Silas
Beloved of All
It is wonderful to hear that your parathyroid surgery was successful. Truly, we give thanks to the Lord for His kindness in bringing you through that. Now, regarding your singing voice, I understand how precious that gift is after decades of lifting praise to the Lord with voice and guitar. The thought of losing that ability would be deeply painful. There is something profoundly personal about our voice, is there not? Scripture reminds us that even when Jacob disguised his hands, his father Isaac recognized his voice. Your voice is known. God who gave you that voice for His glory is able to restore it fully in His time. Continue to trust Him. There is also a beautiful truth in the prayer of John for his beloved friend: that we may prosper and be in good health even as our soul prospers. So much of our physical well-being is linked to the state of our inner life. Rest in the Lord’s peace, let your soul prosper in gratitude and calm trust, and I believe your voice will return to serve Him again.
Your update about your son weighs heavily on my heart. I hear the sorrow in your words, the sleepless nights and the tears. Please know that you are not alone in this anguish. The cry of a parent for a child who has wandered into addiction and isolation echoes a deeper cry in the heart of God Himself. Remember when Adam sinned and hid, God called to him, “Where are you?” That was not the thunder of a judge first and foremost, it was the sob of a heartbroken Father whose child had just messed up. He understands your pain perfectly. And He hears you as you cry out to Jesus on your son’s behalf.
It is so hard to watch a young man with so much promise refuse help, choose the woods and a criminal record over accountability. You feel powerless, and in yourself you are. But there is a story from Genesis that has often brought me comfort. When Hagar and her son Ishmael were cast out into the wilderness and faced death, the angel of God called to her and said, “What ails you? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.” God heard the lad himself, right there in his distress. Your son may be sleeping in the woods, shutting out every offer of treatment, but God is not shut out. He hears your son’s voice, even the unspoken cries of his heart, and He is at work in ways you cannot see.
The choices your son is making are painfully destructive, born of the flesh and not of faith. But God’s dealings with His children are never haphazard. Hebrews tells us that the Lord disciplines every son whom He receives. It may be that this long, hard road is a form of chastening, not rejection, but a severe mercy meant to turn him back. The fact that you cannot fix this is, in a strange way, a place to hope, because it forces all of us to look to the One who can. The Lord is able to bring your son to the end of himself, to a point where his own way fails so completely that he finally listens to that voice that has been calling him since his youth.
So do not stop crying out. Do not stop believing that the Father who gave His only Son for sinners will not abandon your son to the darkness. Your tears are precious to Him. I will join you in praying that God protects your son, that He breaks the power of addiction, that He brings wise and persistent people into his path, and that his voice will one day be lifted not in rebellion but in a cry for help, and ultimately in praise. May the Lord also comfort your heart, strengthen your faith, and restore the song He placed within you.
Your update about your son weighs heavily on my heart. I hear the sorrow in your words, the sleepless nights and the tears. Please know that you are not alone in this anguish. The cry of a parent for a child who has wandered into addiction and isolation echoes a deeper cry in the heart of God Himself. Remember when Adam sinned and hid, God called to him, “Where are you?” That was not the thunder of a judge first and foremost, it was the sob of a heartbroken Father whose child had just messed up. He understands your pain perfectly. And He hears you as you cry out to Jesus on your son’s behalf.
It is so hard to watch a young man with so much promise refuse help, choose the woods and a criminal record over accountability. You feel powerless, and in yourself you are. But there is a story from Genesis that has often brought me comfort. When Hagar and her son Ishmael were cast out into the wilderness and faced death, the angel of God called to her and said, “What ails you? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.” God heard the lad himself, right there in his distress. Your son may be sleeping in the woods, shutting out every offer of treatment, but God is not shut out. He hears your son’s voice, even the unspoken cries of his heart, and He is at work in ways you cannot see.
The choices your son is making are painfully destructive, born of the flesh and not of faith. But God’s dealings with His children are never haphazard. Hebrews tells us that the Lord disciplines every son whom He receives. It may be that this long, hard road is a form of chastening, not rejection, but a severe mercy meant to turn him back. The fact that you cannot fix this is, in a strange way, a place to hope, because it forces all of us to look to the One who can. The Lord is able to bring your son to the end of himself, to a point where his own way fails so completely that he finally listens to that voice that has been calling him since his youth.
So do not stop crying out. Do not stop believing that the Father who gave His only Son for sinners will not abandon your son to the darkness. Your tears are precious to Him. I will join you in praying that God protects your son, that He breaks the power of addiction, that He brings wise and persistent people into his path, and that his voice will one day be lifted not in rebellion but in a cry for help, and ultimately in praise. May the Lord also comfort your heart, strengthen your faith, and restore the song He placed within you.
