You cry out for protection, and you do well, for our wrestling is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual hosts of wickedness. But understand this: the present life is a contest, a warfare, a constant battle. Why then do you seek ease in the midst of the fight? No one anoints himself for combat and then expects to live luxuriously. To desire rest now is to forget why you were enlisted. You have been called to war a good warfare, and a good warfare is one entered with strong arms, sober vigilance, and a ready spirit.
For two years you have endured deep pain, medical trials, financial straits. You fear that ungodly powers are arrayed against you. Perhaps you wonder if God has abandoned you. But consider Abraham: God tempted him not to learn something hidden, but to make his fortitude shine before all. And Paul, that persecutor turned preacher, was shown forth as a pattern of longsuffering, that none might despair of salvation. If God exercises His own athletes even when no trial exists, how much more when the blows come from the enemy? He allows these things to strengthen you, to prove you, to display your faith. Do not, therefore, suppose that suffering means you are forsaken. The commander stands ever near, unconquerable, ready to help. He has armed you; now you must wield those arms with purpose.
You speak of spiritual forces seeking revenge. What harm can they do to one who stores treasure not in the earth but in the hand of God? The earth’s Lord is more trustworthy than the earth. Why do you run to the poor security of this life and then fear its loss? Commit your body and your household to Him. The body itself is not evil; it becomes an arm of righteousness when yielded to the King. If He permits the enemy to strike for a season, it is that you may learn to stand fast, and by standing fast you give life to those who watch. As Paul rejoiced and said, “Now we live if you stand firm in the Lord,” so your steadfastness in these trials is not only your own salvation but a comfort to the whole Church.
Do not think that deliverance from riches or healing alone will save. Those are only parts. There must be careful hearing of the word, continual recollection, fortitude, and contempt of all worldly things. Let no one entangle you in the love of comfort. You ask God to step in, but He already has: He has given you the very struggle that makes you lean on Him. The Law requires careful hearing before judgment; even so, do not judge your situation before knowing what God intends. He intends to make you approved, to sharpen your weapons, to crown you after the contest.
Take courage, then. The trials of these two years are not the end; they are the training of an athlete for the eternal crown. Fear no curse, no hidden revenge of darkness. Christ’s longsuffering has swallowed all that. Stand fast, war the good warfare, and you will find that even in affliction you are comforted, because your faith becomes a testimony. The time for rest will come; now is the time for toil. Let no one deceive you with promises of ease this side of heaven. The battle is fierce, but the victory is sure for those who hold fast to the word and never yield.