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[Chrysostom]

Do not place your trust in the destruction of your enemies, but in the building of your own soul. You cry out for their lies to be revealed and their hearts melted, yet hear what is written: "Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues have they used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips." This is the state of all who are under sin, and you must not be surprised that the world acts like the world. But take care that your own heart and mind not be polluted. If we will be at peace, God will be with us, but if we raise up war within ourselves through fear and suspicion, the God of peace withdraws. Peace and virtue place the soul in safety. Begin on your part, and then you shall draw God toward you.

You plead that no weapon formed against you shall prosper, yet you arm yourself daily with the weapons of anxiety and accusation. "We have become tattlers," ready to make accusations, prepared for condemning. Even if no other evil thing had been done by us, this were sufficient to ruin us. Hear the wise man: "Hast thou heard a word? Let it die in thee, be bold; it will not burst thee." Do not let your heart travail over every word spoken against you, as a woman in labor. That path leads only to destruction and misery.

As for the accusations you fear from others, remember that against an elder receive not an accusation lightly. False witnesses are rare, and the truth can be discovered upon examination. But what is required of you is to give no cause of stumbling, no handle of accusation. Think on these things: whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are pure. If you fill your mind with the schemes and venom of others, you leave no room for Christ to be formed in you.

You ask for a safe bubble of love, yet the safety Christ gives is not the absence of trials but the presence of virtue. He that is temperate and lives orderly, even before his departure, is crowned and lives in peace, being delivered from unseemliness and the dangers of accusation. Justice makes men friends; covetousness, envy, and fear make them enemies. Seek first the righteousness that comes from repentance. There is no second baptism, but repentance has great force and is able to set free from the burden of sins and establish in safety even one who has come to the very depth of wickedness.

The way of peace you have not known if you seek it by willing the downfall of another's tongue. Bless your enemies truly, not by asking God to merely stop their mouths while their hearts remain unchanged, but by melting your own heart so that you cease to be an enemy to anyone, even in your secret thoughts. Then sleep shall come over you with perfect safety, and no care, no lamenting, will find a home in your breast.

 

[Silas]

You have laid out a great deal before the Lord, and not one word of it has gone unheard. So often we think the silence means God has forgotten, but even when heaven was quiet for four hundred years, God was still arranging every detail for the birth of John and the coming of the Messiah. Your prayer is heard, just as Zacharias and Elizabeth prayed for a child long past the time it seemed possible. God has not stopped working in the details that feel overwhelming to you right now.

You are carrying a heavy weight of fear: fear of what others might say, fear of what your ex might do, fear of legal proceedings and CPS, fear of travel troubles, fear of anything that could separate you from your daughter. That fear is understandable, but it is also something you must actively release. Fear is contagious, and it clouds judgment. When Israel went into battle, those who were afraid were told to go home so their fear would not spread to others and undermine what God wanted to do. Do not let the fear of the enemy or the fear of man set the tone in your heart or in your home. The Lord is your light, your salvation, and your strength. You do not need to be afraid.

You are asking God to protect your daughter while she is with her father, and to keep no weapon formed against either of you from prospering. Remember that there is a hedge of protection God places around His own. Satan himself acknowledged that he could not get past the hedge God had built around Job. That protection is not a feeling; it is a reality. Your job is not to panic, but to trust the One who goes before you into every room, every conversation, every legal meeting, and every train ride.

You are wondering how to make the right choices and who to trust. You are asking for discernment, and that is good. Walk by the Spirit and not by the sight of your circumstances. The moment you are drawn into battling in the flesh, worrying, scheming, trying to control outcomes with your own anxiety, you lose your footing. God is teaching you to walk, and like a child learning to walk, you will stumble at times. He is not standing over you with anger when you fall. He is patient. He encourages you to get back up and take the next step. Do not let the possibility of a stumble keep you from moving forward.

You have asked God to melt hearts and turn lies and manipulation into blessings. That is a powerful, costly prayer. Simeon told Mary that the child she held would bring salvation, but also that a sword would pierce her own soul. Sometimes the very path God uses to secure your blessing goes through valleys you would rather avoid. But the end of that story was not the sword; it was the resurrection. Do not be surprised if the road gets difficult, but never doubt where that road ends when you are following Jesus.

Your greatest concern is for your daughter’s safety, her emotional well-being, and her salvation. You are right to pray that she would feel loved and that no one would question the bond you share. Before John was even born, he leaped in the womb at the sound of Mary’s greeting. A child knows a mother’s voice. Your daughter knows your love, and God knows how to preserve that connection even when others try to break it. Continue to speak life over her. Continue to pray for her salvation. David had confidence that his child was with the Lord, and that he would one day go to be with his child. Your hope for your daughter rests not on a perfect outcome in court, but on the faithfulness of God to the generations.

You are worried about the travel, the train issues, the flight, and all the practical details of the next eleven days. God orchestrated a census to get Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem just in time for the prophecy to be fulfilled. He is more than capable of untangling train lines and schedules. Trust Him with the logistics. He is not anxious, and you do not need to be either. He has given you this time with your daughter, and He wants you to walk in joy, not stress.

Do not approach God as though you need a mere legal arrangement with Him, one where you follow rules to get a favorable verdict. He has brought you into His family. You cry out, and the Spirit within you cries, “Abba, Father.” You are not a stranger in a courtroom hoping the judge rules in your favor; you are a child approaching your Father. You have the full rights of a child of God, including the inheritance of His protection, His guidance, and His peace. Walk in that today. Jesus has the wheel. Let Him drive.