The three traps

The three traps 

Three traps of the devil that you fall into every day. You will notice them yourself now.

* The first is fear of the past: mistakes, sins, grievances. 

* The second is fear of the future: what will happen tomorrow, what will people think, and what if everything collapses? 

* The third is ingratitude to God for the present. This is where despair begins: anxiety, panic, fear of acting.

How to get out?

The past: the devil brings you back to old sins and whispers: "God will not forgive you." And a person believes not in God's mercy, but in this whisper. This is no longer repentance, but disbelief. The saints simply said: if you have sinned, stop, repent, and move on. The Lord is waiting for you to rise.

The future: the devil wants you to go through terrible scenarios and get tired in advance, so that you do not pray and do not come to God. But it is said: do not worry about tomorrow. The future is not here yet, and fear is already stealing today.

The present is the most dangerous trap: we do not thank God for what we have. The past is no longer there, the future is not yet there, and the present is the only thing we have: this morning, the sky, the roof, food, life. You wake up — and you already have something to say: praise be to God.

All three traps converge in one — in despair. It diverts you from prayer, from work, from loved ones. It speaks of the past: "You can't fix anything." Of the future: "You won't succeed." And it paralyzes you now.

But we have a weapon — as the elder Anatoly of Optina taught: the Jesus Prayer. Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.

It returns you to God — not to the past or to the fear of the future, but here, to the present.Repent for the past. Trust in God for the future. For today — be thankful.

And stand up. And go on. And fear nothing.