Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your honest update has been read with care and with prayer, and we thank you for sharing it so openly. The weight you have carried through these years in Alaska and Texas, through separation from your wife and children, through the shelter and the van and the basement, through job losses and long nights of gig work, is not hidden from God. He sees every step, every prayer, every night you have cried out for strength.
We will pray for you as you have asked, for wisdom, for guidance, for strength, for open doors, and for your family. James reminds us that the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working, and you have lifted your wife and children before the throne of grace with great perseverance. That perseverance matters. God honors a heart that keeps seeking Him, even when tired and cast down.
Your desire for reconciliation is right and good before the Lord. Marriage is a bond ordained by God, honorable in all and undefiled, where a man and a woman become one flesh. It is not to be torn apart lightly, and the Lord calls His people to pursue faithfulness, chastity, and longsuffering within that covenant. To pray for the restoration of your marriage, to remain faithful and to entrust justice to God rather than taking revenge, is to walk in the way He teaches. We will pray that if it is possible, God would soften hearts, open a way for honest communication, and bring healing where there has been deep wounding. We will also pray that you continue to walk in purity and self control, keeping your life ordered and grave as befits one who belongs to Christ, so that your witness remains clear.
We also hear how tired you are, and how you have at times prayed for death to come quickly so you might be with the Lord. We understand that weariness, yet we encourage you to pray instead for life and for endurance. The Lord who gave you life sustains it, and He has shown you again and again that He is present, in the provision of daily work, in the unexpected help of strangers on Murphy Dome, in the beauty of the northern lights and even in the moose you asked to see. These are signs of His kindness, for He did not leave Himself without witness, giving rain and fruitful seasons and filling hearts with joy. Longsuffering is a great strength. It lifts a person above despair and keeps the soul steady when difficulties press hard. Ask God each day not to take you away from trial, but to give you the abundant wisdom to endure trial with hope in Christ, who alone is our salvation.
You wonder why God brought you back to Alaska and why doors to leave have closed. God often works through closed doors as much as open ones. Continue to seek counsel from faithful men in your church, stay rooted in the Word and in fellowship, and bring practical decisions before the Lord with a clear mind. Regarding the temporary position in Arizona, pray for clear guidance. If God opens that door and it allows you to provide honestly and to live with dignity while still honoring your duties toward your family, you may walk through it with thankfulness. If He closes it, trust that He has reason and will provide another way to keep your head above water. Either way, seek to be diligent, honest in all work, and content to follow His timing rather than forcing your own.
We are praying for you now, that God would grant you restful sleep even with early hours, daily strength for gig work, provision for housing and reliable transportation, favor in finding stable employment, protection from those who would take advantage of you, and above all a deeper confidence in Jesus Christ, through whom alone we have forgiveness and eternal life. We pray for your wife and your children, that God would guard them, draw each of them to know Christ truly, and work in your wife a love for what is holy and true. We pray that whatever the future holds for your family, you would be found faithful, hopeful, and at peace in the will of God.
Do not grow weary in doing good. Keep thanking God each day as you have done, keep praying, keep working with your hands, and keep looking to Christ. He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.
We will pray for you as you have asked, for wisdom, for guidance, for strength, for open doors, and for your family. James reminds us that the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working, and you have lifted your wife and children before the throne of grace with great perseverance. That perseverance matters. God honors a heart that keeps seeking Him, even when tired and cast down.
Your desire for reconciliation is right and good before the Lord. Marriage is a bond ordained by God, honorable in all and undefiled, where a man and a woman become one flesh. It is not to be torn apart lightly, and the Lord calls His people to pursue faithfulness, chastity, and longsuffering within that covenant. To pray for the restoration of your marriage, to remain faithful and to entrust justice to God rather than taking revenge, is to walk in the way He teaches. We will pray that if it is possible, God would soften hearts, open a way for honest communication, and bring healing where there has been deep wounding. We will also pray that you continue to walk in purity and self control, keeping your life ordered and grave as befits one who belongs to Christ, so that your witness remains clear.
We also hear how tired you are, and how you have at times prayed for death to come quickly so you might be with the Lord. We understand that weariness, yet we encourage you to pray instead for life and for endurance. The Lord who gave you life sustains it, and He has shown you again and again that He is present, in the provision of daily work, in the unexpected help of strangers on Murphy Dome, in the beauty of the northern lights and even in the moose you asked to see. These are signs of His kindness, for He did not leave Himself without witness, giving rain and fruitful seasons and filling hearts with joy. Longsuffering is a great strength. It lifts a person above despair and keeps the soul steady when difficulties press hard. Ask God each day not to take you away from trial, but to give you the abundant wisdom to endure trial with hope in Christ, who alone is our salvation.
You wonder why God brought you back to Alaska and why doors to leave have closed. God often works through closed doors as much as open ones. Continue to seek counsel from faithful men in your church, stay rooted in the Word and in fellowship, and bring practical decisions before the Lord with a clear mind. Regarding the temporary position in Arizona, pray for clear guidance. If God opens that door and it allows you to provide honestly and to live with dignity while still honoring your duties toward your family, you may walk through it with thankfulness. If He closes it, trust that He has reason and will provide another way to keep your head above water. Either way, seek to be diligent, honest in all work, and content to follow His timing rather than forcing your own.
We are praying for you now, that God would grant you restful sleep even with early hours, daily strength for gig work, provision for housing and reliable transportation, favor in finding stable employment, protection from those who would take advantage of you, and above all a deeper confidence in Jesus Christ, through whom alone we have forgiveness and eternal life. We pray for your wife and your children, that God would guard them, draw each of them to know Christ truly, and work in your wife a love for what is holy and true. We pray that whatever the future holds for your family, you would be found faithful, hopeful, and at peace in the will of God.
Do not grow weary in doing good. Keep thanking God each day as you have done, keep praying, keep working with your hands, and keep looking to Christ. He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.
