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Divine Providence by St. John of Tobolsk

55-70 minutes

There is nothing random in the world

If we examine any kind of events and manifestations without

looking into their causes and consequences, then many things
may seem random to us. If, however, we look at them from a
true point of view, i.e. if we judge the things happening in the
world from the viewpoint of Divine intelligence, then we will see
that there is nothing in the world that occurs randomly, that
occurs without the will and the Providence of God. God’s mind
is infinite and encompasses everything that we can fathom.
The Almighty God penetrates and sees all places in a single
moment: the height of the heavens, and the width of the earth,
the depth of the sea and the unfathomable abyss.

In all matters of Divine rule His Providence and His care shine
forth wondrously, not only directing all creatures by dint of His
might, but being inherent in them and essential to them. We,
being blind, think that many things in the world happen blindly
by chance, whereas everything without exception occurs
according to God’s pre-eternal counsel, according to His will
and Providence.

The blessed Augustine justly said: “Everything that we, without

understanding the matter, believe to occur randomly,
chaotically, and without God’s direction, does, on the contrary,
take place according to God’s will.” Let us explain this by
means of an example: a master sends two of his servants to
the same place, but along different routes and without telling
either of them of the other. Their meeting at that place is
accidental as far as the servants are concerned, for they were
not expecting to meet each other, but is not accidental in
regard to the master. In like manner a beggar finds a hidden
trove (buried treasure or money) accidentally, but for God, Who
wished the treasure to be buried there for the beggar to find it
and become enriched, this is not an accidental occurrence, but
God’s fatherly Providence, providing for the poor man. For God
there are no accidental occurrences.

Often we are deceived in calling accidental certain events in

which God’s supreme Wisdom and Providence are revealed. It
was not by chance that robbers out of fear threw the body of a
person they had killed into the tomb of the prophet Elisha,
where the dead man, upon touching Elisha’s bones,
immediately came alive. It was not by chance that Moses was
placed in a tar-covered basket and sent down the river, where
the Pharaoh’s daughter found him and adopted him. It was not
by chance that the iniquitous Israeli King Ahab was struck by
an arrow that flew in between the seams of his armor. Truly
that arrow was directed by the hand of God, just as was the
one which struck Julian the Apostate; only for the soldier who
let fly the arrow was it accidental. It was not by chance that
swallows flew into the home of Tobit and blinded the righteous
man. This happened at God’s command, in order to hold Tobit
up as an example to succeeding generations, as we learn from
the Angel who accompanied his son Tobias. Nothing happens
by chance. It was not by chance that Caesar Augustus ordered
the census to be taken in the year of Christ’s Nativity. It was not
by chance that Christ met with the Samaritan woman at the
well in Sychar and spoke with her. All this was foreseen and
written down in the books of Divine Providence before the
beginning of time.

Often God, in His wise concern for us, leads us along barely
passable paths of life, but He knows well the path that will
bring us to the celestial paradisiacal gardens. Why should we
utter complaints against the wisest and most reliable Guide in
our life? Each one of us is accompanied by God’s Providence
along our path of life, from the day of our birth to the day of our
departure for eternal life, as long as we remain loyal to God’s
direction, indicated by our Saviour in His holy Gospel.

Speaking of God’s Providence, it is impossible not to recall the

story of the Israeli King Saul, who, being sent by his father to
find their lost donkeys, found himself a kingdom. He was
anointed by the prophet Samuel, to whom God revealed that
Saul was the one who should be anointed to rule over the
Jewish people. Everything happened according to God’s
unfathomable command, as though in the normal course of
events: Saul found both the donkeys and a kingdom, of which
he had had no thought. How different are God’s fates from
human intentions: Saul had no thought of a royal scepter, but
by God’s will was placed upon a throne. Thus, it was not by
chance that the donkeys became lost, not by chance that Saul
was sent to find them, not by chance that for a long time he
was unable to find them, and not by chance did he go to the
seer Samuel to learn of their whereabouts: all of this took place
in accordance with God’s Providence, in order to enthrone Saul
as king of Israel.

At the same time the following question arises of its own

accord: why did God wish to anoint Saul to the kingdom, if He
knew in advance that the latter would subsequently fall into
iniquity and end his life wretchedly?

Instead of a direct answer I will offer you my own questions:

why did God create His angels in grace, knowing in advance
that some of them would offer resistance to God and would be
eternally rejected by Him for their sin? Why did God settle
Adam in Paradise, knowing that Adam would not live in
Paradise for long, but would be expelled from it? Why did Christ
add Judas Iscariot to the circle of the apostles, knowing in
advance that the latter would become a traitor to Him? What is
the reason for such changes in God’s determinations?

The blessed Jerome responds to such questions thusly:

“Would you like to learn the reason for such changes? Here it
is: God does not judge future deeds, but present ones, and
does not condemn anyone by His foreknowledge, although He
knows that a good man may subsequently change into an evil
one; at the same time, by His mercy he places man in the
situation which he deserves at the present time, and thus gives
him strength, in the case of a fall, to return to the true path by
means of repentance. Adam did not sin because God foresaw
his sin, but the reason God foresaw it was because Adam was
to sin on the basis of his free will.”

St. Ambrose says the same: “Adam did not sin because he
received the commandment, nor did Judas sin because he was
chosen to be an apostle, for God did not lay upon them the
need: for one to transgress the commandment and for the
other to become a traitor. Both of them, had they faithfully held
on to their responsibilities, could have abstained from sin.
Those of whom God knows that they will subsequently lead a
virtuous life, are often evil in the beginning, while those of
whom He knows that they will sin, are often initially good. You
are presently standing, but beware lest you fall. The holy
Apostle Peter fell – and you should be careful; Judas fell, in
order to deter you from falling.”

No effort on our part can protect us without God’s help, but by

the same token, God’s help without man’s wish (will) will not
bring any benefit either, as we see in the examples of Peter and
Judas. We should avoid one-sidedness: we should not remain
indolent, placing all care upon God, but equally we should not
believe that by dint of our own effort, without God’s help or will,
we can do good. For God Himself does not do everything, in
order not to leave us in idleness, but equally does not allow us
to do everything, in order to protect us from pride and vanity.
God leads us away from everything that may harm us, but He
urges us towards everything that is beneficial for us and helps
us attain it.

God’s Providence is revealed with the greatest wisdom: usually

not every transgression is punished right away, nor, on the
other hand, is it left without any punishment at all. If God did
not subject evildoing to punishment, many people would think
that there is no Providence. Yet if punishment followed
immediately upon the transgression, in that case they would
think that there are neither rewards, nor punishment after
death. For this reason God, by punishing only some, thus
reveals His Providence; and when He does not punish others
directly after their transgression, He then threatens them with
punishment after death in the eternal life, if they do not repent
in this one.

God turns all earthly misfortunes to our benefit and for our
good; He allows actual sins in order to attain the most
supreme, unfathomable, and mysterious goals of His Divine
rule. For both the doing of good deeds and the tolerance of
evildoing is a quality belonging exclusively to Divine
Providence. Truly God would never have allowed evil, if He were
not powerful enough and good enough to produce good
consequences from every evil deed. Tell me in conscience:
when did a greater or viler evil appear in the world than Adam’s
transgression and the killing of Christ the Saviour, the new
Adam? – However, the original sin brought God from heaven
down to earth, to take upon Himself the human body, while
Christ’s death opened up the heavens to us and gave us back
all that we had lost through Adam. The supreme God is also
the wisest craftsman, turning all evil actions into a reason for
creating the best consequences, just as gold is produced from
an amorphous lump. The Magdalene’s sins served as cause for
the rectification of many; Peter’s fall served as an example of
genuine repentance for a countless multitude of people; and
Thomas’s disbelief reassured many of the truth of Christ’s
resurrection. God did not sow sins, yet reaps from them a rich
harvest of virtues. Truly God distills honey out of rock and oil
out of granite, when out of the greatest iniquities He produces
the most beneficial consequences.

In a similar manner God’s Providence is vigilant over us, and

keeps vigil indefatigably, so that even our most minute
discomforts do not go unnoticed. Consequently each one of
us, whenever we are subjected to physical discomfort, should
reason thusly: this illness or other misfortune, whether it came
as a result of my carelessness, or through human malice, or
from some other cause, – has not in any case occurred without
God’s Providence, which has determined it in accordance with
my strength, so that its inception and its weight (weakening or
intensification) depend on God. The method of treating and
healing it likewise depends on God’s Providence, which
instructs the physician and indicates the means of treatment,
or counteracts it, for all good and bad things, life and death,
poverty and wealth, – all come from the Lord. Similarly, in all
things that befall us, we must reason that they have been
foreseen and allowed by God. If an enemy maligns or curses
you – know that all his abuses and words spoken in malice
have been placed from eternity upon the scales of God’s
Providence: he will say only as much as has been allowed him
and not a word more. Why are you opposing him and getting
angry in vain? In like manner look upon all your other
misfortunes, whose provenance, number, weight, duration, and
end have all been foreseen by God. Therefore, subject yourself
to God’s Providence, saying: may Thy will be done, my God! All
of this has occurred by Thy Providence and tolerance. And
since Thou hast allowed this, I would be an iniquitous sinner if I
were to rise against Thee in indignation. Thus I remain in
obedience to Thy holy will, my God, and gratefully accept all
that Thou sendest me, and will endure everything patiently.

The blessed Augustine says: “The sea of life is turbulent, and

Thou, Lord, seest evildoers flourishing and good men being
oppressed: this raises a tempest within the heart. O Lord God!
Does this constitute Thy truth, that evildoers prosper while
good men suffer? – And God replies to you: is such your faith?
Is this what I had promised you (i.e. a thriving state)? And is
this why you are called a Christian, in order to delight in worldly
successes?” Let us humble ourselves before God, and let us
soothe our hearts with faith in God’s Providence whenever we
see the unrighteous dominating, the righteous being
persecuted, righteousness being eradicated, and truth being
destroyed. None of this would be happening if the Lord did not
allow it, and in truth, He would not allow it, if He did not have
sufficient reason to believe that it was better to allow than to
forbid. You may say that such tolerance gives rise to a
multitude of tribulations and the greatest unrest. One may feel
sorry for the situation, but within the bounds of reason, for
there were justified reasons for God to wish it so, since out of
the greatest evil God may produce the most wondrous good,
just as easily as slipping a sword out of its sheath.

Do not be surprised, for God’s judgment is mysterious and

unfathomable: at Christ’s second coming, at the dread day of
judgment, the entire life of every person will appear as in a
mirror; also every reason for which God’s Providence produced
one or another event, and why, will be totally clarified: for all
kingdoms, cities, families, and each individual. Everything will
be revealed. It will be revealed how merciful was the Lord to
sinners, and each one of them will remain mute; and also the
extent to which the image of God’s rule of the world accorded
with His glory and truth will also be revealed, and how right and
beneficial it had been for all.

Let us not forget that out of every evil God creates some good.
What was more sorrowful than the fall of Adam and Eve into
sin, together with all mankind? However, God has so
reconstituted them, that the current state of a Christian is
higher than was Adam’s state in paradise. Christ’s death on the
cross was a stumbling block for the Jews and foolishness for
the Greeks; however, it became the salvation of the entire
world, and for all those who were called – an honor, and glory,
and attainment of an eternal life of rapture (1 Cor. 1:23).

God’s solicitude for our needs

God is the most solicitous caretaker. In His hands He holds all

of life’s great and wealthy resources, and only from Him should
we ask for them in fervent prayer. The desert-dweller Mark
used to say: Whoever has no hope of receiving temporary
necessities from God, would have even less hope of receiving
from Him that which leads into eternal life. But if God has given
us a body, will He not clothe it? Is not life (the soul) superior to
victuals and the body to clothes? Just as He granted us life
(without any merit on our part, when we did not even yet exist),
so undoubtedly will He give us all that is needful for preserving
life and nourishing the body. Even more so will He not deny us
this, since He Himself, in His supreme goodness, has wished to
grant us existence and life. And if He freely and willingly gave
us what is most important for us, then He can give, and wishes
to give, and always sends us the less important things too. But
He will send them on condition that we do not remain idle: for
He has created us and placed us on earth for us to cultivate it
and maintain it in order, and not for idleness, and for us to
place our hope in Him alone, the All-powerful and All-generous
One, and not in ourselves.

Christ Himself teaches us, saying: “Behold the fowls of the air:
for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet
your Heavenly Father feedeth them” (Matt. 6:26). The same
Heavenly Teacher goes on to say: “Are not two sparrows sold
for a farthing? And not one of them shall fall on the ground
without your Father’s will. For the very hairs of your head are all
numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than
many sparrows” (Matt. 10:29). This first argument against our
lack of faith is presented to us in the form of living creatures
who feed themselves without any care, – so that at least from
their example we would learn to recognize the omnipotence of
God’s Providence – our sole source of tranquility and inner
peace.

The second argument comes in the form of wild flowers.

Having pointed out God’s Providence in regard to sparrows, the
Lord Christ then says: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they
grow; they toil not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you,
that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of
these” (Matt. 6:28-29). And from this Christ draws the following
conclusion: “Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field,
which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not
much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” (6:30). To this our
Saviour adds a third point on the futility of our self-concern,
saying: “Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto
his stature?” (6:27). Every self-concern of ours that is not
joined with hope in God is futile and vain, of which the Lord
goes on to say: “If ye then be not able to do that thing which is
least, why take ye thought for the rest?” (Luke 12:26). If God
does not bless it, our entire effort is in vain, idle, useless. In
your every affair and activity place all your hopes in God, and
He (without any effort on your part) will arrange everything for
the best by His ineffable mercy.

Thus, if the Lord God concerns Himself with satisfying the

basic needs of all creatures in general, for He created both the
great and the small and takes care of all equally, why are there
so many beggars and deprived people everywhere? Brethren,
God’s Providence in regard to poor people is truly wondrous.
St. John Chrysostom has rightly said of this, that not only the
poor have need of the rich, but the rich have even greater need
of the poor. Everything that was and is good and God-pleasing
in the world has been created through the effort and activity of
poor but hard-working and God-fearing people. Being deprived
of comfort and money, they worked diligently and did not
forget God, but prayed to their Creator and Caretaker, Who was
a benefactor to them even in the midst of their need. Many of
God’s saints, living in extreme poverty, loved it much more than
wealth and were always the recipients of God’s greatest
Providence.

In truth, God is so solicitous of people who have entrusted

themselves to Him wholeheartedly, that when they are deprived
of human help, He sends them His divine help. Although we
often receive the same grace from God in our needs and
deprivations, there is still much lack of faith among many of us,
who fear to lose sufficient and requisite necessities for
maintaining our life here. O, how faint-hearted we are! Our
Heavenly Father knows of all our needs: do we think that God’s
mercy has now dwindled in comparison with former times?

For 60 years St. Paul, the first desert-dweller, was brought half-
a-loaf of bread each day by a raven; however, when the saint
was visited by St. Anthony the Great, the raven brought a whole
loaf. St. John the desert-dweller did not see any people for 14
years, and all this while he subsisted on a doe’s milk. Many
hermits had food and clothes from fig trees. In 603 A.D. Judoc,
son of the Breton king, renounced his throne, became a
monastic, and later became a hermit. On an island surrounded
by water he built a church and founded a monastery. He was
so generous to the poor that the monastery once remained
with only a single loaf of bread for the working brothers, and
even that loaf he ordered to be cut into four parts and the first
part given to a beggar. This beggar, changing his clothes, came
up four times on the same day to ask for charity and thus
received all four pieces of the bread, so that there was nothing
left for feeding the brothers. Consequently one of them began
to grumble and berate his abbot for latter’s extreme generosity.
Judoc then comforted him and told him to wait for help from
above. A few hours later, four ships sailed up to the monastery,
laden with foodstuffs which abundantly fed the starving
brothers. The blessed Augustine rightly said: “Do you think that
the one who feeds Christ (i.e. the poor) will not himself be fed
by Christ?”

The abbot of a certain monastery sent two brothers out on

business affairs. When evening came, the two travelers,
exhausted by their labors, being hungry and depressed, began
to bemoan the fact that they would soon arrive at a poor town,
and not knowing anyone there, they would find no respite or
sustenance. A certain stranger met them on the way and asked
them about their depressed state, and when the monks
revealed their sorrow to him, he said: “You have left everything
for the sake of God, placing your entire hope in Him, and now
you sorrow as though left without any hope! God feeds the
cattle – do you think He will let His sons perish from hunger?”
Saying thus, the stranger became invisible. When the monks
entered the town and prayed in the church, the mayor himself
invited them over for supper, they went to his house, and he fed
them abundantly. However, such examples do not eradicate
our lack of faith; despite everything that God sends us, we fear
privation, and if we do not have everything in overabundance,
we are greatly saddened.

Here is an example of our lack of belief: it is said about a

certain beggar, that having looked into his basket and seeing it
full of loaves of bread gathered from many benefactors, he
then declared: now I feel myself well provided for. We
ourselves are very like this beggar: only then do we feel
assured in our hope in God, when our storerooms are full of all
kinds of goods that will last us for many years.

St. John, Patriarch of Alexandria, was not like that at all. Having
suffered enormous losses after a tempest destroyed thirteen
church ships loaded with grain, each ship carrying ten
thousand measures of grain, he placed all his hope in God and
in Him alone found his greatest comfort. At that time
practically half of Alexandria’s citizens suffered similar losses
and, moreover, all the seamen and the passengers who were
saved from the storm gathered in Alexandria as in a safe
haven. To all of them St. John immediately sent a letter of
consolation, in which he wrote words of comfort to all: “The
Lord gave, and the Lord took away; as the Lord wished, so it
came about; blessed be the name of the Lord! Be patient,
children, and do not fear anything!” The next day many of the
most prominent citizens gathered at St. John’s residence to
comfort him in his losses. But he, however, took all the blame
upon himself, saying: “God preserved me from a great sin: if
this had not happened, I would have prided myself on handing
out so much charity to the poor, and I would have had a high
opinion of my own generosity; and for this reason the loving
Father justly punished the vain son to prevent his growing
pride. God mercifully instructs us by allowing us to suffer some
traumas, in order for us to come to our senses and quickly turn
to Him. But He is the very same God Who existed in Job’s time,
just as omnipotent and just as merciful, and He will not
abandon us.” With these words the patriarch comforted those
who had come to comfort him. And, in truth, very soon the Lord
God replenished St. John’s losses a hundredfold, while the
latter continued to give out the most abundant charity to the
poor. To entertain doubt or disbelief in such cases is the same
as to assert that God is either miserly or forgetful; but such
opinions belong to the iniquitous and the godless; they should
be totally rejected by us.

St. Amateus the desert-dweller was in his own time like a

mirror for all those who understand God’s Providence
incorrectly, reject it, or blaspheme against it. After having
labored in a monastery for thirty years, Amateus went off into
the desert, where he lived on a chosen rock in great
abstinence. Every three days one of the monastic brothers
brought him a loaf of bread and a cup of water – this was his
only sustenance. Such abstinence was not pleasing to the
devil: and so a raven flew up, overturned the cup of water with
his feet, snatched up the loaf of bread in his beak and flew
away. Thus the monastic was deprived of 3 days’ worth of
sustenance. How did the righteous man take this occurrence?
Perhaps he swore at the raven, or uttered blasphemous words
at God’s Providence, or began to curse the demon’s wiles? Not
at all! It is we who act thusly in such cases, while he, lifting his
hands and his mind to heaven, declared: “I thank Thee, my Lord
God, that by Thy holy will Thou wast pleased to retain me in a
more prolonged period of fasting. I know that this will be of
greater advantage to me in the future, for nothing in the world
happens without Thy Providence, and not even a single leaf will
fall from the tree without it.” Yet we, sinners, think that the
destruction of homes by fire, the drowning of ships, the loss of
property, and all personal affronts take place while God’s
Providence sleeps or does not keep watch, – in other words,
we do not believe in God’s Providence. Even the pagans knew
better than we do, for the intelligent ones among them
reasoned that everything in the world occurs not by the will of
man, nor by blind chance. In fact, everything comes from God,
according to His just Providence: so why are we full of
indignation and often even protest against it?

Countless examples and images bring us to a realization of the

omnipotence of God’s Providence. Nevertheless, we have so
little hope in this Providence! If our vessels, caskets, chests,
and granaries are not overflowing with all kinds of goods, then
our spirit fails; but when our bags are full, when our pockets are
bulging with money, then we have hope. O, how blind we are!
True hope in God is when we, finding ourselves in great penury,
deprivation, and poverty, do not fall into despair, but patiently
overcome all our tribulations, for the more suffering we endure,
the greater glory and crowns are prepared for us. The ancients
had a memorable saying: “If only we did what we should, then
God would do for us what we want.” Blessed Jerome,
explaining this principle, said: “May man be what he is destined
to be, and immediately the One Who created everything will
send him everything.” Blessed Augustine rightly exclaims: “O,
my God! You have so much concern for a single person, as
though You had to take care of only him alone: as much for all,
as for each one.” And St. Gregory says: “God takes care of each
person individually as much as of everyone together, and
concerns Himself over everyone as though over a single
person.” Thus God’s Providence takes care of thee, brother, just
as though He had no other concerns. The great number of
people in God’s care neither awes, nor burdens God’s
Providence; for Him the care of a single person is the same as
the care of countless millions of people. Just as before God
took care of Noah and his family, or of the single Adam in
paradise, so now God’s Providence takes equal care of all.

All misfortunes and disasters take place by the will of God

Everything in the world, even seemingly evil things (except for

sin), occurs by the will of God. Theologians explain it in the
following manner. The origin of evil is sin. Each sin contains (1)
the cause that led to it and (2) its inevitable consequence –
correction through punishment. The cause of sin is the deceit
and willfulness of the vain sinner, while the punishments (both
correction and execution), being the bitter consequences of
their cause, occur by the will of God, and are not the cause of
sin, but represent its correction or destruction. Thus, if from the
concept of sin we eliminate its cause – deceit and willfulness,
then there will not be a single one of its bitter or evil
consequences that does not occur by the will of God or is
displeasing to Him. Just like the sinful misfortunes of an
individual, so the earthly, so-called natural, disasters, such as:
famine, drought, plagues, etc., which often bear no direct
relation to individual sin, occur by the will of God. Therefore, all
human disasters and misfortunes positively occur by the will of
God for the sake of achieving the righteous goals of God’s
Providence; sin alone is contrary to God (just as evil is contrary
to good, or deceit is contrary to truth), but is allowed by God in
order not to violate the freedom of man’s will.

Many are deceived, believing in their ignorance that only the

evil occurring from natural causes, to wit: floods, earthquakes,
crop failures, disastrous atmospheric manifestations,
epidemics, unexpected death, etc., – occur by the will of God,
for often such misfortunes have no direct relation to sins. But
evil deeds, occurring from unlawful human designs, from
falsehood, such as: offensive words, mockery, insult, deceit,
counterfeiting, abductions, theft, murder, etc. – occur, in the
view of these people, independently of the will of God and His
Providence, but exclusively due to human malice and the
depraved human will, which of its own accord causes all
manner of evil for its neighbors. However, such views are
unworthy of a Christian.

The subject of which we now speak can be best explained by

means of an example. A certain person, intending to deprive
his neighbor of all of latter’s property, and wishing to fulfill his
evil intention secretly, creeps unnoticed into the neighbor’s
house, places lighted fuel under the building, and leaves the
house just as surreptitiously. Soon afterwards a fire starts; the
flames grow, the wind spreads the fire to other buildings;
people run from all sides to extinguish the flames and protect
adjacent buildings from the fire. The arsonist also runs up
together with the other people, as though to put out the fire, but
he has a different intent: under cover of the fire alarm, he takes
valuables out of the burning building as though to save them,
but in reality he steals them for himself and hides them.
Although all these actions of the arsonist represent the direct
cause of the owner’s bankruptcy and loss of property, but
examined by themselves, without any relation to the arsonist’s
evil intent, they appear no different from so-called natural
disasters. They stem from God: just as God allows thunder to
kill a man, or lighting to ignite a house or a growing tree, a
hurricane to sweep away a field of haystacks, so does He
control the arsonist: the latter can neither enter the house, nor
go out of it, nor ignite the fire without God’s allowance.
Moreover, the actions themselves are indifferent – neither evil,
nor good, because they can lead to evil just as equally as to
good, for God could have prevented their being committed if
He so wished. However, the Lord did not impede the committal
of the evil intent, but allowed it according to His just judgment.
The reasons for such allowance will be explained below.

If God is not and cannot be the source of our moral fall (which
alone is genuine evil), then it is quite true that all misfortunes
occurring from secondary causes, be they rational or irrational,
and occurring no matter how, all occur by the will of God, are
sent by His mighty hand, at His discretion, and by His
Providence. Often God’s judgment uses iniquitous kings and
evil princes as His tools for teaching patience to the righteous
and chastising the unrighteous for their crimes and misdeeds.
Here is an example: through the prophet Isaiah God threatens
the depraved Israeli people with destruction and with the
devastation of Palestine through the Assyrians, clearly
demonstrating that it is not the will of the Assyrian king, but
rather His holy will that is being fulfilled by the Assyrians. God
punishes the Israelis with the divine instrument of His wrath
and indignation at their iniquities and, consequently, attributes
this punishment to Himself. We should regard in equal manner
all the other righteous chastisements that are allowed by God
for our misdeeds. During the siege of Jerusalem, the Roman
Emperor Titus, personally walking around the walls and seeing
the ditches filled with corpses, sighed heavily, and raising his
eyes and hands to heaven, cried out: “Merciful God! This is not
my doing!”

We are asked: if it is true that all misfortunes are sent to us by

the will of God, then are we not trying to withstand His holy will
in vain? Is it not useless for us to take medicines when we are
ill? Why should we lead out armed hosts against an attacking
enemy? Here is my reply to the inquirers: it is clear that
destructive wars and other woes happen not without God’s will,
but it does not follow that we should not arm ourselves against
the enemy or not try to treat our illnesses, regarding such
actions as opposition to the will of God. For example, if we fall
prey to some illness, there is no doubt that such was God’s will.
However, the sick person does not know God’s intention in
regard to the duration of his illness, and for this reason he is
not forbidden to use various medicinal means to return to
health or at least to ease the illness. And only if the continuous
use of many medications does not result in a cure, the sick
person may be sure that such is God’s will for him to endure a
protracted illness. Similarly, if a fire starts up and cannot be
extinguished by the combined efforts of the people and the fire
brigade, then it is clear that God’s judgment has decided not
only to have the building burned, but to have it burn down
completely, in order to test the patience of God’s friends or to
punish His enemies. We should look upon all other events in
our life in a similar manner.

“Look, beloved brethren, – instructs us the blessed Augustine,

– never say: this has been done to me by the devil, or this
misfortune befell me through the perfidious enemy, but
attribute to God all that happens to you, both good and bad,
knowing that the devil cannot do anything to you if the Mighty
God, Who has power over life and death, does not allow him to
do something to you for your chastisement or rectification.
God allows punishment for the iniquitous, who consciously act
against their conscience, openly reject truth, etc., while
rectification is allowed for sons who have sinned – ‘for the
Lord scourgeth every son whom He receiveth’ (Hebrews 12:6).
And you, too, should not expect to remain without punishment,
unless you wish to be deprived of the heavenly inheritance.”

When King David was escaping from his insubordinate son

Absalom, who had rebelled against him, a certain Semeus from
the clan of King Saul ran out in front of David and began
reviling Him most cruelly for Saul’s death. Seeing such
vilification of David, his military commanders wanted to kill
Semeus, but the king, who perceived God’s will in this
revilement of himself, said to his attendants: “Leave him be, let
him abuse me, for the Lord had commanded him to revile
David.” Semeus naturally sinned grievously in cursing David,
because although God used him as a tool of revilement, He
was not the cause of Semeus’ vile will; He only wisely used it to
punish David. Thus each one of us should also look upon the
attacks and curses of evil people upon us in a manner like unto
David, for the merciful God uses their willfulness to either
instruct the innocent or chastise the guilty.

In Constantinople the Greek Queen Irene, who had been

dethroned by a despicable slave, turned to God with the
following words: “I thank Thee, Lord, that Thou hast put me,
Thy unworthy servant, on the royal throne; but since Thou hast
also allowed me to be deprived of my throne, I believe it to be
in consequence of my sins; may Thy will be done in me! In all
bad and good things may the name of the Lord be blessed.” It
is true that no one can harm us, except in that in which we
harm ourselves. For this reason the blessed Augustine rightly
said: “Believe in the Lord God without any reservation and give
yourself over to Him completely: then He will not reject you and
will not allow any harm to come to you.” Everyone should know
this precept and firmly keep the following in mind: nothing
harmful can happen to us without the will or allowance of God:
neither the devil, nor any individual can harm us if God does
not allow it. We should firmly believe that even though the
direst misfortunes befall us by God’s command, they are sent
from the most merciful Father for our benefit, for our
instruction or rectification, for the sake of our misdeeds and
sins. Consequently, no one else, except we ourselves, can harm
us.

God allows misfortunes and sins for the good of man

Since neither the devil, nor any person can do evil to another
without God’s allowance of it, let us examine the following:
what God allows, how He allows it, and for what reason does
this allowance come about?

We must differentiate between two kinds of allowed evils. The

first kind of evil, comprising various misfortunes, burdens,
illnesses, insults or dishonor (impoverishment, imprisonment,
banishment, exile), death – all of this cannot even be called evil
in the strict sense of the word, but only a bitter medicine sent
to us by God for our spiritual healing. The second kind of evil,
in the exact meaning of the word, is represented by our sins,
our transgression of God’s commandments. God allows the
first kind of evil in accordance with His wishes, or to punish the
wicked, or as a means of rectification for faithful sons and
daughters. Concerning the second kind of evil, i.e. sins, one
cannot say that God wishes them to be committed, but only
tolerates them. Everything that really exists in the world, is
present in it by the wish and word of God, by Whose will “all
things were made, and without Him was not any thing made
that was made” (John 1:3).

Sin, however, is not something real, but only an illusory

antithesis to genuine being. Sin exists as a result of the
imperfection, deceit, and guile of the rational and free, but
insubordinate beings created by God; for this reason sin
originally occurred and continues to occur against the will of
God and not from God, yet by His tolerance. The reason for the
tolerance of sin is hidden for the time being within the mystery
of God’s absolute and perfect rule over the world, or His
Providence. God has absolute knowledge of the future, and He
can easily not allow the occurrence of the sinning that is
abominable to Him, but He tolerates it in order to produce good
out of evil and justice out of injustice for the sake of teaching
and rectifying people, so that they would see the
consequences of sin both for the sinner and for those around
him, and for society. This is what distinguishes God’s tolerance
from human tolerance, which cannot by human means avert
and curtail evil in its inception, even though the committing of
it would be undesirable. On the contrary, in God we see both
His power to prevent or curtail the execution of an evil intent,
and at the same time we see His will, allowing one or another
evil to be committed. This raises the following question: why
does God wish to tolerate the committing of sin, or what is
God’s motivation in allowing people to sin?

God’s infinite goodness would never have allowed such

iniquities to exist on earth, were it not able to produce the
greatest good from them and turn into salvation all that had
been done with evil intent. God allowed the escalation of
brotherly envy against the innocent Joseph, but allowed it for
what good reason? – was it not to deliver from a death from
hunger not only his parents, brothers, and relatives, but all of
Egypt? God allowed the iniquitous Saul to continuously offend
the meek David, but was it not for the benefit of David himself,
whose descendant was Christ our Saviour? God allowed the
unjustly accused prophet Daniel to be thrown into a den with
frenzied lions, but for what? – in order to raise him and his
friends to the pinnacle of glory and grandeur. But why should I
speak of numerous instances in Old Testament history, when
by God’s tolerance the envious high priests, Pharisees, and
Jewish elders presented for crucifixion the Only-begotten Son
of God, Jesus Christ, and this tolerance turned into salvation
for all mankind. Thus, out of each instance of tolerance arise
and become revealed to us the greatest riches of God’s glory
and His benevolence to each individual and all mankind. Each
instance reveals to us God’s goodness and mercy, His
munificence, omnipotence, and majesty, His foresight and
Providence. In each instance His supreme wisdom and truth
enlighten us in ways unknown to us, and thus encourage many
attentive people to return to the path of virtue and to multiply
their laborious yet glorious spiritual feats.
O, how wondrously and majestically does Divine Providence
reveal itself in its daily tolerance! It is not difficult to produce
good from good, but to turn evil into good is quite amazing.
There is a saying that “anyone can be a helmsman on a calm
sea.” It is not such a great matter to direct the ship towards
harbor when the wind is favorable, the ship is strong, the sea is
calm, the sailors know their business, and the harbor is already
in view. But it is quite a different matter when a storm stirs up
the sea, the ship is damaged, the waves pour noisily onto the
deck and inside the ship, or when the night is dark and nothing
can be seen, pirates surround the ship, the crew is small and
poorly armed, and in spite of all, the captain has the ship under
such masterful command, that he escapes danger without any
damage – that is truly amazing, and in this case the actions of
the ship’s captain have shown his wisdom and his ability to
steer the ship. We see a similar situation in God’s rule over the
world: some things which are allowed by God’s will and which
seem to us not to lead to any good, God brings to the best
possible end through His indescribable wisdom and truth. By
tolerating illicit actions and harmful adventures, God
sometimes turns malefactors into His honorable friends. By
God’s Providence, which directs everything towards the best
possible end, wicked intents against a person are often turned
to the latter’s advantage; the attacks and insults made against
someone often increase his inner strength. The evildoers’
greatest iniquities confirm many people in righteousness and
virtue, and save them from perdition. Many people already
seem to be completely immersed in the abyss of perdition, yet
in reality it turns out that this is their way to salvation.

For Joseph his fetters and imprisonment served as a precursor

to honors and the greatest glory; his brothers’ envy brought
him greater benefit than the goodwill of the entire world; Saul’s
malice procured for David the royal crown; the lions’ den led
Daniel to greater glory and honor than that of earthly kings;
from the cross Christ, together with the repentant thief, went
straight into heaven, while from the Mount of Olives He
ascended into heaven and sat on the right hand of God the
Father.

In God’s allowance both good and evil wills work for God, and
no matter their original intent, in the final analysis everything
works towards the attainment of the best possible goals.

In truth, the saints ascribed everything that came upon them in

life, both pleasant and unpleasant, to the will and action of
God, because they did not pay attention to the sins of others,
but evaluated all human actions as either a gift from God or as
having been allowed by God for their own sins. The saints
reasoned thusly: the all-benevolent God would never have
allowed anything evil, if He did not know that from this evil He
would produce a multitude of great blessings.

The blessed Augustine expressed the same idea: “God

acknowledged it more profitable to turn evil into good than not
to allow it at all, because, being all-benevolent, He would never
have allowed evil in His acts, were He not so omnipotent and
good as to be able to turn evil into a blessing.” And again,
Theophylus rightly says: “God incomprehensibly interferes in
our errors and our sins not in order to participate in them, but,
despising them and correcting them, God produces much good
out of evil, just as though He were turning fire into water.” In
another homily he says: “All those who insult us in some
manner or other combine two persons within themselves, one
acting consciously, the other unconsciously. Firstly, each such
person, out of malice towards us, wishes to act against us with
hostility, with the intent to insult us, deprive us of our property,
etc., although he is not always necessarily successful in his
intent; but in case of success, through God’s allowance he
unconsciously becomes a second person who is now acting as
a tool in God’s hands, punishing or rectifying our conduct, and
thus he unconsciously serves God.” Such unconscious
servants of God were the following historically famous people:
Nebuchadnezzar, Attila, leader of the Huns, Totila, king of the
Italian Ostrogoths, Tamerlan, and other scourges of God.

Dear brother Christian, allow me to ask you who so often rends

heaven with your sorrowful complaints. Tell me: what insults
you the most – the will and intent of the offender, or only his
power, his ability to realize the insult, or both one and the
other? You answer: “I am offended by both the one and the
other.” In response to this I will tell you that neither offensive
will, nor the execution of it (power) can insult you: offensive
intent (will) is nothing without the power and does not harm
you in any way, while the execution of the intent depends on
the allowance or the will of God, which is holy and just. You
know that all power is from God, – so why do you sorrow and
complain about the offender for having done to you only that
which was allowed him by God? Otherwise, without God’s
allowance, he could not have offended you. You will say: “My
adversary has offended me greatly.” – “Tell me – in what way?
– for God is either punishing you for your sins, or teaching you
patience, or multiplying your reward for being an innocent
victim, – and yet you consider yourself offended?” – “I hate this
malicious person and his evil will,” – you say. – “But you always
pay attention to other people’s actions, while I advise you to
rather raise your eyes towards God and your conscience.
Human will, even though it is evil and wicked, what could it do
to you? in what lies its success? You do not regret the fact that
your adversary wished to harm you as much as the fact that he
did harm you. From whence did this come and how could he
harm you? Was it not by the power and will of God? And if it
was by the power and will of God, then it was always in
accordance with just and righteous Providence. Consequently,
either you keep quiet or turn your complaints toward Divine
Providence, – and at this point bear firmly in mind that God
would never allow the evil will of another to harm you in any
way that would not be to your benefit, unless you harm
yourself.”

And who can harm us if we engage only in good things?

Blessed Augustine has put it very well: “Do not fear the enemy:
he is able to harm you only to the extent of the power given to
him by God. Fear rather the One Who is able to do whatever He
wants, and Who never does anything unjust, but whatever He
does is always just; and should anything, in our opinion, seem
unjust, if it undoubtedly occurred by the will of God, we must
believe that it is just and true.” You may ask: “If someone killed
an innocent person, is that just or unjust?” – “There is no doubt
that it is unjust and deserves punishment.” – “Then why, – you
will ask, – “has God allowed such injustice?” – “You wish to
argue with God before you have become worthy to ask God: for
what reason, O God, hast Thou allowed this? – I am unable,
dear brother, to explain to you God’s intentions or the reasons
for His allowance, because God’s Wisdom is too infinite for the
human mind, but I can only assert that, on the one hand, the
murderer of the innocent man has acted unjustly, and on the
other hand, this murder would not have occurred had God not
allowed it for a reason that is unknown to us, but just. In other
words, the murderer committed an iniquitous act, deserving
punishment, but God’s allowance is just and wise, for a just
reason that is concealed from us for the time being.”

In the same manner blessed Augustine regards the putting to

death of Christ our Saviour. “Judas, that iniquitous betrayer of
Christ, – says Augustine, – and all Christ’s persecutors are all
lawless, all iniquitous, all unjust, all damned; however, the
Father did not spare His Son, but gave Him up (allowed Him to
be put to death) for the salvation of us all.” Such is the mystic
reason for God’s allowance of His Only-begotten Son’s being
put to death by malefactors, – a reason that was
incomprehensible at the time. Thus do not be surprised that
God allows evil. He allows it according to His most-just
judgment, and allows it only to a certain measure, number, and
weight. There is no injustice in Him, and you only have to put
your entire trust in Him.

There is only one sure means of calming oneself when being

offended: if someone has insulted or offended you, do not pay
attention to the offender’s malice, but turn to the righteous God
Who has allowed your adversary to insult you, and do not
avenge with evil the evil that has been done to you, for it has
been allowed by God for the attainment of good and just aims,
even though they are unknown to you for the time being. All of
God’s saints kept to this custom: they did not try to analyze
who had offended them and for what, but always turned their
hearts to God, humbly acknowledging the justice of God’s
allowance; for this reason they regarded the offenses given
them as a boon for themselves, and their adversaries as
benefactors, saying: “here are our true benefactors, for they do
not flatter us; those who praise and exalt us to our face are
flatterers and damage our inner perfection.“” Thus the saints
always inwardly turned to God and in all matters placed their
trust in God’s Providence and expected only good things from
God.

On the other hand, one can see from all of the above that the
sin committed against one’s neighbor by God’s allowance does
not yet merit any mitigation of the sinner’s guilt only because
his unlawful action gave God cause to produce great good out
of evil. For the sinner had only given cause for good, and not of
his own accord, but by the grace of God; the sinner’s intent was
still evil and remains evil. Thus even the good that God
produces from the commission of evil does not in any way
mitigate the guilt of the sinner.

The incomprehensibility of God’s judgments

Throughout the course of our entire life we must often repeat

King David’s utterance: “Thy righteousness is like the great
mountains, O Lord; Thy judgments are a great deep” (Psalm
36:6). This depth is illustrated in the Bible in the example of the
two high-ranking servants of the Egyptian Pharaoh: the
cupbearer and the caterer. Both were servants of the same
king, both came under his displeasure, both were arrested and
imprisoned, and both were remembered by the king during a
palace feast; the Pharaoh could have pardoned them both, if
such were the will of God, or could have condemned them to
execution. However, he ordered the caterer to be hanged, while
the cupbearer he returned to favor and his former position.
Such was the will of God; some He removes from His presence
in accordance with His righteous judgment, while others He
covers with great mercy. “And who can search out His mighty
deeds? Who can measure His majesty’s power? And who can
fully recount His mercies?” says the son of Sirach (18:3-4).

Equally mysterious and unfathomable was God’s will in regard

to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and the Pharaoh of
Moses’ time. The blessed Augustine has rightly said of them:
“Nebuchadnezzar was punished by God for his countless
iniquities and in this way was brought to salvific and very
beneficial repentance. The Pharaoh, on the contrary, became
hardened even despite God’s scourges, disdained them, and
perished in the Red Sea together with his entire host.” Both of
them were pagan kings and both were punished. Why did they
reach such an unequal end? – One of them comprehended
God’s punitive hand, repented, and rectified his conduct; the
other did not submit to the will of God that was announced to
him, remained in his sinful obduracy, – and perished.

Here is another example of the incomprehensibility of God’s

judgment: one of the best Judean kings was Asa, who did good
in the eyes of God and fortified his kingdom, destroyed the
idols in the entire Judean land, and eradicated idol-worship.
However, this glorious king, who for a long time reigned
admirably, lost his initial glory at the end of his reign, having
changed for the worse. King Menaces, on the other hand, being
most wicked and evil throughout his entire life, and having
brought the Jewish people to the very edge of iniquity,
recognized the hand of God in his misfortune, returned to God,
repented of his iniquity, and was granted forgiveness and God’s
mercy. O Lord! Thy judgments are truly a great deep, a deep
without measure!

At this point questions such as “why is this so?” and “how is

this so?” are inappropriate. Such questions arise at the
instigation of the evil spirit and have spiritually destroyed many
people. “So, did God truly say: do not eat the fruit of any tree in
the Garden of Eden?” – the most cunning of all creatures once
asked Eve. To this question Eve should have replied thus to the
wicked creature: “We know that God commanded us not to eat
only the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but why
and for what purpose He commanded thus – it is not our place
to ask Him.” Such was His holy will, and we must not question
the reasons for His willing thus. “For who hath known the mind
of the Lord? Or who hath been His counselor? Or who hath first
given to Him, for Him to recompense again? For of Him, and
through Him, and to Him are all things” (Rom. 11:34-36). I am
sure there will be people who will assert that it is not forbidden
to sometimes ask the reason for one or another
commandment. Ask whom? Do they mean God, Who alone
knows everything, knows what is good and what is only
tolerable? If a servant from his master or a subordinate from
his superior demand the reason for such-and-such an order or
directive, then the first will look upon it as an insult to himself,
while the second will regard it as rebellion and insubordination,
and yet you dare to exhibit even greater insolence towards
God? God’s Providence needs no other reason except His holy
will.

St. Athanasius, Archbishop of Alexandria, describes the

following event in the life of St. Anthony the Great: two monks
undertook a journey to visit St. Anthony in his desert. However,
traveling through the arid and hot desert, they became
completely exhausted from thirst, and one of them already
died, while the other was on the threshold of death. St. Anthony
was several miles away from them. Sitting on a rock in his
monastery, he hurriedly summoned his two monks and said to
them: “Run as fast as you can to such-and-such a place in the
desert, taking vessels with water with you, for one of the two
brothers who were coming to visit us has already died of thirst,
while the other is still breathing, but is suffering and has
become very weak; if you delay, you will not find the other one
alive either: this has been revealed to me by God while I stood
in prayer.” Having received such instructions, the messengers
immediately and willingly went off, and after finding the
travelers, they buried the body of the deceased one, while the
other one they revived with water and fortified with food, and
then brought him back with them to St. Anthony. In describing
this event St. Athanasius wisely remarks that someone may
very well ask: “Why did St. Anthony not send his monks earlier
to save the travelers, before one of them died?” Such a
question is quite inappropriate for a Christian, because it was
not St. Anthony’s affair, but God’s judgment: God Himself
pronounced a fair verdict in regard to the dying man and the
thirsty living one; and He likewise revealed to St. Anthony His
will concerning the saving of one of the travelers.

St. Anthony the Great, being in a state of contemplation, was

amazed at God’s hidden and unfathomable mysteries and
humbly called out to God: “O Lord my God! Thou art sometimes
pleased to grant a long life to people who seem useless and
immersed in an abyss of iniquity, and yet sometimes Thou
deprivest of life people who are very beneficial to society”
During such reflections Anthony heard a voice saying: “Be
attentive to thine own self. That upon which you are reflecting
is God’s judgment, and it is not your place to analyze or
question it.”

In the year 1117, when the whole of Italy was being shaken by
earthquakes, some of the residents of the city of Milan
assembled at a certain home to discuss public affairs.
Suddenly a voice was heard from outside, calling upon one of
the people present in the house to come out. The person being
summoned was unsure of who was calling and for whom, and
thus delayed in going out, waiting for a repeat call.
Unexpectedly a stranger came up to the door and asked that
the person being called come out quickly; no sooner had the
latter moved several paces away from the building than the
house fell down and destroyed all who were within. This begs
the question: why was only one person from all those within
the house saved from death, while all the others perished? The
Lord’s judgments are a great deep! Who cannot clearly see in
this event a repetition of ancient miracles? Thus did the angel
of the Lord lead Lot and his children out of Sodom, leaving all
the other inhabitants to become victims of fire. In a similarly
miraculous manner other people are left unharmed amid
multitudes who perish in general catastrophes.

We often see extraordinary upheavals and changes in the

universe, unexpectedly-occurring events, and of each of them
we say: “Let us see how this will end.” Occasionally we
ourselves experience events that amaze us by their
unexpectedness, and then we grumble in vain and say: “I could
never foresee or think of such a thing happening.” We are poor
illiterates in the matter of foreseeing future events! Even in
currently occurring events we cannot always easily understand
their true cause, except the one that is operative in all events
and, moreover, is a genuine and undeniable cause. Such-and-
such happened strictly because such was the will or tolerance
of God according to His benevolent Providence. “For My
thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,
– saith the Lord. – For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts
higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

There are many things in our earthly life which we will never
comprehend by means of our intelligence. It is sufficient for us
to know, be convinced, and believe implicitly that God is not
unjust, and that on the last day of judgment there will not be a
single person on trial saying anything to the Lord except the
following words: “Righteous art Thou, O Lord, and upright are
Thy judgments” (Psalm 119:137). We must put off gaining
complete understanding of the unfathomable judgments and
purposes of God’s most-high wisdom until the future life!

Thus, let us cease expanding the wings of our curiosity and

judgment of subjects that are above our heads. The waves of
the boundless ocean of the Supreme Mind exceed the quick
reasoning of all wisdom, not only human, but also angelic. And
how could we ever hope to understand the end purposes of
God’s profoundest destinies? Who can comprehend God’s
determination in the following: why does God’s punishment for
sin temporarily pass by some people and strike others? Why
are those who are innocent of crime sometimes put on trial,
while the sins of some people fall upon the heads of their
children and descendants? Why do some die in infancy, while
others live to a ripe old age? Why does one person, having
sinned only slightly, perish without repentance, while another,
mired for a long time in the bog of iniquity, finally rectify
himself and become worthy of a Christian end? Why does one
person wallow in wealth and luxury, while another does not
have a single morsel of bread or a single penny?

O restless and overly curious mind! Why should you brood over
this? The Lord allowed, the Lord wished, the Lord created all.
We should look upon God’s will as the ultimate truth, and a
willing and tranquil adherence to it as the ultimate wisdom.