Silas
Beloved of All
Your question about whether Jesus spoke directly to the tempter when He was tempted is answered clearly in Scripture. He did. In the wilderness He addressed the tempter himself, the one called Satan and the devil, and answered him with the written Word of God, saying it is written. He did not ignore him and He did not debate on the tempter's terms. He spoke truth and the tempter left Him for a season. That is the pattern for us as well, to answer temptation and accusation with Scripture and with truth that proceeds from God.
It is a good and right thing that you, your mother and the younger one have entrusted yourselves to the care of the Lord Jesus. That entrusting is not a small thing. Scripture presents those who belong to Him as chosen and not cast away, and calls one of His servants the friend of God, with the promise fear not for I am with you. When you place yourselves in His hands you are placing yourselves where His Word cannot fail. Even when circumstances feel like a national disaster or a personal collapse, not one word of His promises fails. He remains faithful to keep those who trust Him.
You ask for clarity and a true picture concerning the people described in that autobiographical account, and for a place free from the past and free from the interference and scrutiny of religious communities and the public. God understands that desire for a refuge. In the law He provided cities of refuge carefully placed so that a person under accusation or pursued by an avenger could flee, find protection, receive a fair hearing and be safe inside. That picture points to what the Lord Himself is for His people. He is described as refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Because He is that refuge we need not fear though everything around us is shaken. You cannot truly hide from all danger by changing location alone, for living itself brings exposure. What you can have is the security of God Himself. The great God who is Lord over all comes near as a personal refuge, the God of Jacob, near and personal to you. To call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised is to be saved from enemies that are too strong for you. He is your rock and fortress and deliverer, and He draws you out of many waters.
That does not always mean that every record, every story told about you by others, or every curious eye is instantly removed. God's care is not always the immediate erasing of what others have written or said. His care is first that you are kept, protected, and given a place of rest in Himself, and that you are delivered from the power of sin and from the torment of living in the horror of a past day. One of the heaviest burdens is to live backward, rehearsing the past and trying in your mind to change what cannot be changed. Pain and grief can become chisels in His hands to shape character and to bring you to the end of yourself so that you rely wholly on Him, but He does not want you to remain tormented by the past. He wants to turn you from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that you may receive forgiveness and an inheritance by faith in Jesus.
So does His care mean freedom from those depictions. It means freedom in a deeper sense. It means you are free from their power to define you, to condemn you, or to hold you captive. The Son sets free and those He sets free are free indeed. It means He will be your protection from unjust pursuit, He will give you wisdom to see people and situations clearly, and in His time He can and does provide practical quietness, a place of peace, and release from entangling scrutiny. Often that comes as you humbly seek His face, pray, and turn to Him, trusting His mercy. He is a merciful God who abundantly pardons, who washes thoroughly and cleanses from sin, who sends help from heaven and saves from reproach. He invites you to bring your cause to Him and leave vengeance and vindication in His hands, asking Him to keep your own heart from seeking to repay evil.
Continue to call upon Him as your refuge. Keep entrusting your mother, yourself and the younger one to Him daily. Ask Him for discernment to see the truth about those persons and that history, not through the lens of accusation or fear, but through His light. Ask Him to lead you to the quiet place He has for you, first the quietness of being set before His face forever, upheld in integrity by His grace, and then also the outward place of rest He knows you need, free from unnecessary intrusion. He who has taken you from the ends of the earth and called you His own will not cast you away, and He is able to keep you, to give you a clear mind, and to heal the land of your heart as you walk with Him.
It is a good and right thing that you, your mother and the younger one have entrusted yourselves to the care of the Lord Jesus. That entrusting is not a small thing. Scripture presents those who belong to Him as chosen and not cast away, and calls one of His servants the friend of God, with the promise fear not for I am with you. When you place yourselves in His hands you are placing yourselves where His Word cannot fail. Even when circumstances feel like a national disaster or a personal collapse, not one word of His promises fails. He remains faithful to keep those who trust Him.
You ask for clarity and a true picture concerning the people described in that autobiographical account, and for a place free from the past and free from the interference and scrutiny of religious communities and the public. God understands that desire for a refuge. In the law He provided cities of refuge carefully placed so that a person under accusation or pursued by an avenger could flee, find protection, receive a fair hearing and be safe inside. That picture points to what the Lord Himself is for His people. He is described as refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Because He is that refuge we need not fear though everything around us is shaken. You cannot truly hide from all danger by changing location alone, for living itself brings exposure. What you can have is the security of God Himself. The great God who is Lord over all comes near as a personal refuge, the God of Jacob, near and personal to you. To call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised is to be saved from enemies that are too strong for you. He is your rock and fortress and deliverer, and He draws you out of many waters.
That does not always mean that every record, every story told about you by others, or every curious eye is instantly removed. God's care is not always the immediate erasing of what others have written or said. His care is first that you are kept, protected, and given a place of rest in Himself, and that you are delivered from the power of sin and from the torment of living in the horror of a past day. One of the heaviest burdens is to live backward, rehearsing the past and trying in your mind to change what cannot be changed. Pain and grief can become chisels in His hands to shape character and to bring you to the end of yourself so that you rely wholly on Him, but He does not want you to remain tormented by the past. He wants to turn you from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that you may receive forgiveness and an inheritance by faith in Jesus.
So does His care mean freedom from those depictions. It means freedom in a deeper sense. It means you are free from their power to define you, to condemn you, or to hold you captive. The Son sets free and those He sets free are free indeed. It means He will be your protection from unjust pursuit, He will give you wisdom to see people and situations clearly, and in His time He can and does provide practical quietness, a place of peace, and release from entangling scrutiny. Often that comes as you humbly seek His face, pray, and turn to Him, trusting His mercy. He is a merciful God who abundantly pardons, who washes thoroughly and cleanses from sin, who sends help from heaven and saves from reproach. He invites you to bring your cause to Him and leave vengeance and vindication in His hands, asking Him to keep your own heart from seeking to repay evil.
Continue to call upon Him as your refuge. Keep entrusting your mother, yourself and the younger one to Him daily. Ask Him for discernment to see the truth about those persons and that history, not through the lens of accusation or fear, but through His light. Ask Him to lead you to the quiet place He has for you, first the quietness of being set before His face forever, upheld in integrity by His grace, and then also the outward place of rest He knows you need, free from unnecessary intrusion. He who has taken you from the ends of the earth and called you His own will not cast you away, and He is able to keep you, to give you a clear mind, and to heal the land of your heart as you walk with Him.
