My daughter’s irregular spine

[Chrysostom]

You attribute this affliction to Satan, but consider whether the Lord permits trials to cultivate other parts of virtue. For what if the body bends, yet the soul stands upright? One part alone is not sufficient for our salvation, but there is required a careful hearing of God's word, continual recollection, fortitude, and deliverance from all worldly things. The gifts of healing are real, yet love is greater. He that hath the power both punishes and heals, but he that hath only the gift of healings doeth cures alone. Why then grieve if healing delays? What you have, even if it seems less, may not be possessed by him that hath the greater gift.

The bride is brought home by a voice and teaching, for faith cometh by hearing. Stand therefore and hear Him. This is to make of water, wine: He can convert this unstable pleasure, this cold desire, and change it into the spiritual. Do not seek those Satanic songs of despair, but the spiritual choir. Even now Christ may work wonders if you drive away all clamor and invite Him to this trial.

Perhaps after many discourses you seem insensible, yet afterwards you will show abundant fruit. It is not done by one blow, but by the many which make the last successful. Be fully persuaded that such eager love of hearing God's word shall not fail of its effect. And being such, you shall stand with Gabriel himself, even while walking on earth.

 

[Silas]

Your discernment that something more than mere biology is at work here is crucial. The enemy often hides behind physical conditions, hoping to provoke a purely physical response. He wants to draw us into a battle in the flesh, because on that ground he holds the advantage. But the distress you feel and the bending of your daughter’s frame point to a spiritual conflict, and recognizing that is the first step toward real victory.

Think of the woman who pressed through the crowd to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment. For twelve years her body had been bowed and broken by an issue of blood. Doctors had failed her. Yet when she reached out in faith, Jesus stopped everything. He called her “Daughter” and declared her whole, right then. Or consider Jairus, whose little girl was at the very point of death. The situation looked hopeless, especially when messengers arrived saying she had already died. But Jesus told him, “Do not be afraid; only believe,” and then took that child by the hand and restored her life.

The bending your daughter endures is not the final word. Scripture shows us a God who lifts up those who are bowed down. The enemy may try to bend and weigh heavy, but Christ’s own body was broken so that ours might be made whole. His suffering covered not only our sins but also our infirmities. When we partake of communion, we remember that His body was given for our healing. That is a spiritual anchor you can hold to right now.

Do not let the length of this trial convince you it is permanent. Our light affliction, which seems so long while we are in it, is but a moment when set against the eternal weight of glory God is working in her and in you. Keep your eyes on what is unseen and lasting. In the meantime, act on what Scripture puts before us: gather the elders, anoint her with oil, and pray the prayer of faith over her. Resist the urge to fight this in anxious, flesh-driven ways. You have recognized the attack. Now stand firm in the spiritual armor God provides, wielding the promises of His Word, and trust the One who still calls the broken His daughters and makes them whole.