Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for sharing your heart so openly and for acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord, as healer, and as your fortress in this long and painful season. Two years of continuous hurdles and serious medical challenges for you and your family is a heavy burden, and it is understandable that fear has pressed in, especially when it feels as though unseen spiritual forces are seeking to harm you physically, mentally and financially.
Scripture is clear that our struggle is not ultimately against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of darkness, and the enemy is subtle. He often works to corrupt our minds from the simplicity that is in Christ and to draw us into reacting on a merely human level, as if the people or circumstances in front of us are the real enemy. Recognizing that the battle is spiritual helps you avoid that trap and keep your heart directed toward the Lord.
Fear is one of the main tools the enemy uses against God's children, because fear and faith cannot live together. Fear grows when we forget the Lord and fix our eyes on the threats around us, and it can push us to make wrong decisions. The cure for fear is to remember the Lord. The psalmist David said that even when walking through the valley of the shadow of death he would fear no evil because the Lord was with him. He also asked his own soul why it was cast down and disquieted within him, calling himself back to hope in God. In the same way, when you feel overwhelmed, call your heart back to this truth that the One who is with you is greater than all that is against you.
That remembering is not just a feeling but a choice to fear the Lord rather than to fear evil. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and it means to hate evil and to turn away from it, to keep your tongue from deceit, to depart from evil and to pursue what is good and to seek peace. When you walk in that reverence for God, you can be quiet from the fear of evil, and Scripture connects that path with health and strength for your body and peace for your soul. Evil itself is destructive. It tears down relationships, bodies, minds and values, but the Lord redeems the soul of His servants and those who trust in Him will not be left desolate.
God is also your healer. The prophet Isaiah spoke of the Messiah bearing our sicknesses, and the Gospel shows that Jesus fulfilled this not only by forgiving sin but by healing bodies, as seen when many were brought to Him and He healed them. When He broke bread He said this is My body broken for you, inviting us to remember that His suffering covers both our spiritual and physical need. You can bring your medical needs to Him with confidence that He cares for the whole person, body, mind and spirit, and that there is a close connection between the health of the soul and the health of the body.
We are praying for you and your family now. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ we lift this family to You. You see the pain of these two years, the medical hardships, the financial pressure and the mental strain. You see the hidden burdens and the fear that has tried to take hold. We ask You to be their fortress and deliverer, to surround them with Your presence and protection, and to guard them from every work of darkness. Deliver them from the way of evil and preserve them in Your care. Replace fear with faith as they remember that You are with them. Bring healing to their bodies, peace to their minds, and provision for their needs according to Your mercy and power. Lead them not into temptation but deliver them from evil, and establish their feet on a steady path as they look straight ahead to You. Help them to continue faithfully in the work You have given them to do while watching prayerfully, trusting not in their own strength but in You. We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus, for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Keep keeping your eyes on the Lord, staying in His Word, praying simply and continually, and doing good as you have opportunity. If fear rises, turn it into a reminder to remember that He is with you, and let that remembrance strengthen your faith.
Scripture is clear that our struggle is not ultimately against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of darkness, and the enemy is subtle. He often works to corrupt our minds from the simplicity that is in Christ and to draw us into reacting on a merely human level, as if the people or circumstances in front of us are the real enemy. Recognizing that the battle is spiritual helps you avoid that trap and keep your heart directed toward the Lord.
Fear is one of the main tools the enemy uses against God's children, because fear and faith cannot live together. Fear grows when we forget the Lord and fix our eyes on the threats around us, and it can push us to make wrong decisions. The cure for fear is to remember the Lord. The psalmist David said that even when walking through the valley of the shadow of death he would fear no evil because the Lord was with him. He also asked his own soul why it was cast down and disquieted within him, calling himself back to hope in God. In the same way, when you feel overwhelmed, call your heart back to this truth that the One who is with you is greater than all that is against you.
That remembering is not just a feeling but a choice to fear the Lord rather than to fear evil. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and it means to hate evil and to turn away from it, to keep your tongue from deceit, to depart from evil and to pursue what is good and to seek peace. When you walk in that reverence for God, you can be quiet from the fear of evil, and Scripture connects that path with health and strength for your body and peace for your soul. Evil itself is destructive. It tears down relationships, bodies, minds and values, but the Lord redeems the soul of His servants and those who trust in Him will not be left desolate.
God is also your healer. The prophet Isaiah spoke of the Messiah bearing our sicknesses, and the Gospel shows that Jesus fulfilled this not only by forgiving sin but by healing bodies, as seen when many were brought to Him and He healed them. When He broke bread He said this is My body broken for you, inviting us to remember that His suffering covers both our spiritual and physical need. You can bring your medical needs to Him with confidence that He cares for the whole person, body, mind and spirit, and that there is a close connection between the health of the soul and the health of the body.
We are praying for you and your family now. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ we lift this family to You. You see the pain of these two years, the medical hardships, the financial pressure and the mental strain. You see the hidden burdens and the fear that has tried to take hold. We ask You to be their fortress and deliverer, to surround them with Your presence and protection, and to guard them from every work of darkness. Deliver them from the way of evil and preserve them in Your care. Replace fear with faith as they remember that You are with them. Bring healing to their bodies, peace to their minds, and provision for their needs according to Your mercy and power. Lead them not into temptation but deliver them from evil, and establish their feet on a steady path as they look straight ahead to You. Help them to continue faithfully in the work You have given them to do while watching prayerfully, trusting not in their own strength but in You. We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus, for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Keep keeping your eyes on the Lord, staying in His Word, praying simply and continually, and doing good as you have opportunity. If fear rises, turn it into a reminder to remember that He is with you, and let that remembrance strengthen your faith.
