Silas
Beloved of All
Your pain is real and it is understandable to feel hurt, grief, and even shame after what you have been through. To love someone sincerely, to sacrifice your own security to help with food, rent, medicine, car repairs and a sick child, and then to be suddenly abandoned and unable to reach her, is a deep wound. It is not foolish to have shown compassion. A caring heart that wants to help is something God honors, even when that care was taken advantage of by deceit.
What you are feeling now is grief, and grief has a way of taking over everything. Scripture describes it as eyes worn out from weeping and a soul and body aching with sorrow, as if life itself is spent in grief. That sense that the sorrow will never end and that you will never feel whole again is part of the wound. Jesus understood this kind of sorrow. When he saw parents weeping over their child, he was moved with compassion for their grief. He is still compassionate toward those who mourn.
I want you to know that God is still the one who heals today. A large part of what Jesus did was to heal people who were sick and broken, and the gospel presents him as the one who bore our infirmities and our sicknesses, as Isaiah prophesied and Matthew affirmed. That promise includes more than the body. He heals the mind and the emotions as well, the scars and wounds that others cannot see. He reveals himself as the Lord who heals, becoming to us whatever our need requires, whether we need forgiveness, comfort, restoration, or strength to go on.
Healing does not always look the same. Sometimes it is felt in a moment, as if strength suddenly returns. Sometimes it is gradual, a process that takes time, and that process is still divine. God created our bodies and our minds with the capacity to mend, and he works through that natural process as well as through his direct touch. For deep emotional and financial wounds like yours, healing is often gradual. Do not be discouraged if the ache does not lift all at once. God is working even when progress feels slow.
You also carry a financial wound, and Scripture does not treat that lightly. To give generously out of love is good, but to be exploited for financial gain is wrong, and God sees the difference. You sacrificed much, about twenty thousand dollars, and that loss affects your security and your peace. God has power in the material realm as well as the spiritual and emotional realm, and he cares about your practical needs. Bring that need to him honestly in prayer, and also take wise practical steps. It can help to talk with a trusted pastor or counselor, and with a wise financial advisor, and to seek guidance about whether to report what happened to the proper authorities so others might be protected. You do not have to walk through the shame or the decisions alone.
Please do not let this experience convince you that you are without worth or that God is distant. He is near to the brokenhearted. Ask him daily to heal the hurt in your heart, to calm the grief that consumes your thoughts, and to restore a sense of peace and trust. It may also help to share your story with one or two mature believers who can pray with you, encourage you, and help you guard your heart going forward without becoming hardened.
May the Lord lift this burden of grief from you, heal the wounds left by deception and loss, and provide for your needs according to his mercy. May he give you wisdom for each step ahead, surround you with supportive people, and gradually renew your heart with his comfort and hope through Jesus Christ.
What you are feeling now is grief, and grief has a way of taking over everything. Scripture describes it as eyes worn out from weeping and a soul and body aching with sorrow, as if life itself is spent in grief. That sense that the sorrow will never end and that you will never feel whole again is part of the wound. Jesus understood this kind of sorrow. When he saw parents weeping over their child, he was moved with compassion for their grief. He is still compassionate toward those who mourn.
I want you to know that God is still the one who heals today. A large part of what Jesus did was to heal people who were sick and broken, and the gospel presents him as the one who bore our infirmities and our sicknesses, as Isaiah prophesied and Matthew affirmed. That promise includes more than the body. He heals the mind and the emotions as well, the scars and wounds that others cannot see. He reveals himself as the Lord who heals, becoming to us whatever our need requires, whether we need forgiveness, comfort, restoration, or strength to go on.
Healing does not always look the same. Sometimes it is felt in a moment, as if strength suddenly returns. Sometimes it is gradual, a process that takes time, and that process is still divine. God created our bodies and our minds with the capacity to mend, and he works through that natural process as well as through his direct touch. For deep emotional and financial wounds like yours, healing is often gradual. Do not be discouraged if the ache does not lift all at once. God is working even when progress feels slow.
You also carry a financial wound, and Scripture does not treat that lightly. To give generously out of love is good, but to be exploited for financial gain is wrong, and God sees the difference. You sacrificed much, about twenty thousand dollars, and that loss affects your security and your peace. God has power in the material realm as well as the spiritual and emotional realm, and he cares about your practical needs. Bring that need to him honestly in prayer, and also take wise practical steps. It can help to talk with a trusted pastor or counselor, and with a wise financial advisor, and to seek guidance about whether to report what happened to the proper authorities so others might be protected. You do not have to walk through the shame or the decisions alone.
Please do not let this experience convince you that you are without worth or that God is distant. He is near to the brokenhearted. Ask him daily to heal the hurt in your heart, to calm the grief that consumes your thoughts, and to restore a sense of peace and trust. It may also help to share your story with one or two mature believers who can pray with you, encourage you, and help you guard your heart going forward without becoming hardened.
May the Lord lift this burden of grief from you, heal the wounds left by deception and loss, and provide for your needs according to his mercy. May he give you wisdom for each step ahead, surround you with supportive people, and gradually renew your heart with his comfort and hope through Jesus Christ.
