Silas
Beloved of All
The weight you've been carrying these past two years is not lost on the God who numbers your tears and bottles them. There is a kind of suffering that feels like evil stacked upon evil, one wave of bad news before the last one has even receded. That sensation that something darker than mere circumstance is at work, that the hurdles are not random but targeted, is something Scripture does not dismiss. The battle is indeed not against flesh and blood, and you are right to bring this before the throne in the name of Jesus Christ, who alone holds authority over every power that would seek to destroy a family.
Yet we must be careful not to fix our gaze so intently on what we fear is behind the affliction that we miss what God is doing in the midst of it. There is a place for standing against spiritual opposition, but an evil spirit driven out leaves a house swept clean, and if nothing holier takes up residence, the last state becomes worse than the first. Simply trying to expel darkness is not the same as welcoming the fullness of Christ's lordship over every broken corner of your life. The evil you sense is real, but the remedy is not a formula of spiritual warfare. It is a Person.
You mentioned the toll this has taken physically, mentally, and financially. Evil, in the Bible's own vocabulary, is that which destroys, that which tears down the body, fractures the home, and drains the resources God has provided. Good builds up; evil breaks down. The pain you describe fits that pattern, and hating such destruction is actually the beginning of wisdom. To hate what is happening to your family is not a lack of faith; it is a reflection of God's own hatred of that which ravages His children.
But here is where we must hold two truths at once. God does not always grant immediate healing. We see this in Paul's thorn, a messenger of Satan permitted to buffet him. Three times he pled, and the answer was not removal but sufficient grace. We also see a gradual healing, the man who saw men as trees walking before Jesus touched him again. Some healing comes in stages, and all true healing, whether through the body's own God-given processes or a sudden miracle, is divine in origin. Pray confidently, but do not presume that a delay in full relief means God has abandoned you or that the enemy has outmaneuvered Him.
What you can cling to is this: the reign of evil has an expiration date. The Lord does not wink at those who flaunt their wickedness forever. They may boast as though God does not see, as though the temple walls will protect them while they live as they please. But a limit comes. The evil that feels so entrenched now will not have the last word. Your family's story is not finished.
In the meantime, be vigilant about what gains entrance. A little leaven permeates the whole lump. Fear, left unchecked, can become a tolerated guest that does more damage than the original threat. Resentment, too, can take root. There are those you may have thought were spiritual family who proved otherwise, just as Jesus' own blood relatives did not believe in Him at first. When that happens, the bond with those who truly belong to God becomes even more precious. Lean into that.
Guard your heart from the temptation to return evil for evil, to let bitterness become your own form of darkness. Commit the cause to God. His defense of you will be infinitely better than anything you could construct on your own. And do not be surprised if, in the waiting, the healing He does in your emotions and your minds is just as real as what you are crying out for in body and circumstance. He mends the hidden wounds too.
Above all, do not let fear of what might be coming against you eclipse the simple, daily call to follow what is good. He who does good is of God. The one doing evil has not seen Him. Keep your eyes fixed on Christ, not on the storm. His authority over the material realm, the spiritual realm, and every infirmity remains absolute, and He is interceding for you even now.
Yet we must be careful not to fix our gaze so intently on what we fear is behind the affliction that we miss what God is doing in the midst of it. There is a place for standing against spiritual opposition, but an evil spirit driven out leaves a house swept clean, and if nothing holier takes up residence, the last state becomes worse than the first. Simply trying to expel darkness is not the same as welcoming the fullness of Christ's lordship over every broken corner of your life. The evil you sense is real, but the remedy is not a formula of spiritual warfare. It is a Person.
You mentioned the toll this has taken physically, mentally, and financially. Evil, in the Bible's own vocabulary, is that which destroys, that which tears down the body, fractures the home, and drains the resources God has provided. Good builds up; evil breaks down. The pain you describe fits that pattern, and hating such destruction is actually the beginning of wisdom. To hate what is happening to your family is not a lack of faith; it is a reflection of God's own hatred of that which ravages His children.
But here is where we must hold two truths at once. God does not always grant immediate healing. We see this in Paul's thorn, a messenger of Satan permitted to buffet him. Three times he pled, and the answer was not removal but sufficient grace. We also see a gradual healing, the man who saw men as trees walking before Jesus touched him again. Some healing comes in stages, and all true healing, whether through the body's own God-given processes or a sudden miracle, is divine in origin. Pray confidently, but do not presume that a delay in full relief means God has abandoned you or that the enemy has outmaneuvered Him.
What you can cling to is this: the reign of evil has an expiration date. The Lord does not wink at those who flaunt their wickedness forever. They may boast as though God does not see, as though the temple walls will protect them while they live as they please. But a limit comes. The evil that feels so entrenched now will not have the last word. Your family's story is not finished.
In the meantime, be vigilant about what gains entrance. A little leaven permeates the whole lump. Fear, left unchecked, can become a tolerated guest that does more damage than the original threat. Resentment, too, can take root. There are those you may have thought were spiritual family who proved otherwise, just as Jesus' own blood relatives did not believe in Him at first. When that happens, the bond with those who truly belong to God becomes even more precious. Lean into that.
Guard your heart from the temptation to return evil for evil, to let bitterness become your own form of darkness. Commit the cause to God. His defense of you will be infinitely better than anything you could construct on your own. And do not be surprised if, in the waiting, the healing He does in your emotions and your minds is just as real as what you are crying out for in body and circumstance. He mends the hidden wounds too.
Above all, do not let fear of what might be coming against you eclipse the simple, daily call to follow what is good. He who does good is of God. The one doing evil has not seen Him. Keep your eyes fixed on Christ, not on the storm. His authority over the material realm, the spiritual realm, and every infirmity remains absolute, and He is interceding for you even now.
