Don't Give Up! Quotes Against Despair:

• St. John Climacus (The Ladder of Divine Ascent):"Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly, the angel who guards you will honor your patience."

​

• St. John Chrysostom:"For as long as a person keeps getting up again, all is not lost, even if he falls a thousand times. As long as he gets up again and does not stay lying down, the devil has not won."

​

• St. Paisios of Mount Athos:"We must get up every time we fall, with the realization of our weakness and repentance, asking for God’s mercy and help."

​

• St. Silouan the Athonite:"There is no sin that cannot be forgiven except the sin of unrepentance. Even if you have fallen, get up again! The Lord does not abandon anyone who wants to be saved."

​

• St. Isaac the Syrian:"Do not fall into despair because of your stumblings. I do not mean that you should not feel pain because of them, but that you should not think them incurable. There is nothing worse than despair."

​

• St. Anthony the Great:"Expect temptation to your last breath. As long as you live, expect that you will fall, but do not despair of getting up again."

​

• St. Nikolai Velimirovich:"God does not mind our falling as much as He minds our not getting up again. This life is for a constant rising and falling, but repentance lifts us up."

​

• St. Theophan the Recluse:"A person who falls and rises again is much stronger than one who has never fallen. God permits falls to humble us and to strengthen our reliance on His grace."

​

• St. Seraphim of Sarov:"However great the number of your falls, it is always better to struggle with yourself and to rise from your falls with the hope of God’s mercy, than to fall into despondency and neglect your salvation."

​

• St. Ambrose of Optina:"If you fall, rise and you shall be saved. Even if you fall again and again, rise each time and be saved. For the Lord will forgive you every sin if you repent with all your heart."

​

• St. Mark the Ascetic:"Do not be discouraged if you fall again and again; it is in falling and getting up again that a person learns humility and comes to understand their total dependence on God’s grace."

​

• St. John of Kronstadt:"If you fall, rise, and you shall be saved. Even if you fall a thousand times, as long as you do not surrender to sin, you will be saved through repentance."

​

• St. Peter of Damascus:"If you fall, do not despair. But get up with humility and ask forgiveness from God, and He will help you. For there is no sin that He cannot forgive, except the sin of despair and giving up hope."

​

• St. Ephraim the Syrian:"Blessed is the man who rises from his falls, for the Lord will not reject a humble soul who turns back to Him in repentance."

​

• St. Theophylact of Ochrid:"The righteous person is not someone who never falls, but one who, after falling, rises again with greater determination and strength. For the mercy of God is greater than our sin."

​

• Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica:"The enemy of our souls is not so much concerned with our falling, but with making us stay down in despair. Rise up quickly and cry out to the Lord for help, and He will lift you up."

​

• St. Gregory of Nyssa:"To fall is human, but to remain in the fallen state is demonic. The righteous person is one who rises up, trusting in the mercy of God, who is always ready to forgive and heal."

​

• St. Macarius the Great:"Even if you fall seventy times seven, rise again and repent, and you will be saved. The Lord does not abandon those who call upon Him in humility."

​

• St. Nicodemus the Hagiorite:"God permits us to fall so that we may become aware of our weakness and humble ourselves. But He also gives us the grace to rise again through repentance. Never despair, for God’s mercy is endless."

​

• St. Joseph the Hesychast:"The Lord permits many falls to make you realize your own helplessness and to seek His strength. The more you rise after each fall, the more you are purified through humility and repentance."