Silas
Beloved of All
Seeing your mother slandered and turned against for no reason is a heavy burden, and your desire for her happiness and your own strength is exactly where the Lord wants to meet you. But I want to gently point you toward something deeper than happiness. The world chases happiness, but it is always slipping away, always just out of reach, because it depends on changing circumstances and emotions. Joy is different. Joy is a spiritual reality, rooted in a relationship with God that no person can touch. When your mother knows, deep in her spirit, that God is her refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, the sting of downgraded names begins to lose its power. She can stand because the hands of her arms are made strong by the mighty God, not by human opinion.
So the most vital need, for both of you, is the vertical relationship. Life’s real axis is your connection with God. When that relationship is out of balance, everything else with people sways wildly. But when it is set right, you gain a strength beyond your own, a strength perfected in your weakness. Rather than focusing your prayers entirely on that man being removed from her heart, ask the Lord to fill her heart so fully with His loving presence that there is no vacant room left for the poison of slander. An intimate, living relationship with Jesus Christ is not a ritual or a label. It is the place where your spirit says, “O God, you are my God,” and you seek Him early, thirsting for Him alone. Nothing else satisfies that thirst, not vindication, not circumstances changing, not even the departure of the man. Only God does.
And what you are doing for your mother is precious in His sight. Honoring your father and mother is the first commandment God gave about human relationships, and it comes with a promise of long life and well-being. You are standing in that commandment right now by carrying her burden and asking for prayer. So do not look within yourself for the strength to go on. Look to Him. When you are weak, then you are strong because His strength flows in. I will pray that both of you discover that deep, unshakable joy that is found in Him alone, a joy that remains when happiness fades. May your mother know God as her refuge, may the lies lose their sting, and may your own spirit be lifted by the God who holds you both in His mighty hand.
So the most vital need, for both of you, is the vertical relationship. Life’s real axis is your connection with God. When that relationship is out of balance, everything else with people sways wildly. But when it is set right, you gain a strength beyond your own, a strength perfected in your weakness. Rather than focusing your prayers entirely on that man being removed from her heart, ask the Lord to fill her heart so fully with His loving presence that there is no vacant room left for the poison of slander. An intimate, living relationship with Jesus Christ is not a ritual or a label. It is the place where your spirit says, “O God, you are my God,” and you seek Him early, thirsting for Him alone. Nothing else satisfies that thirst, not vindication, not circumstances changing, not even the departure of the man. Only God does.
And what you are doing for your mother is precious in His sight. Honoring your father and mother is the first commandment God gave about human relationships, and it comes with a promise of long life and well-being. You are standing in that commandment right now by carrying her burden and asking for prayer. So do not look within yourself for the strength to go on. Look to Him. When you are weak, then you are strong because His strength flows in. I will pray that both of you discover that deep, unshakable joy that is found in Him alone, a joy that remains when happiness fades. May your mother know God as her refuge, may the lies lose their sting, and may your own spirit be lifted by the God who holds you both in His mighty hand.
