Psalms 23, Ps. 34, Ps. 91, Ps. 121, gratitude, deliverance, rest, peace, forgiveness, rebuke and remove the evil enemy

[Chrysostom]

You speak of deliverance, yet you grasp at it with the very weapons that forge your chains. Do you not see the wound you carry is made deeper by your own hand? The evil you wish rebuked and removed: this enemy, this source of attack, is clearly a person who has wronged you. And your prayer, though you veil it in pious words from the Psalms, is a cry for vengeance. You ask God to be your servant in a private war. This is not the fast that looses the bands of wickedness.

Consider what true deliverance is. You think peace will come when your enemy is cast down. What a bitter deception! God is not a God of war and fighting. Make war and fighting to cease, both that which is against Him, and that which is against thy neighbor. The peace you seek, the rest for your soul that wearies you on your phone to distraction, will never be found in the ruin of another. You ask for forgiveness for your own sins while nursing the sins of another in your heart, sharpening them into a grievance. What a contradiction! The insolent man mars all the beauty of charity. You are marring your own peace, and driving away that very peace which God so desires.

You pray, “Please stop the attacks.” But hear the apostle’s command: “Follow peace with all men.” With the evil-doer as well? “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” This is your part. Live peaceably, doing no harm to religion. But when you are ill-treated, bear it nobly. For nothing so shames him that is doing us evil, as bearing nobly the things which are brought upon us, and not avenging ourselves either by word or by deed. This is the great weapon in your trial. Has such a one been insolent? Do thou bless him. See how much thou wilt gain: thou hast quenched the evil, thou hast procured for thyself a reward, thou hast made him ashamed, and thou hast suffered nothing serious.

This is the fast He has chosen: to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke. The yoke you must break is the one you have placed on your own neck, the yoke of remembered wrongs and a thirst for rebuke. You are entangled in mischief together with your enemy. The envious man seems to plot against another, but himself first reaps the fruit of his sin, wasting and wearing himself away. Release him from your heart’s court, and you release yourself.

You desire to read and study your Bible more. Then hear it not as a spell for your own comfort, but as a two-edged sword dividing your own soul from its sickness. The division you fear is the very medicine you need. There is an evil concord, and there is a good disagreement. Separate yourself from this ill-joined limb of malice and resentment. Cut it off, that the whole body of your soul be not cast into hell. Be at peace with all men, consider with what character God saveth thee. The more thy brother warreth against thee, by so much the greater will be thy reward. With the haters of peace, be peaceful. This is virtue, this is above man’s understanding, this maketh us near God. Nothing so much delighteth God as to remember no evil. This, and not the overthrow of your adversary, is what sets thee free from thy sins and looseth the charges against thee.

Lay down the phone not merely to escape distraction, but because you are using it to feed the fires of your grievance, to replay the wrongs, to seek confirmation of your injury. Turn instead to prayer and a disciplined life. He that is praying as he ought, and fasting, hath not many wants. He that fasts is light, and winged, and prays with wakefulness, and quenches his wicked lusts, and propitiates God, and humbles his soul when lifted up. Quench this lust for vindication, and you will find the true peace that is righteousness and joy in the Holy Ghost. Then your good will be spoken well of, and God will be glorified in your freedom.

 

[Silas]

I hear the desperate longing in your words for rest, peace, and relief from the attacks that keep pressing in. You’re crying out for God to rebuke this evil and remove it, and that is the right place to start. But I want you to see that the rest you’re searching for isn’t found in a change of circumstances first, it’s found in a Person who is already with you. Many people have peace with God because their sins are forgiven, but they still don’t know the peace of God that quiets the storm inside. That peace comes when the mind is stayed on Him, anchored in trust rather than tossed by the waves.

Your fast matters. Any denial of the flesh is good because it trains your heart to hunger for God. But be careful not to slip into thinking that fasting earns His intervention. I’ve been there myself: I’ve fasted and then felt weak and confused, wondering why God didn’t move the way I expected. But His blessing isn’t a reward for our effort; it flows from faith that rests in what Christ has already done. The rest God offers isn’t about trying harder to be holy or wrestling your enemy to the ground. It’s about entering into the finished work of Jesus. He is our Sabbath. He is the rest for your soul. When you cease from your own frantic works, including the frantic fight for deliverance done in the flesh, you can lay down in a peace that doesn’t make sense to the world around you.

That endless loop of checking your phone is part of the battle, isn’t it? It’s a distraction that keeps your mind darting instead of staying fixed on Him. You already know you need more time in the Bible, more time to let His words sink deep and reshape your thoughts. That desire is the Spirit drawing you. But finding that rest again won’t happen by wishing the phone away; it happens by deliberately choosing to fill the house of your heart with God’s truth. An empty, swept house just invites more trouble. When you immerse yourself in Scripture, you’re building on the sure foundation, the precious cornerstone. And God has promised to keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed on Him because he trusts in Him.

The fear that these attacks will never end can feel overwhelming. But God’s deliverance for His people is certain, it cannot fail. He doesn’t promise a life without turmoil, but He does promise that the righteous will enter into peace and rest in their beds. That doesn’t mean passivity; it means you can face the battle from a place of deep settled trust. The Lord speaks peace to those who are far off and to those who are near. You haven’t strayed beyond His reach. The blood of Jesus is enough to forgive every sin you’ve confessed. The war between you and God is over if you’ve come to Him through Christ. Now you need to learn to live in that peace, moment by moment.

So pray for deliverance, yes, but begin by resting in the Deliverer. Let your fast be a quiet statement of dependence, not a plea for Him to finally notice you. Ask Him to break the hold of that digital distraction not by force but by making His Word sweeter to you. The enemy is real, but so is the authority of the One who disarmed him. God will rebuke the devourer for your sake. Your part is to keep your eyes on the Lord, not on the storm. And as you do, you’ll discover what it means to have a peace that actually baffles the world and quiets the clamor. Your deliverance is rising, and the rest He gives is for right now, not just someday.