We all long for peace of mind––a mind that is not continually tempted and one that does not feel bothered by many things. Peace of mind is a grand thing to gain. But, how to gain it? Here is advice from our Lord Jesus Christ
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me: for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls (Matt 11:29). Temptations play an important role in our spiritual development They help us develop the strength to overcome them and grow spiritually affirming our faith.
Elder Macarius tells us that we cannot achieve peace of mind except by a battling with temptations.
He says,
Our Lord too, fought, suffered, and sorrowed much before the time of His death on the cross. He was reproached, vilified, humiliated, and tempted. And He laboriously built up for us a picture of His own life on earth, which all of us must strive to follow...
When beset by temptations pray for courage and strength to remain firm. remember: there is an eternity.
Reference: Russian Letters of Spiritual Direction, p 84
Destroy temptation and struggle with thoughts and there wouldn’t be one saint. The one who runs away from temptation is also running away from eternal life. One of the Saints states: "Who provided the holy martyrs with their crowns , if not their own torturers? Who granted the first martyr, Stephen, such great glory if not those that stoned him to death?" With this, he also quoted pronouncements of another Saint: "I do not blame those that denounce me but quite the opposite, I regard and call them my benefactors; and I do not reject the Physician of souls that has given my vain soul some medicine of piety, because I fear that He may say to it what was said before: "We ministered to Babylon, but it would not be cured".
Saint Zosima
