Mark 9 (xxiii)

Belief is such a powerful thing. It is such a thing that however great it may be, you can still believe it and trust in Christ and neither the Devil nor Death can ever be strong enough to prevent it. Therefore, even if we are poor, or close to death, or are mired in sin, or cast down by the plague or other sicknesses, we should still believe that God sees everything very differently, and we should joyfully say: even if poverty, plague and Death are there, I as a Christian know nothing of poverty, Death or plague. For with my Lord Christ there is nothing other than riches, health, holiness and life. And even if I do not yet see it, all Christ has to do is to speak the word and I would surely see with my very eyes that this is true. This is what will happen.

The complete Luther - "A Meditation for Each Day of the Year" is available as a biligual (English and German) BREVIARY published by Wartburg Verlag Weimar. It can be purchased in English, world-wide from most internet book shops.