Final word from pope Shenuda in the book spiritual man! Oh father remember me a sinner so I can ask for Gods help in everything I do and apply what you have told all of us through this great book! Then hold fast to the Lord, with all your strength. Say to Him: Do not leave me or abandon me. Without You I cannot fight even the youngest among them, as it was said by St Anthony. But with You, I can say with St Paul the Apostle: “I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me”. Then true victory is in holding fast to the Lord all the time. ✥✥✥ Our biggest problem is that we want to prevail by our own strength, will, experience and intelligence; without getting God in the battle... And in all that, we forget the saying of the Apostle: “ Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:57). Yes, this is the secret of victory, our Lord Jesus Christ, if He fought with you. Therefore St Paul also says: “ We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom 8:37). ✥✥✥ How beautiful is the saying of the Holy Bible : “ For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few” ( 1 Sam. 14:6). As far as war is for the Lord, then He will fight and not you. You must then commit to Him the leadership of the battle in your wars with the en- emy, the world, sin, yourself... A wonderful phrase was said about Moses’ wars : “ The Lord will have war with Amalek” (Ex 17:16). So it was not Moses who was fighting Amalek, or Joshua, but the Lord... Do not say: Leave me, Lord, to fight Amalek. No, but say in humility : I cannot, You fight him, Lord... God fights for you, it is true. But you must strive. ✥✥✥ God’s working with you does not mean to become lazy. But you have to strive with all your strength. Resist all lust and any sinful desire. As the Apostle said: “ Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Jas 4:7). And also: “Resist him, steadfast in the faith” (1 Pet 5 : 9). Your resistance proves that you are rejecting sin. By that you become worthy of assistance from the grace... Resist the points of weakness in you and do not surrender to them... Be firm in your struggle till God‘s hand rescues you. Do not ever despair in your struggle, no matter how the war seemed hard and no matter how the snares around you increased. Be confident that heaven is watching your struggle and many angels and saints are mediating for you... Let your struggle be supported by faith... Faith in God’s strong and invincible hand about which David sang, saying: “You pushed me vio- lently that I might fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. The right hand of the Lord does valiantly, the right hand of the Lord is exalted “ (Ps 118:13-16). Struggle then with God and struggle with yourself and struggle with the devil. Be strong in heart. Remember that the Lord used to choose giants for His wars, as He used Gideon, (Judg 6 :12), and David (1 Sam 16:18). And as He said about the church in the Song of Solomon that it is: “Awesome as an army with banners“ (Song 6:10). So is the human soul also... ✥✥✥ Use all the spiritual means. Hold fast to your Psalms, your prayers, your readings and your spir- itual contemplations with hymns and praises, with exercises, giving account of yourself and with spiritual wake. Hold fast to the church, to the confes- sion father, Holy Communion and spiritual meetings. All these means will kindle warmth in your heart, deepen God’s love in you and grant you the strength to overcome. But if you kept away from these spiritual means, how easy it will be to become lukewarm and the enemy will find a way to get in to you...! Be confident that God’s word is a weapon that helps you to prevail. How true and deep is the saying of David the Prophet about his experi- ence : “Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction. For by then You have given me life” (Ps 119:92, 93). Remember how the Lord, in His temptation on the mount, refuted the devil by using verses from the Holy Bible and showed us that the words of the Holy Bible could be used as a weapon to refute thoughts of the enemy. And as David the Prophet said: “The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes” (Ps 19:9). ✥✥✥ Repeat the Psalms and the verses that give you courage and strength. For example Psalm 3, Psalm 90 and Psalm 23 of the Shepherd. Also sing with the Apostle in his saying “ We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom 8:37). Remember the Lord’s promises and encouragement to His children, and how He said to Zerubbabel: “Who are you, O great moun- tain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!” (Zech 4:70). And His saying to St Paul: “Do not be afraid,... for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you” (Acts 18;9,10). And what He said before to Jeremiah: “They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you” (Jer 1:19). And also what he said to Joshua: “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life” (Josh 1:5)... ✥✥✥ Live in God’s love and you will prevail. Or at least live in His fear. And in your struggle, resort to patience and endurance. And if the en- emy of what is good made fear, remember the saying of St Paul the Apostle: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13). Be confident that the more experience you get in your spiritual wars, the more your strength and faith in victory will increase. Try to live always in a spiritual atmosphere, keeping away from what- ever makes God’s love in your heart become cold. By doing that, you will keep your spiritual warmth and you will prevail in the wars of the enemy , and may God be with you.
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 02:35:04 +0000
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