MY CHILD, I am the Lord Who
gives strength in the day of trouble. Come to Me when all is not well with you.
Your tardiness in turning to prayer is the greatest obstacle to heavenly
consolation, for before you pray earnestly to Me you first seek many comforts
and take pleasure in outward things. Thus, all things are of little profit to
you until you realize that I am the one Who saves those who trust in Me, and
that outside of Me there is no worth-while help, or any useful counsel or lasting
remedy.
But now, after the tempest, take
courage, grow strong once more in the light of My mercies; for I am near, says
the Lord, to restore all things not only to the full but with abundance and
above measure. Is anything difficult for Me? Or shall I be as one who promises
and does not act? Where is your faith? Stand firm and persevere. Be a man of endurance
and courage, and consolation will come to you in due time. Wait for Me;
wait--and I will come to heal you.
It is only a temptation that
troubles you, a vain fear that terrifies you.
Of what use is anxiety about the
future? Does it bring you anything but trouble upon trouble? Sufficient for the
day is the evil thereof. It is foolish and useless to be either grieved or
happy about future things which perhaps may never happen. But it is human to be
deluded by such imaginations, and the sign of a weak soul to be led on by
suggestions of the enemy. For he does not care whether he overcomes you by love
of the present or fear of the future.
Let not your heart be troubled,
therefore, nor let it be afraid. Believe in Me and trust in My mercy. When you
think you are far from Me, then often I am very near you. When you judge that
almost all is lost, then very often you are in the way of gaining great merit.
All is not lost when things go
contrary to your wishes. You ought not judge according to present feelings, nor
give in to any trouble whenever it comes, or take it as though all hope of
escape were lost. And do not consider yourself forsaken if I send some
temporary hardship, or withdraw the consolation you desire. For this is the way
to the kingdom of heaven, and without doubt it is better for you and the rest
of My servants to be tried in adversities than to have all things as you wish.
I know your secret thoughts, and I know that it is profitable for your
salvation to be left sometimes in despondency lest perhaps you be puffed up by
success and fancy yourself to be what you are not.
What I have given, I can take
away and restore when it pleases Me. What I give remains Mine, and thus when I
take it away I take nothing that is yours, for every good gift and every
perfect gift is Mine.
If I send you trouble and
adversity, do not fret or let your heart be downcast. I can raise you quickly
up again and turn all your sorrow into joy. I am no less just and worthy of
great praise when I deal with you in this way.
If you think aright and view
things in their true light, you should never be so dejected and saddened by
adversity, but rather rejoice and give thanks, considering it a matter of
special joy that I afflict you with sorrow and do not spare you. "As the
Father hath loved Me, so also I love you," I said to My disciples, and I
certainly did not send them out to temporal joys but rather to great struggles,
not to honors but to contempt, not to idleness, but to labors, not to rest but
to bring forth much fruit in patience. Do you, My child, remember these words.
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