Let us say that you have an issue to deal with. If you are left to your own devices, you will get angry, you will become exasperated, disappointed, you will explode. If you think, however, that God is well aware of the issue, that He is with you, and that, at the particular moment, he would like you to deal with it like a man of God, you will immediately change your attitude; you’ll restrain yourself, you won’t go out of your mind, you won’t get disappointed or depressed, as if you were master of the universe in the first place. And in practice, you will come to realize that the issues you have are exactly what you need. I mean, that by undergoing them, you get to know God better; you humble yourself, you believe in Him, you love Him, you remember Him, you act according to His will and respond to Him. You may be thinking that these issues are obstacles; yet, they sanctify you.
As a baptized person, you are potentially a saint, but are you a saint in practice?
Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos (†)
From the book: Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos, “SPIRITUAL MESSAGES” Panorama Thessaloniki, 2017
The issues you have are exactly what you need
