There is No Security from Temptation in This Life
The Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, in this life you are never safe, and as long as you live the weapons of the spirit will
ever be necessary to you. You dwell among enemies. You are subject to attack from the right and
the left. If, therefore, you do not guard yourself from every quarter with the shield of patience, you
will not remain long unscathed.
Moreover, if you do not steadily set your heart on Me, with a firm will to suffer everything for
My sake, you will not be able to bear the heat of this battle or to win the crown of the blessed. You
ought, therefore, to pass through all these things bravely and to oppose a strong hand to whatever
stands in your way. For to him who triumphs heavenly bread is given, while for him who is too
lazy to fight there remains much misery.
If you look for rest in this life, how will you attain to everlasting rest? Dispose yourself, then,
not for much rest but for great patience. Seek true peace, not on earth but in heaven; not in men or
in other creatures but in God alone. For love of God you should undergo all things cheerfully, all
labors and sorrows, temptations and trials, anxieties, weaknesses, necessities, injuries, slanders,
rebukes, humiliations, confusions, corrections, and contempt. For these are helps to virtue. These
are the trials of Christ’s recruit. These form the heavenly crown. For a little brief labor I will give
an everlasting crown, and for passing confusion, glory that is eternal.
Do you think that you will always have spiritual consolations as you desire? My saints did not
always have them. Instead, they had many afflictions, temptations of various kinds, and great
desolation. Yet they bore them all patiently. They placed their confidence in God rather than in
themselves, knowing that the sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glory
that is to come. And you—do you wish to have at once that which others have scarcely obtained
after many tears and great labors?
Wait for the Lord, act bravely, and have courage. Do not lose trust. Do not turn back but devote
your body and soul constantly to God’s glory. I will reward you most plentifully. I will be with
you in every tribulation.