Answer: Troubles and misfortunes are sent upon us from God, but even in this amazing goodness is shown:

1) Through His word, God calls everyone to repentance, as we read in many places of the Holy Scriptures and hear in churches, but when people do not turn and do not repent, He sends misfortunes upon them, so that they may be moved to repentance and seek Him. You see the goodness of God here too. God, not wishing our destruction, sends misfortunes upon us: He punishes us here, but does not kill us, corrects us so that we are saved, and does not destroy us. In His Scriptures, God threatens us with hell as well, lest we fall into hell. You see what is the purpose of the misfortunes sent against us. This is also done by pious authorities, who do not torture their subjects, but punish them in order to become good. For many are corrected and saved by misfortunes, as we read in books.

2) Those who are not corrected by misfortunes already perish in their malice. Thus Pharaoh was repeatedly punished, but did not reform, but became hardened and died.

3) The good and pious accept punishments in order to be established in godliness, for in well-being a person, because he is weak, is conveniently turned away from the good path. Therefore, they are also punished in order to become better. For just as a tree, the more it is purified, the more fruit it bears, so a good Christian, the more it is punished, the better fruits of virtue it produces. The Lord says about this: "Every branch that bears fruit in Me He cleanses (the Father), that it may bear more fruit" (John 15:2). Thus pious people learn the beautiful virtues: humility, patience, meekness, and love, and by them to follow and conform to their Lord.

4) Pious souls taste sorrows in the world, so as not to forget their heavenly homeland and not to consider the world as their homeland, but to raise their thoughts and strive there, where there are no misfortunes, troubles, sickness and sighing.

Ponder about this, and in adversity kiss, glorify and magnify the goodness of God.

Save yourself.

Letter fiftieth

Now let us learn in the truth of God. God is true, and His word is truth. What God reveals is exactly as He reveals, and what He promises and predicts will certainly come to pass in due time. The words of God shall not pass away (Matthew 24:35).

We come to know the truth of God from the fact that His words are fulfilled. God foretold to the forefathers in Paradise that, having eaten of the commanded tree, they would die by death, and having eaten, they died. He announced that there would be a flood – and there was a flood. He said to the forefather Abraham that his descendants would come to Egypt, and they would be embittered there, and they would be delivered, and so it happened. He promised to give them the land of Canaan as an inheritance – and he did. He promised to send the Messiah into the world and thus save the world, and it came to pass that the Messiah came, and those who believe in Him are saved.

From past events we conclude about future ones. He declared in the Scriptures that there will be a resurrection of the dead, there will be the judgment of Christ, there will be eternal torment and eternal life – and it will certainly be so. So this is true, as it is true that yesterday and other past days were and are today. Therefore, we have His holy word, written in the Bible, as the foundation and foundation of our faith and all our piety, since His word is true, not false, and reliable, just like God Himself. He must be believed as if God Himself were speaking directly to us. The Lord's testimony is true. He should be believed more than the whole world. For all men can lie, but God's Word cannot lie.

From the knowledge of the truth of God follows the following:

1) Let us not doubt anything that God has not revealed, or promised, or predicted in the Holy Scriptures.