Abba Isaiah said ‘When God wishes to take pity on a soul and it rebels not bearing anything and doing its own will, he then allows it to suffer that which it does not want, in order that it may seek him again.’ —–sayings of the desert

These particular words of wisdom are not the most popular or believed ones that we are given by the fathers. All of us have seen people who seem to sin abundantly and continue to thrive. Likewise, we have all seen people who are apparently very pious who experience much suffering. Perhaps I might suggest another way of looking at this difficult dilemma.

God created us for good. He created us to be productive, and we are the crown of His creation. God is our guardian, and He watches over us and gives us grace. Through Him we prosper and achieve. There are times in our lives, no matter how pious we appear, that we reject His grace. At times we stand up and say, I want to do this my way, and God gives us the free will to do so. These times often lead to adversity, and in adversity we turn to God knowing that He is our only hope. Not only is He our only hope, He still loves us even when we have been rebellious and stubborn. The message from the desert is that God sometimes draws us to Himself by adversary.

Prayer Thought

Lord help me to see You at work in my bad times. Allow me to surrender myself to your grace so that I might experience your full love.

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