The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” This cry of Psalm 13 is not only the denial of the atheist but the rebellion of every heart that ceases to trust. The Fathers tell us that when the remembrance of God leaves the heart, the passions rise up like wild beasts. The soul becomes a wasteland where self-will reigns, and the light of discernment grows dim. We look upon the world and see the fruit of this; cruelty, deceit, corruption, and indifference. Yet the psalm reminds us that God still looks down from heaven, still searches the hearts of men for even one who seeks Him.
The elders teach that the heart easily becomes agitated when it contemplates evil without first being anchored in prayer. We are not called to measure or judge the darkness of the age but to keep our own lamp burning in the night. The man who allows his heart to grow fearful loses his watchfulness; his prayer becomes distracted, and soon despair takes root where faith once dwelt. Abba Poemen once said that if a man guards his heart and does not let it judge another, even amid great evil he will see the mercy of God.
To see the world’s corruption clearly and yet to remain at peace is a grace. The peace does not come from closing our eyes but from fixing them on the Lord. He is the refuge of the poor, the defender of the lowly, the unseen guardian of those who call upon His name. When we utter His name with faith, even a whisper of the Jesus Prayer, we affirm the truth that the psalmist proclaims: “God is with the just.”
The elders tell us that the name of the Lord is a fortress. Whoever dwells within it fears nothing, for he knows that the Lord is present even in the world’s desolation. The righteous are not spared from sorrow, but they are spared from hopelessness. They may see evil rise like the tide, but their hearts are fixed in stillness. They know that salvation comes from Zion, from the God who does not abandon His people.
Let every soul troubled by the sight of evil remember this: the darkness is not endless, and fear is not the truth. The Lord will arise, and His light will scatter the shadows. Until then, the task of the Christian is to remain faithful, to keep the heart pure, and to let every breath be a prayer. For the Lord is near to those who hope in His name, and even amid the ruins of the world, He gathers His saints to Himself.
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