and comfort. The Lord loves you! Have patience with the Lord.

This beautiful meditation comes from the book Letters to Spiritual Children published by Nikodemos Orthodox Publication Society in New York in 1997.

Recognize your spiritual poverty

From Abbot Nikon in Letters to Spiritual Children:

My dear one!

You become despondent and lost at the least temptation.  The Lord allows this to happen so that you might discover your weakness and understand how much lies hidden in a person’s soul, and that labor is necessary in order to cleanse oneself of passions, to become the temple of the Living God and to achieve salvation.  When your human frailty becomes apparent to you, then you will fall down before the Lord and from the bottom of your heart cry out to Him, like the Apostle Peter when he was drowning.  Then you will receive the Lord’s help and realize how close the Lord is to those who call out His name from the depths of their heart.  Then you will fall in gratitude at His feet and weep over your sins through which you have grieved the Lord.  Then your heart will be humbled and you will cease accusing others, endeavoring instead to have your past sins forgiven and to avoid future transgressions of the Lord’s commandments.  You will also come to understand the vanity of everything worldly, and how very insignificant is your attachment to this earth, its disputes, its disappointments.  It is not worth becoming dismayed over such things, as they rob you of spiritual peace and even, perhaps, your salvation.

All that is bad—all the passions, the devil’s snares, all misfortunes and sufferings—all these are conquered through humility.  And humility arises through saying to the Lord from the depths of our heart, “I receive the due reward for my deeds.  Remember me, Lord, in Thy Kingdom,” (Luke 23:41).  If we are able to say this in all of life’s circumstances, without grumbling at the Lord or at people, then immediately our burden will be lightened and we will find ourselves on the correct spiritual path.  If we do complain or blame someone for our misfortune, then we must humble ourselves even further and say, Lord, I really am worth nothing, only You can save me.  “If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean,” said the leper who had lost all hope of being healed.  “I will, be thou clean,” said the Lord, touching him, and the leper was free of his affliction.  And so it is with us—if we, realizing the full extent of our feebleness and spiritual poverty, turn to the Lord our only Savior, and from a contrite heart say, “Lord, if You desire it, You can heal and cleanse me,” we will hear the same reply from the Lord, Who suffered for us on the Cross, “I will, be thou clean.”

Our soul will clearly hear this reply and we will receive the strength to bear all of life’s difficulties with thanksgiving, just as the repentant thief bore great sufferings without grumbling, as he remained hanging on the cross until evening.  May God help you to understand this, to humble yourself and give yourself over into God’s hands.  Constantly say, “Lord, may Your holy will be done.  Lord, do with me what You will, just do not allow me to grumble at You, and grant me salvation.”

So far you have only read and heard about spiritual warfare, about tears and suffering of heart.  God is allowing you to discover from experience just where it is you stand.  Will you be able to persevere and bear hardships without murmuring but thinking of the Lord, or will you begin complaining and then—what is worse—sink into despondency?

Decide for yourself.  “Give blood and receive the Spirit.”  The time of childhood is over, it is time to begin the work of an adult.  A contrite and humble heart the Lord will not despise, and, “The snares of the devil do not touch one who is humble,” (from a vision of Saint Anthony the Great about snares.)

If you give in to complaining and begin to blame people and circumstances for your hardships, then you will eventually come to murmur against God and may become totally despondent.  May the Lord preserve you from this!

May the Lord grant you spiritual peace, humility and wisdom, and may He give you patience and strength to carry the burden of both your own passions and of those with whom you come in contact…

This beautiful meditation comes from the book Letters to Spiritual Children published by Nikodemos Orthodox Publication Society in New York in 1997.

Fear only to grieve the Lord

From Abbot Nikon in Letters to Spiritual Children:

You seem to be disappointed that years pass and you are still unsettled. All this comes from worldliness and the prince of this world.  He is trying to frighten you.  He confuses your thoughts, suggests various fears, and lies, endless lies, thereby giving himself away on all fronts.

What is the essence of Christianity?  This--that the All-mighty, All-knowing Creator of the Universe has such love and compassion for man, such care for him and his salvation, that He gave up His Only-Begotten Son to shame, the Cross and death.  He cares not only for mankind as a whole, but for every person individually; each and every minute He holds him in His hand, protecting him from visible and invisible foes, granting him wisdom through other people, books, and life's circumstances.  If it is necessary to chastise a person in order to instruct him or to prevent him from falling into a worse mishap, He does so with mercy, and if a person is able to accept this in the right spirit, He rewards him greatly, as though He feels sorry for having issued the punishment.  Those whose inner vision has begun to clear can see God's amazing Providence over man in things both great and small. And so it is.  If for man's sake God sacrificed that which He loved most--His Son--then how can He begrudge anything: even the whole universe is nothing compared to such a sacrifice.  The Lord does not hold back anything, especially from those who yearn for Him, who try to keep His word, who feel compunction after every committed sin, seeing this as a breach of His will, as inattentiveness towards Him, as ingratitude and lack of love towards Him.

Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out, (John 6:37).  The Lord rejoices over every person who longs for Him immeasurably more than a mother rejoices over displays of love from her own child.  For this reason, do not fear the future.  “God is with us,” today, tomorrow and always.  Fear only to grieve Him through some form of sin.  If in our weakness we fall into some wrong, let us repent and the Lord will forgive us as long as we do not consciously choose evil, attempt to justify ourselves or murmur against God.  Fear nothing.  Be bold to bring to the Lord all your troubles, confusion, fears, hurts from the demons and people.  He both desires and knows how to relieve you of these and to free you from them when this will be most beneficial for you.

Do not trust in yourself and in people.  Trust in God's word, the Gospel.  Study the Gospel through your own life experience.  Life in Christ will give you such fullness, such an understanding of everything, such spiritual joy, steadfastness--that the life of worldly people will seem (as indeed it is) of little value, uninteresting, impoverished, pitiable, frivolous, full of insignificant squabbles, unhappiness and often great misfortunes.  You are fortunate.  Treasure this.  Thank God for this, and He will multiply His goodness towards you many times over for your gratitude, as much as you are able to contain.  Indeed, I hope this shall come to be!  May the Lord keep you and bless you.

This beautiful meditation comes from the book Letters to Spiritual Children published by Nikodemos Orthodox Publication Society in New York in 1997.