“My son, forget not my law, and let thy heart keep my commandments.”(Proverbs 3:1)
By free will, are we united to God in keeping his commands.
“What of this fact, that God in so many passages commands that all his precepts be kept and carried out? How can he command if there is no free choice? And what of that ‘blessed man’ about whom the psalmist says that ‘his will has been according to the law of the Lord’? Does he not make it perfectly clear that it is by the will that a man takes his stand on the side of God’s law? Finally, there are many commandments that in one way or another refer by name to the will. For example, ‘Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.’ And there are similar passages, such as, ‘Do not become like the horse and the mule, who have no understanding’; and, ‘Do not cast off the counsels of your mother’; and, ‘Be not wise in your own conceit’; and, ‘Do not fall away from the correction of the Lord’; and, ‘Neglect not the law’; and, ‘Do not refrain from helping the needy’; and, ‘Plan no evil against your friends’; and, ‘Mind not the deceit of a woman’; and, ‘He would not understand that he might do well’; and, ‘They were unwilling to take correction.’ What do such numerous passages from the books of the Old Testament show, except that a person’s will is possessed of free choice?” -St. Augustine
“For whom the LORD loves he corrects; even as a father the son in whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:12)
Let us be patient in adversity and suffering, looking to Our Lord and Savior, who suffered for all our sins.
“It is written, after all, ‘The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and scourges every son whom he receives.’ Let us not fall away, then, under the lash, so that we may rejoice in the resurrection. So true is it, after all, that he scourges every son whom he receives, that he did not spare his only Son but handed him over for us all. So fixing our gaze on him, who was scourged without any sin to deserve it, and who died for our offenses and ‘rose again for our justification,’ let us not be afraid of being cast aside when we are scourged, but rather [let us] be confident that we will be received when we are justified.” -St. Augustine
“Be not afraid of sudden fear, nor of the power of the wicked falling upon thee.” (Proverbs 3:25)
Through trials and tribulations, faith is perfected.
“A man who has dedicated himself once and for all to God goes through life with a restful mind. Without non-possessiveness the soul cannot be freed from the turmoil of thoughts; and without stillness of the senses she will not perceive peace of mind. Without entering into temptations, no man will ever gain the wisdom of the Spirit; and without assiduous reading, he will know no refinement of thoughts. Without tranquility of thoughts the intellect will not be moved in hidden mysteries; and without the confidence that comes through faith, the soul cannot dare to withstand temptations with boldness. Moreover, without actual experience of God’s protection, the heart cannot hope in Him; and if the soul does not taste Christ’s sufferings consciously, she will never have communion with Him.” -St. Isaac of Syria
Women's Prayer Group In Christ 