Why does God take children? Why did this happen to me, God? Father Alexy Darashevich: “Everything happens according to the will of God”
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Why does God take away innocent little children? For whose sins do children die, why does God allow children to die?
Here is a series of questions I heard at the funeral of our little parishioner, baby Verochka.
Yes, it happens like this, and the baby was not two years old, you can say she didn’t see life, but the Lord took it to himself. Yes, when an innocent baby dies, even a believing person has questions: is there a God in the world? Where was He at that moment, where did He look and why did He allow it? First of all, this is a test of faith for the believer.
When an adult person dies, due to some serious and long-term illness, or when we lose our old people, we realize that the person himself is the cause of a serious illness, and even when, you understand that there are no guilty parties, it’s just the turn to move to another world . It is hard for us to lose loved ones, both young and old, but when a person dies who has lived his life, understood what life is, for some reason it is easier for us to find the answer - why the Lord ordered it this way, or why a person died before reaching a ripe old age. 
Notice, when a person dies in extreme old age, by his own death, we do not look for the guilty, we do not ask any questions, everything seems to be as it should be. And if a person dies in middle age, we also understand everything logically, although we are looking for the guilty - it could be ecology, bad habits, error doctors and so on, the list will be long.
For some reason, it's always like this when someone dies, we look for the guilty, we look for the cause, and since, realizing that there is a God above us, and he is omnipotent, we ask the question - why did God not save the baby? Why didn’t he save, because the child didn’t sin in anything? Some, in despair that a misfortune happened in the family, see in this will of God not justice, saying this - it would be better if you took away a drug addict, or a murderer, a lawless one! Yes, this is how we see from our side, we have lost a little man who did not even have time to sin, to see the fullness of the world.
True believers will not blame the Almighty, of course they have a number of questions, for whose fault, for what sin did the Lord allow such grief? Heartbroken parents are looking for answers to questions, but we do not know the answer. Let's remember one moment from the Gospel about the man born blind: And as he passed, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him: Rabbi! who sinned, he or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered: neither he nor his parents sinned, but it was so that the works of God might appear on him. . (from John 9:1-4)
Yes, there are many questions, but we will not receive answers in the near future. 
There will be a lot "maybe that's why..."
« maybe because...
And if we look for answers for what grief is - the death of a child, then it will not become easier for us. We do not know the deeds and plans of God, we cannot foresee our future even half an hour ahead, we cannot know anything for sure, especially the future of our children. We do not know the providence of God.
When such grief has come to the family, you need to realize that we live in this world temporarily, and we have real eternal life precisely when the soul is separated from the body, because our body is only the clothes of our soul. After the separation of soul and body, the human soul remains alive.
It is clear that while we live earthly life, we measure everything with earthly yardstick, we think everything with earthly thought, we guess with earthly primitive conjectures, we feel according to the earthly - bodily. Naturally, it is so sad for us to part with the bodies of our loved ones, yes, yes, it is with the bodies that we part, and our loved ones, their souls are alive and forever in our hearts, in our memory.
And given that the baby's soul is pure, the baby for his short life did not have time to sin, then the soul of the baby abides with God. Parents need to remember that when a baby dies, they have a prayer book in Paradise.
It is very difficult and even useless to console heartbroken parents, no matter what words of consolation are spoken, they will not help, the main thing is support from relatives and friends.
It must be remembered that everything that does not happen in our life, everything is only by the will of God, a good example from the Old Testament about Job the long-suffering (book of Job) as words of consolation, and answers to questions can be found in this book.
And finally I will write: The most important thing is to see all the works of God, and to see in God, first of all, a merciful father, and not a formidable judge.
Why are children dying? Why so early? Why does it hurt so much? Why was the unspeakable joy of their innocent existence replaced by such unbearable pain? And if for some unknown good of ours, then why is this good so bitter?
Why?
A young couple. We just met recently. Their only dream is to live in love. As much as possible to love each other! As complete as possible! As deep as possible! This is real life! There is not only sweetness and beauty in this, there is also strength in it. Such love cannot be a selfish feeling, it is not limited only to itself, it is not self-sufficient. Love gives birth, multiplies, gives life.
In this cycle of love, they get married, and now they are already expecting a child. He is the focus and meaning of their life together. All their dreams are now about him, all their hopes are focused on him. For the first time, someone else enters their love. He is not yet visible, but by his mere presence he multiplies and strengthens their love. Changes taking place in female body, confirm the emergence of a new life, which is not only born from love, but also gives birth to love itself. A tiny invisible baby, whom they understand without words, gives new life to parents. They discover that they love each other not only more, but in a different way. Their love has taken on a new, higher level.
A young woman feels like a mother even before the birth of a child. She is just waiting for the moment when she can finally hug her child. The day of birth comes. Natural pain is replaced by the joy of the emergence of a new life, the charm of a new presence in the house, amazement at the unique features of a new personality. Along with it come joy, sleepless nights, worries, worries, worries, hugs, kisses, toys, dreams. The kid begins to smile, talk, walk, do the first pranks, maybe even start going to school.
Our attachment to the child grows day by day. Fears and fears replace each other. We learn that someone else's child is seriously ill. The smile disappears from our face. But not for long. Deep inner fears determine our spiritual world and reflect our moods. No, It is Immpossible! This cannot happen to us. There is some reason why the disease knocked on someone else's house. The probability that she can visit our child is negligible, it almost does not exist. Collecting crumbs, grains of faith, we mentally protect ourselves with the sign of the cross. If God exists, He will look down on us, He will protect us, especially now, when, though spiritually, we have managed to call on Him. Besides, God is Love. He will take pity on us, on our poor baby. After all, our child is still so innocent. During the game, the child becomes ill, or one morning he gets heat, and we cannot bring it down for several days, or for some unknown reason, he is sick all the time. We are afraid for him, we take tests, but we are confident that the results of the studies will show that our child is on the mend, or, in the worst case, he fell ill with some kind of childhood illness that the world suffered from in the past, and in Today she is successfully treated.
Days pass. The cloudless sky of our joy is pierced one by one by lightning of medical sentences. This is cancer. The name of the diagnosis reminds us of the name of a sea delicacy. But now we have the impression that this cancer is squeezing our minds with one claw, and tearing our hearts with another. This monster consumes and torments our whole being.
We don't want to think about it, we can't realize it. Most recently, we hugged each other and rejoiced that the Lord sent us His little Angel. Today, our embraces, like a certain vessel, are filled with tears, and we are afraid that the Lord would prematurely take away from us the Angel, whom we now consider ours.
A flurry of medical research gives way to a painful invasion of unanswered "why?" Why such pain, my God? What is the fault of this innocent creature? Why did this happen to my child, who seems to me the best in the world, and not to someone else and far from me? Why should he be sick, suffer silently and resignedly, not even suspecting that he will have to endure? Why was he threatened to leave his toys, his brothers and sisters, us, his parents, this world so early? Why did all this happen to us? No logic can help us, no explanation can console us, no word can support us, no god can touch us.
We break out of this circle and seek refuge in anticipation of some miracle. But what if? Christ raised the daughter of Jairus and the son of the widow of Nain. He healed the daughter of a Canaanite woman and the centurion's servant. God especially loves children and encourages us all the time to learn innocence from them. His love is inexhaustible. How many miracles are happening somewhere far away from us, how many there were in the past! Why can't one of them happen today, to our child? What is God worth? Can't He do one little miracle?
But our desire to be comforted in this way only increases the temptation. A miracle is a miracle because it happens extremely rarely. And if this miracle happens to us, will it be injustice? Why do some people live in the constant grace-filled presence of God, while others are deprived of it? Why do some glorify the Lord, while others - and most of them - incredibly humble and plead with Him? And again, if He can work miracles, then why doesn't He heal everyone or, moreover, doesn't abolish diseases at all, so that we can live the few years that are allotted to us, joyfully and peacefully? Perhaps God exists so that we suffer, or He does not exist at all, and we just suffer and suffer?
Someone tells us that God loves us and therefore allows us such trials. And those who console us, who answer our pain with advice and words, why does God not love them, but only us? Why do their children play and laugh carelessly, while ours, emaciated and pale, lives among medicines and droppers? Why do their children joke and play pranks, while ours lives in vain hopes and belief in our lies that supposedly everything will be fine soon and he will go to school again? Why do they make plans for their children, while we are afraid to even think about the future of our child?
And if we assume that God decides that children do not get sick, then how can He endure that adults suffer and suffer? How could this relate to His love and divinity?
Why is life so tragic? Why are you afraid to love? Why don't you dare to give yourself to another? Why don't you dare to get attached to someone? After all, the stronger the love, the more painful the separation. The deeper the feelings, the greater the pain. Indeed, why?
At some point, these "whys" reach the limit of tolerance. Someone advises us not to ask questions: you can’t ask God why. Perhaps it is for this sin that our child suffers.
And yet these “whys”, when they are dictated by humble and quiet pain, not only form the image of our true “I”, but also express the deepest existential doubts of this world.
Blessing of Pain
Blessed "why"! They were sanctified by Christ Himself, dying on the Cross: My God! My God, why did you leave me?(Matt. 27, 46) My God, why did You do this to Me? What did I do to you? Am I not Your Son? This is the same question that we ask, but it also remained unanswered. It was not answered in a visible way. Subsequent events revealed the answer.
Many such bitter questions were uttered by the mouth of the long-suffering Job and inscribed by the reed of the prophet David: sacred history captured the tragic death of their children. And at the same time, these two people show us an example of amazing faith, perseverance and patience.
We turn this question to God, we ask ourselves and those people who, as we feel, love us especially. We ask this question mainly to express what is going on inside us, and at the same time hoping that someone will take pity on us. Who can give us an answer?
Saint Basil the Great, addressing a grieving father, told him that pain makes a person so sensitive that he becomes like an eye that cannot bear even the slightest speck of dust. Even the most gentle movement increases the pain of a suffering person. Words given as logical arguments become intolerable. Only tears, bewilderment itself, silence, inner prayer could calm the pain, enlighten the darkness and give rise to a tiny hope.
Pain not only awakens us, but also gives rise to love in those people who surround us. They try to put themselves in our shoes. Feeling protected, they try to share with us our feelings, which are not so pleasant for them. And they succeed. Pain breeds patience and, at the same time, a loving bond with our fellow human beings. Pain breeds truth. Compassion for others grows in our heart. Therein lies the answer. This is how comfort comes to our hearts. Its sweetness and peace are felt more than the severity of the pain experienced.
As science shows, many completely different children can be born from the same parents. We are very different from each other externally, and the inner world of each person is unique. Because of this, if someone outside tries to answer our innermost question, he will violate our sacred right: we must find our own answer, prepared for us by God. Alien wisdom will destroy the truth and freedom of God within us.
The big mistake lies in the fact that we expect a response from outside, from someone else. Which of the sages, enlightened people, philosophers, priests can be sure of the correctness of the arguments presented and knows the answer to our so personal question? The answer can only be found within yourself. Not in some similar cases, not in ponderous books, not in recipes for the consolation of the sages. The answer is not somewhere outside, someone else does not know it. It is born within us. And our own response is a gift from God.
Ultimately, all these “whys” do not have the answers that we expect due to our human weakness and poverty. If you follow the usual logic, it is impossible to find a solution. That is why Christ has told us very little about death. He simply accepted it Himself and suffered more suffering and pain than anyone else. And when He arose, His mouth was filled with living breath rather than words. He did not say anything about life or death - only prophesied about the martyrdom of Peter. Pain cannot be answered with arguments. After all, death and injustice have no logical explanation. These questions are resolved by breath and breath, which come only from God. They are resolved by the Holy Spirit and overcome by the humble acceptance of the will of God, which is always true and at the same time so incomprehensible.
The test creates a storm of unanswered questions. And we, clinging to these “why”, “maybe” and “if”, keep hope, survive in this world, waiting for something more durable and permanent. But it is not in our proposed human solution, it lies in the unexpected and supernatural Divine consolation. Each of our attempts to replace it with something human turns into injustice towards ourselves. By limiting ourselves to a rationalistic approach, we only exacerbate our personal tragedy. In dialogue with pain, injustice and death, we are forced to go beyond human dimensions. This is not only a way out of the test, but also a blessing.
The only possibility
In the end, if we can ask a question ourselves, then the answer to it must wait. Either God does not exist, or He allowed this test to give us a unique opportunity. If there had been no Crucifixion, there would have been no Resurrection. And Christ would then be just a good teacher and not by God. God gives us a unique opportunity to rise above our weaknesses, to go beyond human dimensions. We just have to see this opportunity and use it with dignity. In this case, the spiritual benefit of what is happening will be much greater than the strength and pain of the test.
Death, pain, injustice are a sacrament that can be broken by a careless word. In these circumstances, truth cannot be expressed as an opinion or argument, but manifests itself in the humble acceptance of pain. This path on the border between life and death, between grumbling and praise, between miracle and injustice, with its unexpected turns and hidden thorns, reveals to us the truth of life. To the one who resists temptation, the truth will be revealed in a form in which he never imagined it. Pain in those who can accommodate it gives rise to primordial sensitivity and reveals a reality that is otherwise impossible to see. And the point is not that some events or revelations will happen - they already exist. The point is that your eyes will open and you will be able to see them. Unfortunately, there is an indisputable truth: only by losing something very desirable, we learn and comprehend something more.
I am sure that neither pain nor injustice can abolish the love of God. God exists. And He is Love and Life. Perfect Love and all the Fullness of Life. And the greatest mystery of His being is in His coexistence with pain, injustice and death. Perhaps the greatest challenge for each of us is to coexist with our own personal pain, with the hope of taking these deep “whys” into a strong embrace, inwardly humbly waiting for God among those “injustices” that we think He sends us. .
A few days ago a young girl approached me. It seemed that the lamp of her life was barely flickering. In the midst of unbearable pain, I saw hope. In her tear-stained eyes, I saw joy, strength and wisdom.
“I want to live,” she told me. “But I didn’t come to you to confirm it to me. I have come to help you prepare to leave this world.
“I am a priest of life, not death,” I answered her, “that is why I want you to live.” But let me ask you something. During the ordeal that was sent down to you, you never asked: “Why did this happen to me, God?”
“I don’t understand you, father. I ask, "Why didn't this happen to me, God?" And I do not expect my death, but enlightenment.
God. For each of us, this word has absolutely different meanings. For some, God is the Universe, and some will write this word with a small letter. But for most of us, God is a person. Otherwise, you would not ask yourself such a question why God allows a miscarriage or missed pregnancy. Only Someone can allow something. Those who believe in God also call him differently. In this article, we will talk about the God who is omnipotent, holds the entire universe in his hands, and who can change everything at any moment. And if God is omnipotent, then how is it that He allows the conception of a child, and then his death before birth? Many are especially concerned about the question: “Why does God allow this in my life? For what?".
These are very good and valid questions. Because these questions have an answer.
When a woman experiences a miscarriage or loss of a child at any stage of pregnancy, the question arises in her heart: “Why?”, “For what?” This question is addressed to some higher power, which for some reason allows various events in life. If we ask ourselves this question, we imagine someone handing out pendels for bad behavior. It seems to us that bad things can happen to us only when we deserve it. But if something bad happened to us, and we don’t find what could lead to it, we start asking questions “for what” and “why”.
I myself asked these questions to God when I was going through a miscarriage. Especially with the second miscarriage. I felt a strong aggression towards God. I suffered that this happened to me again and asked God how could He let this happen? After all, I led a healthy lifestyle, I didn’t do anything bad to anyone. In my case, the situation was even more tragic because I did charity work, helped people and served God in the church. Therefore, these questions were very acute for me. It took about 7 years before I received my answers.
God, why did You allow this miscarriage?
Lord, what is the punishment?
These questions are not, in fact, asked to get an answer. They are more of a question containing an answer and a reproach. The answer says: It's not a fair decision, You couldn't have done this to me, You shouldn't have done this to me. With this question, we question the correctness of God's decision.
True, some women have a slightly different position. It consists in accepting the will of God. They grieve about what happened, but at the same time they say "God's will for everything."
However, neither position is correct, because they both contradict who God is. God does not punish anyone, God does not send curses, God does not directly participate in the conception of children and does not kill them in the womb. God does not take unborn children to heaven.
Everyone who believes in God, I think, will agree with me that God created this Universe, the Earth, everything that is on it, including people. And the key word in this sentence is "created". This means that the action happened in the past, it is an action already performed, it does not continue. God once created trees and put into them a system of multiplication, distribution over the earth. Also, man was created once, and a system for the reproduction of the human race was created.
Any system operates according to certain rules. When these rules are violated, the system stops working or doesn't work properly. Each system, however, needs management, support. Once having created the system, God gave us humans the ability to manage this system. The instrument of control is, first of all, the brain. We can think and therefore we can manage. And people are pretty good at it. Such directions in science as Reproductive Medicine, Perinatal Psychology, Gynecology, and others were created. All this is the accumulated knowledge of how to manage those processes that God once created.
Why does this playback system fail, why doesn't everything work the way God intended? The same science still cannot determine the cause of half of the perinatal losses for sure. But today, the number of perinatal losses and deaths of women in childbirth has decreased compared to previous centuries, when a woman with a miscarriage simply bled to death. People have made amazing progress, even solving such problems as infertility, having learned to carry out the fertilization of the egg in utero. Yet, a fifth of the entire female population continues to experience miscarriages and perinatal losses.
This is because we are still in the process of learning this area of life. Failures occur when we violate the laws of creation. When we do not know how it should function, when we do not take into account something. We miss important details.
What we may be missing:
- Influence on the process of pregnancy and childbirth of our physical condition (couples)
- Influence of the psychological state
- Environment
- And other factors
Knowing and understanding how we are created and how we function will help us avoid most of the problems in our lives, including such difficult situations as miscarriage and the loss of a baby in the womb.
The birth of a child must be preceded by a period of preparation. It just seems that everything is fine with you in this regard. If a miscarriage occurs, if there is a loss of pregnancy, this indicates that not everything is normal and you need to look for the cause.
In this process, you can just turn to God, so that He will direct you in the study in the right direction. God is not your enemy, an evil uncle who punishes you for the slightest offense. We are destroyed by a lack of knowledge, a lack of understanding of God and how the world was created.
Understanding the universe will help you find the answer to the question: Why did I have a miscarriage?. God will help you in this, because He is the Light. And the fact that tragedies occur in life, God can turn into a source of strength, wisdom and even joy. In the following articles, I will definitely share how, thanks to the fact that I survived a miscarriage, I found incredible strength in myself, gained wisdom and even more.
You can also watch the video
I am 40 years old, my son is 18 years old, for many years I tried to give birth to a second child, but it didn’t work out ... There were also miscarriages, but I understand that you are interested in the ST. at the doctor's appointment, the blood went ... and thank God they saved the reproductive organs after two purges (operations) in ...
Why didn't I feel anything? Does this mean that my next pregnancy may be in jeopardy? A frozen pregnancy does not mean that in the future you will not be able to give birth to a healthy child. On May 2, a daughter was born, everything is OK. At the end of August 2005 there was a ZB ...
There were also miscarriages, but I understand that you are interested in the ZB. After that, there was a lot, but in the end she successfully endured and gave birth to two children. Why does a missed pregnancy occur? Strictly speaking, the reasons for the "fading" of pregnancy are not fully understood.
God bless you! P.S. I had 2 ST, however, in the 1st trimester ... but I really understand your pain ... And what's better than another (it's even scary to write) child later. Hold on, strength to you and let Well, why does this happen so often?! Hold on. I went through this in March too.
A huge mass of examples of the opposite - a healthy lifestyle - and a sick child or ST. As well as drunken flights - half of the population is born this way and nothing. Why does a missed pregnancy occur?
on the day of scraping the ST, my husband had a granddaughter, he also had no time for me. and know and believe that everything will definitely work out for you again !!! it’s better to have a miscarriage at such a short time than to give birth to a sick child, think that God saved you from something ...
They probably took it home, and at home they distributed fruits and sweets to their children, their families. you should rest and then with new forces.... but God, yes, he loves the trinity... I had 2 ZBs from grief, I didn’t know what to do with myself 15. Millet is not born in a pumpkin, but is eaten with a pumpkin.
listen, why do some people skip a letter in "god"? Is it from piety and respect? but how If we are talking about the genetics of the child, then the first is OK, the second (the first ZB) has a chromosome set Think about the fact that these children are angels, pure and sinless souls. The Lord takes them to himself. children not only may not be born, children may die when they are born. kids can...
Girls, I just can’t understand why when a ZB happens, a miscarriage does not begin? Before ...., before, simply stillborn children were born at any time (16 and even 25 weeks).
Everyone is wondering when we will give birth to the second. So the hostess says: “In no case do not have an abortion, if God gives children, then he is.” And on January 27, our long-awaited baby was born at night, and a week later we bought a car, which we didn’t even dream of a year ago.
It is impossible to give a definite answer to this question. For the providence of God is inscrutable about every person” Oh, the abyss of wealth and wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments and unsearchable are His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who was his counselor? Or who gave Him in advance that He should repay? For all things come from Him, by Him and to Him. To him be glory forever, amen.” - exclaims the Apostle Paul (Rom. Ch. 11, Art. 33, 34). The Lord loves all people equally and wants everyone to be saved. Therefore, he sends death to people only in two cases: either when he sees that a person has earned the Kingdom of Heaven and is ready to move into eternity, or when he sees that a person has become stagnant in sins and will never repent and even believe in God. Therefore, the Lord takes from this life of both young people and old people. This also explains why accidents, plane crashes, etc. happen. Everything in this world is providential. The same applies to babies, and to all children in general. The Lord sees everything in advance (One of the properties of God is Omniscience). And if God sees that a child in the future will become an unrepentant sinner and slide down to the abyss of hell, then by His love He takes this child out of this life at an early age, so that the soul of the child would be blessed in the Kingdom of Heaven, and not suffer in hell. And we we don’t understand this and we grumble, forgetting the Biblical truth that “The judgment of man is different, and the judgment of God is different.” The Lord can take a child from this life for another reason - to shake and admonish proud and unbelieving parents who hoped in this life only for their strengths, connections and wealth, thinking that they have everything already seized and they can live carefree and without sorrows until the end of their lives. And the death of a child will make them remember Eternity. And in the end, both the child and the parents who believe in God will be saved. Remember the parable of the foolish rich man. Jesus Christ taught: good harvest in field. And he began to reason with himself: “What should I do? I have nowhere to collect my fruits.” And having decided, he said: “This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns, and build new ones greater than the old ones, and I will gather there all my bread and all my goods, and I will say to my soul: soul! a lot of good lies with you for many years, rest, eat, drink and be merry!” But God said to him: “insane! On this night, your soul will be taken from you (i.e., you will die); Who will get what you have prepared?” Having finished this parable, the Lord said: “So it is with the one who collects treasures for himself, and does not grow rich in God”, i.e. this should happen with every person who collects wealth only for himself, for his own conveniences and pleasures, and not for God, that is, not for good deeds pleasing to God - he does not help his neighbors and does not alleviate their suffering. Death will come to a man, and his earthly wealth will not bring his soul in the next world, in future life , no good. In general, the reasons why children die can be different, because the Lord provides for each person in His own way. In the book Fathers of the Preacher, the following incident is described: The pious widow Cleopatra had a special love for the holy martyr Uar, whose body was buried by her in her possession. She arranged a church in his honor and wished to transfer his holy relics into it. On the day they were transferred, she especially zealously prayed to the holy martyr that he would take under his protection her only son, a boy of twelve years old, who was to be sent to military service. Her prayer was heard, and the martyr, indeed, became the patron of her son, but not in military service. It happened that the lad fell seriously ill that day and died at night. Instead of submitting to the will of the Lord inscrutable in His ways, Cleopatra indulged in great despair. She even went so far as to attribute the loss of her son to the martyr and severely reproach him. The temptation did not last long, however. Soon Saint Ouar appeared to her together with her son and said: “Why do you reproach me? Is it really just because I took your son into the army of the Heavenly King?” Following the martyr, her son turned to her with these words: “Why do you grieve so hopelessly, my mother? I am now enlisted in the army of the King of Christ and together with the Angels I stand before Him, and you want me to pass from the Kingdom into squalor.” Hearing these words and seeing her son clothed in heavenly glory, the amazed and delighted mother exclaimed: “Oh, if so, then take me with you!” “Be patient,” the martyr answered her, “and arrange your property for the glory of the Lord, and after that you yourself will come to eternal dwellings.” The vision ended, and with it Cleopatra's despair also passed. After the burial of her son, she really did with the estate, as the martyr advised her, that is, she distributed it to the poor, and then every Sunday for a year she was honored to see her son with the martyr Uar in angelic clothes, and then she herself died peacefully, pleasing God . (Prot. V. Guryev. Prologue. P. 119). Here is another case: They say that Abba Anthony, being once perplexed by the depth of God's dispensation (ruling of the world) and God's judgments, prayed and said: “Lord! Why do some people reach old age and a state of infirmity, others die in childhood and live little? Why are some poor and others rich? Why do tyrants and villains prosper and abound in earthly blessings, while the righteous are oppressed by adversity and poverty? For a long time he thought like this, and a voice came to him: “Anthony! Pay attention to yourself and do not subject the fate of God to scrutiny, because this is soul-damaging.” (Bishop Ignatius. Fatherland. S. 38. No. 195). One hermit asked God to let him understand the ways of His Providence, and imposed a fast on himself. However, God did not reveal to him what he wanted to know. The monk still did not stop praying, and, finally, the Lord enlightened him. When he went to an old man living far from him, an angel appeared to him in the form of a monk and offered him to be a companion. The hermit was very pleased with the offer, and they went on together. When the day turned to evening, they stopped for the night with a pious man, and he received them with such honor that he even offered food on a silver platter. But what a surprise! Immediately after the meal, the angel took the dish and threw it into the sea. The elder was perplexed, but said nothing. They went further and the next day they stopped at another, also a pious man, and this one also received them with joy: he washed their feet and paid every attention. But again, trouble! When the hermit and his companion began to prepare for the journey, the owner brought his young son to them to be blessed. But instead of blessing the angel, having touched the boy, took his soul. Neither the elder from horror, nor the father from despair could utter a word, and the elder ran out, and the companion, not lagging behind, followed him. On the third day of the journey, they had nowhere to stay, except for one dilapidated and abandoned house, and they took shelter in it. The elder sat down to eat, and the companion, to his amazement, again began a strange deed. He began to destroy the house, and having destroyed, he began to build anew. Seeing this, the elder could not bear it: “Who are you, a demon or an angel? What are you doing? he exclaimed angrily. - On the third day, he took away a dish from a good man and threw it into the sea. Yesterday he took the life of a youth, and today for some reason he destroyed it and started building this house again?” Then the Angel said to him: “Do not wonder, elder, do not be offended by this about me, but listen to what I tell you. The first husband who accepted us, indeed, does everything pleasing to God, but the dish thrown by me was acquired by him by untruth. That is why I left him, so that he would not ruin his reward. The second husband is also pleasing to God, but if his young son had grown up, he would have become a terrible villain; therefore I took his soul for the good of his father, that he also might be saved.” - “Well, what were you doing here?” - asked the old man. The angel continued: “The owner of this house was a man of immorality, because of this he became impoverished and left. His grandfather, having built this house, hid gold in the wall, and some people know about it. That is why I ruined it, so that from now on no one would look for gold here and perish through it. The angel concluded his speech in this way: “Return, elder, to your cell and do not suffer without your mind, for thus says the Holy Spirit: “Wonderful are His fates, great is His wisdom!” (Isaiah 28:29). Therefore, do not try them - it will not do you any good. The angel then became invisible, and the stricken old man repented of his error and then told everyone about what had happened. (Prot. V. Guryev. Prologue. P. 200). Think about it! God bless you!