If the Lord Himself —the omnipotent and sinless One— carried a cross for the sake
of man, for his salvation, how much more so do we sinners, who sin every hour, need
a cross for our salvation?
“I made ready and was not troubled,” 1 says the Prophet David. We must always be
ready to endure without grumbling every trial that the holy hand of the Physician will
send us. Since this trial comes from and is permitted by Him Who loves us
boundlessly, the trial will absolutely never be for our harm, for after it is over we shall
see its good result; we shall see God’s main purpose.
The Lord Jesus, foreseeing the future trials of His followers, gave them support by
saying, “By your patience possess your souls. He who endures to the end will be
saved.” 2 By enduring your illness with patience, you are also counted among the
beloved children of God. Your burden will one day become your resurrection; your
sorrows, joy; your patience, eternal life! Cry out with thankfulness to the Lord:
“Blessed be the name of the Lord. As it seemed good to the Lord, so has it come to
pass. Glory to God for everything.” 3 As you cry out like this, your soul will be filled
with joy and peace, and at the same time you will strengthen yourself in patience.
What is a Christian? What must he have? Certainly, he must have much patience in
everything.
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1 Ps. 118:60
2 Lk. 21:19, Mt. 10:22
3 cf. Job 1:21
subm. no. 16
paragraphs: 1*, 4, 7 from pages 35, 43, 47
” means paragraph was chopped into pieces, perhaps not all of them included
From the book
Councels from the Holy mountain
Selected from the letters and homilies of Elder Efraim of Arizona
Selection of passages from the book by Silviu Podariu
Elder Efraim of Arizona- Illness
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