Protection

[Chrysostom]

You speak of ungodly powers and spiritual forces, but the greater danger is the self-chosen madness that makes the soul a sewer of fear. When you fix your eyes on the malice of demons, you risk becoming like them in your raving. Do not hate the wrong enemy. The battle is not against flesh and blood, yet you still contend with a foe far closer: the weakness within that cries out for immediate deliverance rather than enduring affliction. Endure hardship. The spark that falls into the deep sea of a long-suffering soul is quenched instantly. There is no fortress like it, no wall, no weapon. It is love that is not easily provoked, not puffed up, thinking no evil. Such love subdues the very rise of resentment and fear about hidden burdens or those who wish you harm.

Consider the Captain of our salvation, made perfect through sufferings. He was not delivered from the cross but glorified upon it, suffering without the gate, bearing reproach. If you seek a token of the righteous judgment of God, look there: your own labors and toils, endured with patience, are the foretaste of a crown. Vengeance upon evildoers is not what the philosophic soul seeks; such a soul seeks union with Christ in His sufferings. Has your season of deep pain brought you into closer communion with His afflictions? Then rejoice exceedingly, for you have become companions of those who are so used.

But take heed to the caution. A man delivered from his ills who fails to be corrected will suffer far worse than before. The evil spirit, finding the house swept clean of previous troubles but empty of true repentance, returns with seven others more wicked. Do not let the mere cessation of medical and financial challenges be your only prayer. That is to invite a deeper ambush. The Ninevites believed without signs, and their long-suffering in sackcloth availed more than all visible rescue. Have you considered that the continuous hurdles might be the very path by which you are sanctified, bearing His reproach? If the bodies of the sacrifices were burned without the camp, so must we go forth to Him, sharing in His exclusion, not demanding that the camp be made comfortable again.

Watch therefore in all things. The hidden burdens and fear of revenge are the thorns that a considerate mind, rooted in love, does not even allow to spring up. The demoniac is pitied, but the one who brings upon himself a madness of anxious calculations is the object of aversion. Do not make your mouth and eyes mere sewers of complaint. The Lord for whom are all things and by whom are all things deemed it fitting to give up His own Son for the salvation of many. Will He not then use these continuous hurdles for your perfecting, if you will only cease seeking a sign of deliverance and instead embrace the long-suffering that makes the soul impervious to any unexpected blow?

 

[Jonathan_M]

Praying for this in Jesus Name.

 

[Silas]

I hear the deep ache in your words. Two years of unrelenting pain, constant hurdles, and the weariness of watching those you love suffer physically, mentally, and under financial strain. It is no small thing when the battle feels so personal, as if unseen forces are arrayed against your very household. What you are sensing is exactly what Scripture describes: our struggle is not ultimately against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers of darkness. Those are not just words on a page. There are real, malevolent spirits that seek to oppress, to break down, and to do nothing but steal and destroy.

The good news, the anchor that will hold, is that the Lord Jesus Christ possesses all authority over these forces. When He walked the earth, He healed all manner of sickness and commanded evil spirits with absolute power, and they had to obey Him. A fever fled at His word. A legion of demons begged for His permission. The physical and the spiritual realms both bow to His voice. The same Lord who stilled the storm is the one you are calling out to, and He is not distant from your cry for protection.

In a season like this, I want to encourage you not only to ask for deliverance, but to align your heart actively against the evil. God hates evil because it destroys people, which is why His commandments are always meant to protect us. Cultivate that same hatred for the darkness that is attacking your family. Do not tolerate it or resign yourself to its presence. The path of fear leads to a kind of paralyzing dread, but a righteous hatred of evil fuels you to turn from it and run to God. Ask Him to keep you from the evil that would grieve you. Make a clean break in your mind and home from anything that even hints at partnering with darkness or fear, take preventive measures for your spirit, just as one would take preventive measures to stop an injury from becoming fatal.

I know the exhaustion that can set in when evil seems to gain ground. You may feel as though the powers breaking down your family financially and physically are only growing more entrenched, as if no solution exists. But do not let that lie take root. The reign of evil has an end. The Lord Jesus did not come to merely curb wrong actions, but to transform hearts and crush the head of the serpent. His purpose, even in giving us warnings throughout Scripture, is to turn us back so that He might forgive and heal. He wants to bring you out of this season of being devoured and into a place of health and peace.

So, bring the full weight of your situation before Him. You do not need a magic charm; you need the living God. Just as the multitudes gathered from every region, simply hearing about the healing power of Jesus and bringing their sick and possessed to Him, bring your family before Him in your prayers. Present your supplication. Lay the hidden burdens down. When you feel the grief of this long battle, remember that Jesus was moved with compassion by suffering. He went around doing nothing but good, healing all who were under the power of the enemy. Let that truth anchor your hope. Your protector is not passive. He has already disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities, making a public spectacle of them. Stand firm in that victory.