” ‘God will forgive you!’ said he. ‘Maybe I am a hundred times worse than you.’ And at these words his heart grew light and the longing for home left him. He no longer had any desire to leave the prison, but only hoped for his last hour to come. “ 

What caused this change in Ivan’s heart? When Ivan entered the prison he began to seek God, reading the Lives of the Saints, and singing in the prison church choir. Eventually the very evil that brought Ivan to the prison pushed him into the arms of the God whom he sought, where he found great mercy, grace, and consolation. The mercy, grace, and consolation he found in the arms of God empowered Ivan to finally let go of his bitterness and trust God with his life.

When we, like Ivan, are being crushed by evil, we have a choice. Will we become bitter and flee from God or will we flee to the arms of God, the only arms big enough to hold our souls safe the maelstrom of evil?