God is holy and just. His holiness abhors sin and in His justice, He punishes wrongdoing whether it is committed against Him, against neighbor, nature or even self. However, God is merciful in His administration of justice. On this matter, God is immutable. Scripture teaches us too that there is a clear preference for the weak, the oppressed, the sinner who admits his failings and commits to making amends in the administration of God’s prerogative of mercy. When the poor and downtrodden cry, the Lord hears them and responds speedily.

God has given us inherent capacity to accomplish many things by ourselves. There are also many other things that may be quite difficult if not outrightly impossible for us to accomplish without Divine help. St. Paul held that, "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12).

The most meaningful form of gratitude we can offer for the many blessings we have received from God is a willful and generous surrendering of self in alignment with God’s will. When we receive a gift from anyone, especially if such a gift is life changing, the natural response is usually to express how grateful we are and how much we value that gift by communicating our thankfulness. This is what we see with Naaman the Syrian (Aramean) general who despite being a foreigner sought and found the prophet Elisha and after an initial hesitation did what the prophet asked him to do and plunged himself into the Jordan seven times to receive a miraculous healing from leprosy. He promptly returned and offered the prophet many gifts as an expression of his profound gratitude but the prophet declined receiving them.

It is quite easy for us to profess our faith in God and in His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, when the tide of life flows in our favor. We have all the words we need to motivate and encourage others when fortune seems to be smiling broadly upon us in every facet of life. It could be another story when we face trying moments where nothing seems to be working for us, when even God seems to have turned His back towards us and responds with silence when we cry out for help in prayer.