May our love for the Sun, the will of God,
be as strong as the sunflower’s, so that even in days of hardship and sorrow we
will continue to sail unerringly along the sea of life, following the directions
of the barometer and compass of God’s will that leads us to the safe haven of
eternity. —St John of Tobolsk
This is a thoroughly practical manual of the spiritual life that
focuses on the central goal of every Christian: discerning the will of God and
struggling to mold our life to it, just as Christ “humbled Himself and became
obedient” (Philippians 2:8).
Saint John addresses fundamental questions: Why should we care about
God’s will? What are the benefits in following His will? How do we avoid common
obstacles to living in accordance with His will? The reader will find practical
and eternal wisdom running through these writings that discuss the perennial
questions of why a good God permits evil. This is the first English edition of
St John’s text, edited and abbreviated for the contemporary reader.
St John Maximovitch (1651-1715) was
Metropolitan of Tobolsk and all Siberia. He served as a missionary in Siberia
and was known for his unpretentiousness and his generosity to the poor. His
veneration among the people grew after his repose and he was glorified by the
Russian Church in 1916, becoming the last canonized saint of the
pre-revolutionary period. He is best known today as the namesake and ancestor of
the great 20th-century saint of the Russian diaspora, St John of Shanghai and
San Francisco.
| Imprint | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | |
| Author Name | John of Tobolsk |
| Translator | Nicholas Kotar |
| Language | English |
| Book Dimensions | 229 × 153 mm × 20 mm |
| Format Detail | Paperback |
| Publication Date | 20180815 |
| Editor | Holy Trinity Monastery |
| Pages | 352 |
| Format | BC |
| Editor’s Preface | ||
| Part I | ||
| 1 | Discerning the Will of God and Conforming to It |
|
| 2 | Why Does God Allow Evil? | |
| 3 | How to Recognize God’s Will in His Inscrutable Judgments |
|
| 4 | How to Determine God’s Will in All Events and Actions |
|
| 5 | How God’s Will Is Revealed in Jesus Christ, and How We Can Conform Ourselves to It |
|
| Part II | ||
| 6 | On Completely Committing One’s Life, Will, and Works to the Will of God |
|
| 7 | How Can Human Will Become Pleasing and Worthy of Union with God’s Will? |
|
| 8 | How Human Will Can Conform to Divine Will in Various Everyday Circumstances |
|
| 9 | On the Meaning and Significance of the Prayer “Thy Will Be Done on Earth as It Is in Heaven,” and with What Spiritual Disposition One Must Utter These Words |
|
| 10 | Which Signs Indicate That Our Will Agrees with God’s Will? |
|
| Part III | ||
| 11 | The Peace of Soul That Comes from Following God’s Will |
|
| 12 | Is It Possible to Avoid Sorrow Entirely? |
|
| 13 | Fashioning One’s Will to God’s Is a Pleasing Sacrifice to God |
|
| 14 | Human Perfection Is Contingent on the Coordination between One’s Desires and Actions and God’s Will as Revealed in the Law or in One’s Own Life |
|
| 15 | Conforming the Human Will with the Will of God Is the Greatest Good in Life |
|
| 16 | The Agreement of the Human Will with the Divine Is Truly Heaven on Earth, the Only Genuine Blessedness in Life |
|
| Part IV | ||
| 17 | What Prevents Us from Living According to God’s Will |
|
| 18 | The Dangers of Irrational, Unrestrained, and Deeply Rooted Self-Will |
|
| 19 | How Our Will Can Become Obedient to the Will of God in All Things, Even in That Which We Do Not Desire |
|
| 20 | An Instructive Example for People Who Refuse to Follow God’s Direction |
|
| 21 | Factors That Incline Us to Disobey God |
|
| 22 | We Must Be Ready to Reject Ourselves and Submit Our Will to God Both during Times of Trouble and in the Hour of Our Death |
|
| Part V | ||
| 23 | The Agreement between Human and Divine Will Cannot Occur without Complete Trust in God |
|
| 24 | The Essence of Trust in God | |
| 25 | By What Means We Can Confirm within Ourselves a Firm Trust in God, Especially in Times of Trouble? |
|
| 26 | How the Saints Trusted God | |
| 27 | The Many and Diverse Gifts That God Gives to Those Who Trust in Him |
|
| 28 | Trust in God Weakens and Dies without Acknowledgment of His Providence |
|
| 29 | How Greatly God Provides for All Our Needs in Life |
|
| 30 | God’s Providence for the Righteous |
|
| 31 | God’s Providence for Friends and Enemies |
|
| 32 | Concerning Widespread Doubt or Weak Faith in God |
|
| 33 | Knowledge of God’s Providence Leads to Greater Trust in God, and This Trust Gives Birth to Agreement with God and His Holy Will |
|
| Appendix: A Short Biography of the author of The Sunflower, St John Maximovich, Archbishop of Chernigov and Metropolitan of Tobolsk |
||
| Notes | ||
| Subject Index | ||
| Scripture Index |
