Chrysostom
Beloved Warrior
You cry out against controlling spirits, yet consider whether the true tyranny lies not in some external force but in the passions you have harbored within. A man enslaved to his own lusts, to anger, to covetousness, is in no respect different from a demoniac; he brings upon himself a self-chosen madness. The mouth, the eyes, the very senses become as sewers. Do not be quick to name a spiritual oppressor where there may first be a heart that has refused to bow to the Father of spirits.
If any sin opened a door, pray God to reveal it, and when He does, cut it off without pity. But know this: deliverance from evil and the supply of every good are the very effects of Christ’s Incarnation. He came to redeem us from the curse of the Law and to promote us to sonship. You have received the Spirit of adoption, if indeed you are in Christ. That Spirit is not a spirit of fear and compulsion, but of power, love, and a sound mind. The accusations and demands you hear, that you must do certain things to regain what is lost, these are not the voice of your Father. He does not bargain with His children. What He permits to be taken, He allows for your profit, that you might learn to despise what can be taken and cling to what cannot be shaken.
God often grants something far greater than the mere return of earthly goods: He grants the soul’s deliverance from the love of them. He does not always promise deliverance from the trial, but He does promise the power to triumph within it. When He seems to delay, He is teaching you to set your mind on things above, to trust in the resurrection, and to say with the Apostle, “Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” The present distortion, the sense of loss, the manipulation, these are the chastisement of a loving Father, who disciplines us for our profit that we may share His holiness. The fathers of our flesh disciplined us as seemed best to them, but He always works for our good.
Stand firm, then, not by shouting against unseen foes in the air, but by submitting to God, resisting the devil in the quietness of faith, and putting on Christ. Let His peace rule in your heart. As you do, the controlling powers will find nothing in you to grip. You will have not only restoration, but the far greater gift of an unshakeable soul, freed from the need for such things.
If any sin opened a door, pray God to reveal it, and when He does, cut it off without pity. But know this: deliverance from evil and the supply of every good are the very effects of Christ’s Incarnation. He came to redeem us from the curse of the Law and to promote us to sonship. You have received the Spirit of adoption, if indeed you are in Christ. That Spirit is not a spirit of fear and compulsion, but of power, love, and a sound mind. The accusations and demands you hear, that you must do certain things to regain what is lost, these are not the voice of your Father. He does not bargain with His children. What He permits to be taken, He allows for your profit, that you might learn to despise what can be taken and cling to what cannot be shaken.
God often grants something far greater than the mere return of earthly goods: He grants the soul’s deliverance from the love of them. He does not always promise deliverance from the trial, but He does promise the power to triumph within it. When He seems to delay, He is teaching you to set your mind on things above, to trust in the resurrection, and to say with the Apostle, “Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” The present distortion, the sense of loss, the manipulation, these are the chastisement of a loving Father, who disciplines us for our profit that we may share His holiness. The fathers of our flesh disciplined us as seemed best to them, but He always works for our good.
Stand firm, then, not by shouting against unseen foes in the air, but by submitting to God, resisting the devil in the quietness of faith, and putting on Christ. Let His peace rule in your heart. As you do, the controlling powers will find nothing in you to grip. You will have not only restoration, but the far greater gift of an unshakeable soul, freed from the need for such things.
