When some crises happen in christian’s or wider — in Church’s life, we direct our eyes on Holy Scriptures in order to find answers to questions and proper examples of behavior. It’s not surprising, because God’s people both during christian and pre-christian era rubbed through many crises, misfortunes and tragedies.

So just Israelite people, who got especial gift from Savior of the World well ahead of His birthday — the gift of bringing the Truth. Basically, old-testament Church had confined in this God-chosen nation. The people of God had rubbed through many things since this long history: conversion to real God, Egyptian slavery, forty years trip to the promise land, Babylon captivity, and then, the returning to the Holy Land and expecting the Messiah’s coming.

By red line the main thought goes through all this story: crises come for people’s secession from True God, and forgiving and restoring — for people’s repent.

But every time when people distanced from God, prophets came who warned about the result of this secession.

Jeremiah the Prophet said scary words to his people: «This is what the Lord of armies has said: See, I will send on them the sword and need of food and disease, and will make them like bad figs, which are of no use for food, they are so bad. I will go after them, attacking them with the sword and with need of food and with disease, and will make them a cause of fear to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and a wonder and a surprise and a name of shame among all the nations where I have sent them: Because they have not given ear to my words, says the Lord, when I sent to them my servants the prophets, getting up early and sending them; but you did not give ear, says the Lord» (Jeremiah 29:17-19).

However, as the example of repented ninevites shows (who not only weren’t belonged to chosen nation, but also they were pagans), the repentance is able to save from any misfortune which we know from the Book of Job.

Old-testament story is the example for all of us in some way. This example is so simple. The sin distances people from God and thereby deprives their defence from evil strengths. A repentance, by contrast, approaches people to Lord like no other and guards stronger than any strength in this world.

Of course, we can ask: are we really more wicked than all people, so all misfortunes and deprivations happened to us? We have an answer to this question. Christ, talking about people who died in the tower destroying in Jerusalem, said the following: «Or those eighteen men who were crushed by the fall of the tower of Siloam, were they worse than all the other men living in Jerusalem? I say to you, It is not so: but if your hearts are not changed, you will all come to an end in the same way» (Luke 13:4-5). It means that concrete person can suffer not only due to his own sins. And only Lord know when it’s time to call up a man. But all our sins (big and small ones) in their entirety increase evil in the world, and consequently — increase misfortunes too.

Now, in different places of the earth wars, epidemics, natural disasters, sufferings and death happen. However, not many people think deeply about more scary spiritual deaths around.

And to save yourself from that not only in terrestrial, but also in coming eternal life is possible only by repentance. Exactly now, during the Lent, each of us should think about his own sins and clearing of them. Lord is merciful — He will accept and defend all repented ones.