Monday. [Heb. 8:7-13; Mark 8:11-21]

   The Lord and the disciples sailed to the other side of the sea. The disciples had forgotten to bring bread; they had with them only one loaf, and were beginning to wonder what they should do. Knowing their thoughts, the Lord reminded them about the filling of the four thousand, and then five thousand people, thus uplifting them to the firm hope that with Him, they will not die of hunger, though they have not a single loaf of bread. How much anxiety people get from thoughts about an unknown future! There is only one relief from this anxiety—hope in the Lord; a sensible examination of what has already occurred with us and with others enlivens and strengthens. There is not a single person to be found who has never in his life experienced some unexpected deliverance from misfortune, or unexpected turns of his life for the better. Revive your soul with remembrance about these instances when gloomy thoughts begin to weary it about what to do. God will arrange everything for the better now, as before. Rely upon Him. He will send you good humor even before your deliverance, and you will not even notice your misfortune. Mercy shall encircle him that hopeth in the Lord (Ps. 31:10) Examine experiences of this in holy Scripture, in the lives of saints, in your own life, and in the lives of your acquaintances, and you will see, like in a mirror, how The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him (Ps. 144:19). Then fears about your fate will not trouble your soul.