☦ Eastern Orthodox: Two paragraphs from a website I have recently posted. Be encouraged!

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Trust

The Prophet Isaiah (26:3) tells of the relationship between the absence of mental stress and serenity when we rely on God: “Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusts in thee.” St. John of Karpathos specifically links eradication of anxiety with trust in God: “We should on no account wear ourselves out with anxiety over our bodily needs. With our whole soul let us trust in God: as one of the Fathers said, ‘Entrust yourself to the Lord, and all will be entrusted to you.’ ‘Show restraint and moderation,’ writes the Apostle Peter, ‘and be watchful in prayer … casting all your care upon God, since He cares for you” (1 Pt. 4: 7; 5: 7; Philokalia I).

The anxiety-challenging questions, developed by Beck and Emery (1995), can be compared to the Spirit-inspired wisdom of St. John, for those who are still coping with anxiety because they are doubtful God really cares for them. St. John counsels: “… think of the spider and compare it with a human being. Nothing is more weak and powerless than a spider. It has no possessions, makes no journeys overseas … amasses no savings … does not meddle in the life of others … living in this quiet fashion … always hard at work—nothing could be more lowly than the spider. Nevertheless the Lord, ‘who dwells on high but sees what is lowly’ (Ps 113:5–6, LXX) extends His providence even to the spider, sending it food every day, and causing tiny insects to fall into its web”.