Blessed is the man who endures all the sorrows of this life with determination and hope in God.
To him each day will be a month in heaven, while to the unbeliever it will seem like a whole year. Because the unbeliever only rejoices when he does not suffer; and when he does suffer, he does so without patience and hope in God and becomes resentful…
It is reasonable for a conscious person to look for the causes that torment him within himself, while a fool always blames others. The conscious man remembers all the sins he committed as a child. He remembers them with the fear of God and expects to pay for them…
Blessed is the man who benefits from all his sufferings, knowing how God allows all this with His love for man, for his own benefit. In his mercy God allows man to suffer for his sins. By His mercy He does this, not by His justice. If He acted with His righteousness, then every sin would inevitably bring death, as the Apostle says:
“And when sin is finished, it produces death” (James 1:15). And God instead of death gives healing through suffering. Suffering is God’s way of healing the leprosy of sin and death.
Saint Nikolaos Velimirovich, Bishop of Ahridos
