Silas
Beloved
You are worn down by a year of relentless attack, and it shows in every area of life, your relationships, your sense of safety, even your finances. When the hits keep coming, it is easy to start seeing a hidden curse or some malicious “evil eye” lurking behind every loss. But the warfare you are experiencing isn’t rooted in superstition or hexes. Scripture never gives power to a person’s strange look to ruin you. The “evil eye” the Bible warns about is simply a person whose heart is set on evil, a schemer, a manipulator, someone whose intentions are crooked. What has harmed you isn't a magical gaze; it’s the reality of living in a broken world where the enemy works through deceitful people and destructive circumstances.
The theft you are seeing with your finances, the betrayal you sense in friendships, the guard that keeps you from being the warm person you want to be, it’s all part of the enemy’s strategy to discourage and isolate you. Evil destroys. It tears down relationships, hardens hearts, and empties pockets because the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and the wicked will not rest until they have gained what doesn’t belong to them. But take this to heart: evil will slay the wicked. The very schemes they devise become the trap that breaks them. And while they are busy digging a pit, the Lord’s eye is on the righteous, His ear is open to your cry. He keeps the soul of His servant; not one who trusts in Him will be left desolate.
Right now, your trust has been shattered, and you’re pulling up the drawbridge. That’s understandable. But the shield you’re holding shouldn’t be built from fear of people, it should be the protective fear of the Lord. The Scriptures give us a model: pray, and then set a watch. Nehemiah and the people didn’t just cry out and then do nothing; they prayed and posted a guard day and night. So bring your hurts, your sense of injustice, and your financial strain honestly before God. Ask Him for the wisdom to see clearly. Then, act with prudence. Don’t eat the bread of a man with an evil eye, don’t entangle yourself in close trust with those who consistently show you a greedy or destructive heart. Foresee evil and hide yourself. There is no shame in setting boundaries when you discern a pattern of manipulation or greed.
Yet, while you guard your outer life, guard your inner life against bitterness. To reward evil for good is a trap, but as followers of Jesus, we are called to reward evil with good. That doesn’t mean you become a doormat; it means you refuse to let the enemy steal your capacity to love. You can be both shrewd and gentle. Your trust doesn’t rest in people or in the uncertain riches that thieves can take. It rests in the living God, who knows your limitations and still gives richly all things to enjoy. When money is stolen, remember that no one can redeem a soul with riches. Your true life is hidden with Christ; whatever is taken externally cannot touch your eternal security.
The grief and the strife of tongues and the weariness you feel are real. I hear the psalmist in your words: “My life is spent with grief.” Let that lament go up to God. He does not despise a broken and contrite heart. Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you. Even when nothing makes sense, when you’ve trusted God and yet the enemy seems to spoil your good, that is precisely when real trust begins. You don’t need to understand why. You need the hand that holds you in the dark. The Lord will hide you in the secret of His presence from the pride of man; He will keep you secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
So pray this way: Lord, I put my trust in You. I will not trust in my own schemes or my bank account or even my ability to figure out who is true. I set a watch over my associations, but I refuse to let fear make me cold. Deal with those who have done evil, for You promise to cut off the remembrance of them. Deliver me from the grip of the wicked, and restore to me the joy of a generous, open spirit that the enemy has tried to steal. The very thing the enemy meant for your destruction, God will use to deepen your dependence on Him. Evil will not have the final word over your life.
The theft you are seeing with your finances, the betrayal you sense in friendships, the guard that keeps you from being the warm person you want to be, it’s all part of the enemy’s strategy to discourage and isolate you. Evil destroys. It tears down relationships, hardens hearts, and empties pockets because the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and the wicked will not rest until they have gained what doesn’t belong to them. But take this to heart: evil will slay the wicked. The very schemes they devise become the trap that breaks them. And while they are busy digging a pit, the Lord’s eye is on the righteous, His ear is open to your cry. He keeps the soul of His servant; not one who trusts in Him will be left desolate.
Right now, your trust has been shattered, and you’re pulling up the drawbridge. That’s understandable. But the shield you’re holding shouldn’t be built from fear of people, it should be the protective fear of the Lord. The Scriptures give us a model: pray, and then set a watch. Nehemiah and the people didn’t just cry out and then do nothing; they prayed and posted a guard day and night. So bring your hurts, your sense of injustice, and your financial strain honestly before God. Ask Him for the wisdom to see clearly. Then, act with prudence. Don’t eat the bread of a man with an evil eye, don’t entangle yourself in close trust with those who consistently show you a greedy or destructive heart. Foresee evil and hide yourself. There is no shame in setting boundaries when you discern a pattern of manipulation or greed.
Yet, while you guard your outer life, guard your inner life against bitterness. To reward evil for good is a trap, but as followers of Jesus, we are called to reward evil with good. That doesn’t mean you become a doormat; it means you refuse to let the enemy steal your capacity to love. You can be both shrewd and gentle. Your trust doesn’t rest in people or in the uncertain riches that thieves can take. It rests in the living God, who knows your limitations and still gives richly all things to enjoy. When money is stolen, remember that no one can redeem a soul with riches. Your true life is hidden with Christ; whatever is taken externally cannot touch your eternal security.
The grief and the strife of tongues and the weariness you feel are real. I hear the psalmist in your words: “My life is spent with grief.” Let that lament go up to God. He does not despise a broken and contrite heart. Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you. Even when nothing makes sense, when you’ve trusted God and yet the enemy seems to spoil your good, that is precisely when real trust begins. You don’t need to understand why. You need the hand that holds you in the dark. The Lord will hide you in the secret of His presence from the pride of man; He will keep you secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
So pray this way: Lord, I put my trust in You. I will not trust in my own schemes or my bank account or even my ability to figure out who is true. I set a watch over my associations, but I refuse to let fear make me cold. Deal with those who have done evil, for You promise to cut off the remembrance of them. Deliver me from the grip of the wicked, and restore to me the joy of a generous, open spirit that the enemy has tried to steal. The very thing the enemy meant for your destruction, God will use to deepen your dependence on Him. Evil will not have the final word over your life.
