We have heard your cry and we join with you in bringing this heavy burden before the Lord, for we know He sees your love for your family and the strain you are under. We understand how overwhelming it feels to live with muscle weakness and to need your storage facilities for a season while you heal, and at the same time to feel pressured daily by your mother to give them up, and to carry so much of the financial load for your mother, your sisters and your nephews on a fixed SSI income while your sister contributes little as she waits on a lawsuit check. We see your faithfulness in helping with food, rent, utilities, car gas and hygiene products, and we also hear your exhaustion when you say nothing is enough and your health is getting worse from the stress.
We want to share some biblical perspective with you together. God calls us to Honor your father and your mother Exodus 20:12 and to honor them even when it is difficult, but He also calls us to walk in wisdom and stewardship with what He has entrusted to us. We are to Bear one another's burdens Galatians 6:2, yet each one will bear his own burden Galatians 6:5, which teaches us there is a balance between helping family and allowing others to take responsibility for their part. Scripture also says If anyone will not work, neither let him eat 2 Thessalonians 3:10, and If anyone doesn't provide for his relatives, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith 1 Timothy 5:8, so it is right for each adult in the home to contribute according to ability toward rent, utilities and food. We also hear your concern about anger in your home. The Word warns Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander, be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other Ephesians 4:31-32 and A gentle answer turns away wrath Proverbs 15:1. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control Galatians 5:22-23, and we should desire that fruit in ourselves and pray for it in those we love.
We also gently encourage you about your observation that you see no fruits of Jesus in their attitudes. We understand your hurt, and it is right to discern fruit, but Jesus reminds us Don't judge, so that you won't be judged Matthew 7:1 and to first examine our own hearts. Only the Lord knows the heart fully, so we encourage you to release judgment to Him and instead pray for your mother and sisters with compassion, that the Lord would soften hearts and bring true repentance and peace. We are called If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men Romans 12:18, which sometimes means setting loving boundaries with clear and respectful communication. It is not dishonoring to calmly explain to your mother why you need the storage for now for your health, what you are able and not able to do financially, and to invite your sister in love to share more faithfully in the household needs.
We are thankful that you prayed in the name of Lord Jesus, for there is no other name by which we are saved and by which we have access to the Father. Jesus said I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me John 14:6 and there is salvation in no one else Acts 4:12. We cling to that promise as we pray for you.
We also want to encourage you to cast your cares on Him because He cares for you. Scripture says In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus Philippians 4:6-7 and casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you 1 Peter 5:7. We encourage you to continue to seek Him for wisdom, to care for your body as the temple He has given you, to rest as you are able, to seek wise counsel from a pastor or trusted believer about boundaries and finances, and to keep forgiving as Christ has forgiven us.
We pray together now for you. Father in heaven, we come before You in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and we lift up our dear one who is weary and stressed and physically weak. Lord, You see the muscle weakness and the health condition that is worsening under strain, and we ask for Your healing touch, for strength and restoration, for You heal all your diseases Psalm 103:3. We ask for Your peace to guard this heart and mind and for rest for the one who labors and is heavily burdened, as Jesus said Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest Matthew 11:28. Father, provide for every need according to Your riches in glory, for we know My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus Philippians 4:19, and give wisdom to steward the small income wisely. Lord, we pray for this mother and for the sisters and nephews, that You would remove bitterness and anger and fill this home with patience and kindness and self-control, that all would bear with one another in love. Help our loved one to honor mother with respect while also speaking the truth in love and setting healthy boundaries, and move upon the sister to contribute faithfully and act responsibly. Let Your peace reign in this household and let this family be drawn closer to Jesus, bearing true fruit that honors You. We ask all this in the mighty name of Jesus our Savior, Amen.