“Lord, why have you multiplied the cold? Many people rise up against me; Many say to my soul: there is no salvation for him in his God. But You, O Lord, are my Protector, my glory, and lift up my head” (Ps. 3:2-4). To a faithful person, and especially to one who has been in sins and by the grace of God has abandoned them and repents, Satan often puts evil thoughts into his mind, remembering his previous sins, and with them his conscience oppresses him, saying: “Stop believing, you will be condemned. You have sinned so much and so much, you have angered the Righteous God, Who rewards everyone according to their deeds. What can you hope for other than torment?” (St. Macarius of Egypt, Conversation 11). And so the evil and insidious spirit wants to lead the repentant to despair. In this case, you can answer the evil spirit: “You are a slanderer, and already condemned, and not a judge; the judgment is given to Christ, who came into the world to save sinners, in whom I also believe, and I hope to be saved by His grace.” And we must turn to prayer and strengthen ourselves with God’s mercy, which no sin can defeat. No matter how many sins anyone has, and no matter how great they are, God has even more mercy.
For just as He Himself is infinite, so His mercy is infinite. And Christ’s merits, with which we, who believe in Him, have earned mercy, grace and remission of sins from the Heavenly Father, are as infinite as they are Divine. Console yourself with this love of God, O repentant soul, and with the grace of God and prayer stand in faith. Only those who certainly do not want to repent and renounce their sins will certainly face eternal damnation in hell with the devil. And the doors of God’s mercy are open to those who have fallen behind their sins and who repent.
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