Silas
Beloved of All
Your honesty in sharing these heavy burdens is received with care and prayer. The weight you are carrying for yourself and for your son, the pressure over your home and finances, the long struggle with fear and anxiety, and the desire to truly live and find joy again are all brought before the Lord.
There is a beautiful greeting in the letter of John to his friend where he expresses his wish that he would prosper and be in health even as his soul prospers. That is not presented as a blanket promise that God guarantees perfect health or wealth to everyone, but it is a tender and right prayer to pray for one another. What is meaningful there is the connection it shows between the inner life and the outer life. As the soul is nourished and made well in fellowship with God, that health often touches the rest of our lives. We are learning more and more how closely our inner attitudes affect our bodies, and Scripture said long ago that a joyful heart is like good medicine, while fear and discouragement can wear the body down. Our prayer is that God would first strengthen and prosper your soul as you walk close to Him, and that from that rootedness you would experience renewed strength mentally, physically and spiritually.
A large part of what you described is fear that keeps you from being present and from living freely. Scripture teaches that faith and fear cannot occupy the same space. When one grows, the other fades. We see this when Peter stepped out to walk toward Jesus on the water. While his eyes were on the Lord he walked, but when he looked at the wind and the waves, fear took hold and he began to sink. In the same way, fear comes when we forget the nearness of the Lord, and faith returns when we remember Him. David said that even though he walked through the valley of death he would fear no evil because the Lord was with him. That remembering is the cure for fear. It is not a fear that makes you hide or make hasty decisions, but a reverent awe of God, a desire to love what He loves and to turn away from what He calls evil. That kind of fear of the Lord is described as the beginning and the sum of wisdom. It brings strong confidence, and it carries a promise that those who live in that reverence will not lack what they truly need. Even the young lions may go hungry, but those who honor the Lord will be cared for. He becomes our confidence and keeps our feet from being caught.
Jesus showed His compassion again and again by healing those who were brought to Him, whether it was a person with leprosy, the servant of a centurion, or the mother of Peter lying sick at home. Matthew connects that ministry to what Isaiah foretold, that He bore our infirmities and carried our sorrows. He has authority in the physical realm and in the spiritual realm, and no attack against you financially, mentally, physically or spiritually is beyond His power to address. We do not approach Him as a distant figure, but as one who is tender and near.
We are praying for you in these specific ways. That God would restore what has been lost in years and opportunities according to His wisdom and mercy, and that He would give you a renewed capacity for joy and presence with your son. That He would lift the weight of fear and anxiety and replace it with faith, peace and a steady mind fixed on Christ. That He would surround you with godly, helpful people who will encourage and support you, and that His favor and peace would rest on your home. That He would grant you favor with those who manage your housing and make a way for you to remain securely housed. That He would bring healing and wholeness where you have been attacked, and that as you walk in reverence for Him and turn from evil, you would know the health and strength He gives to body and soul. And that you would honor Him with what you have, trusting Him as your provider.
May the Lord keep you close, quiet your heart with His presence, and let you and your son know His keeping power day by day.
There is a beautiful greeting in the letter of John to his friend where he expresses his wish that he would prosper and be in health even as his soul prospers. That is not presented as a blanket promise that God guarantees perfect health or wealth to everyone, but it is a tender and right prayer to pray for one another. What is meaningful there is the connection it shows between the inner life and the outer life. As the soul is nourished and made well in fellowship with God, that health often touches the rest of our lives. We are learning more and more how closely our inner attitudes affect our bodies, and Scripture said long ago that a joyful heart is like good medicine, while fear and discouragement can wear the body down. Our prayer is that God would first strengthen and prosper your soul as you walk close to Him, and that from that rootedness you would experience renewed strength mentally, physically and spiritually.
A large part of what you described is fear that keeps you from being present and from living freely. Scripture teaches that faith and fear cannot occupy the same space. When one grows, the other fades. We see this when Peter stepped out to walk toward Jesus on the water. While his eyes were on the Lord he walked, but when he looked at the wind and the waves, fear took hold and he began to sink. In the same way, fear comes when we forget the nearness of the Lord, and faith returns when we remember Him. David said that even though he walked through the valley of death he would fear no evil because the Lord was with him. That remembering is the cure for fear. It is not a fear that makes you hide or make hasty decisions, but a reverent awe of God, a desire to love what He loves and to turn away from what He calls evil. That kind of fear of the Lord is described as the beginning and the sum of wisdom. It brings strong confidence, and it carries a promise that those who live in that reverence will not lack what they truly need. Even the young lions may go hungry, but those who honor the Lord will be cared for. He becomes our confidence and keeps our feet from being caught.
Jesus showed His compassion again and again by healing those who were brought to Him, whether it was a person with leprosy, the servant of a centurion, or the mother of Peter lying sick at home. Matthew connects that ministry to what Isaiah foretold, that He bore our infirmities and carried our sorrows. He has authority in the physical realm and in the spiritual realm, and no attack against you financially, mentally, physically or spiritually is beyond His power to address. We do not approach Him as a distant figure, but as one who is tender and near.
We are praying for you in these specific ways. That God would restore what has been lost in years and opportunities according to His wisdom and mercy, and that He would give you a renewed capacity for joy and presence with your son. That He would lift the weight of fear and anxiety and replace it with faith, peace and a steady mind fixed on Christ. That He would surround you with godly, helpful people who will encourage and support you, and that His favor and peace would rest on your home. That He would grant you favor with those who manage your housing and make a way for you to remain securely housed. That He would bring healing and wholeness where you have been attacked, and that as you walk in reverence for Him and turn from evil, you would know the health and strength He gives to body and soul. And that you would honor Him with what you have, trusting Him as your provider.
May the Lord keep you close, quiet your heart with His presence, and let you and your son know His keeping power day by day.
