Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for sharing this heavy burden and for entrusting your son and his family to prayer. Your love for him and for his household is clear, and it is right to bring him before Jesus for the peace that only He can give.
Jesus told His disciples, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives. Let not your heart be troubled and do not be afraid. The world offers peace when circumstances are calm, but the peace Jesus gives can guard the heart and mind even when circumstances are painful and unjust. That is the peace your son needs now.
Scripture makes a distinction that is important here. Through faith in Jesus we have peace with God, because our sins are forgiven and the war between us and God is ended. From that peace with God comes the peace of God to keep our hearts. We cannot fully know that keeping peace until we know His grace. That is why the letters so often say grace and peace to you, grace first and then peace. Your son is wounded deeply. He gave years to raising his children, and now to have them speak what is not true and to have a court decide against him feels like a great loss. In that place he needs to hear again how much grace God has shown him in Christ, so that grace can open the way for peace to settle his heart.
There is also a loving warning in Scripture to follow peace with all people and to pursue holiness, and to watch diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness spring up to trouble you and by it many become defiled. Bitterness often starts as a small root under the surface, a sense of being wronged that is nursed and rehearsed. If it is not dealt with, it does not stay hidden. It troubles the person who holds it and it defiles those closest to him. You are already seeing this. The hurt over the lies and the court decision is spilling over in short temper toward his wife and the three children still at home. They are feeling the weight of a wound they did not cause.
The example of Esau is given as a warning. He sold what was precious for a momentary desire, and afterward his tears were not tears of repentance but of bitterness and anger toward his brother. That root of bitterness lived on in his family for generations. God does not want that for your son or for his home. There is a place for righteous anger at what is wrong and false, Jesus Himself was angry at sin and at hard hearts that kept people from God, yet Scripture says be angry and do not sin, and do not let the sun go down on your anger, and put away bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking with all malice. Your son's anger at being lied about is understandable, but if it remains and grows, it will harm his marriage and his children and keep him from the peace God wants to give him.
God wants him to have peace and to live a life of peace, and He has made that possible through Jesus. The wisdom that comes from above is first pure and then peaceable, and the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. To sow peace does not mean to say that what is false is true, or to pretend the hurt is not real. It means to choose, by God's grace, to release bitterness to the Lord, to seek His help to speak and act with gentleness at home, to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace within his own household, and to trust God to work in the hearts of his teenagers in His time. Teenagers often chafe at rules and are drawn to freedom without responsibility, but the Lord sees the truth and He is able to bring conviction and understanding in a way that no argument can.
I am praying with you for your son, and I join you in putting him in God's hands.
Father, in the name of Jesus we bring this son before You. You see his pain, the years he labored to raise his children, and the sting of the lies spoken against him and his wife. You see the disappointment and the anger he carries. We ask that You would give him peace with You afresh through the cross, and then the peace of God to guard his heart and mind. Teach him Your grace in a deeper way, so that peace can take root. Pull up any root of bitterness before it grows, and help him to put away wrath and harsh words. Give him strength to be gentle and patient with his wife and his three children at home, to love them well even while he grieves. Protect those children from being defiled by this conflict. We also pray for the two teenagers, that You would work in their hearts, bring them to truth, and draw them to honor what is right. And we pray for this grandmother who intercedes with such love, comfort her as she trusts You. You are the Lord our peace. Let Your peace rule in this home. Amen.
Continue to encourage your son to bring his hurt honestly to the Lord each day, to ask for grace before peace, and to seek help if his temper continues to wound his family, whether through wise counsel from Scripture or from a trusted pastor. God is able to keep him and to bring healing in His time.
Jesus told His disciples, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives. Let not your heart be troubled and do not be afraid. The world offers peace when circumstances are calm, but the peace Jesus gives can guard the heart and mind even when circumstances are painful and unjust. That is the peace your son needs now.
Scripture makes a distinction that is important here. Through faith in Jesus we have peace with God, because our sins are forgiven and the war between us and God is ended. From that peace with God comes the peace of God to keep our hearts. We cannot fully know that keeping peace until we know His grace. That is why the letters so often say grace and peace to you, grace first and then peace. Your son is wounded deeply. He gave years to raising his children, and now to have them speak what is not true and to have a court decide against him feels like a great loss. In that place he needs to hear again how much grace God has shown him in Christ, so that grace can open the way for peace to settle his heart.
There is also a loving warning in Scripture to follow peace with all people and to pursue holiness, and to watch diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness spring up to trouble you and by it many become defiled. Bitterness often starts as a small root under the surface, a sense of being wronged that is nursed and rehearsed. If it is not dealt with, it does not stay hidden. It troubles the person who holds it and it defiles those closest to him. You are already seeing this. The hurt over the lies and the court decision is spilling over in short temper toward his wife and the three children still at home. They are feeling the weight of a wound they did not cause.
The example of Esau is given as a warning. He sold what was precious for a momentary desire, and afterward his tears were not tears of repentance but of bitterness and anger toward his brother. That root of bitterness lived on in his family for generations. God does not want that for your son or for his home. There is a place for righteous anger at what is wrong and false, Jesus Himself was angry at sin and at hard hearts that kept people from God, yet Scripture says be angry and do not sin, and do not let the sun go down on your anger, and put away bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking with all malice. Your son's anger at being lied about is understandable, but if it remains and grows, it will harm his marriage and his children and keep him from the peace God wants to give him.
God wants him to have peace and to live a life of peace, and He has made that possible through Jesus. The wisdom that comes from above is first pure and then peaceable, and the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. To sow peace does not mean to say that what is false is true, or to pretend the hurt is not real. It means to choose, by God's grace, to release bitterness to the Lord, to seek His help to speak and act with gentleness at home, to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace within his own household, and to trust God to work in the hearts of his teenagers in His time. Teenagers often chafe at rules and are drawn to freedom without responsibility, but the Lord sees the truth and He is able to bring conviction and understanding in a way that no argument can.
I am praying with you for your son, and I join you in putting him in God's hands.
Father, in the name of Jesus we bring this son before You. You see his pain, the years he labored to raise his children, and the sting of the lies spoken against him and his wife. You see the disappointment and the anger he carries. We ask that You would give him peace with You afresh through the cross, and then the peace of God to guard his heart and mind. Teach him Your grace in a deeper way, so that peace can take root. Pull up any root of bitterness before it grows, and help him to put away wrath and harsh words. Give him strength to be gentle and patient with his wife and his three children at home, to love them well even while he grieves. Protect those children from being defiled by this conflict. We also pray for the two teenagers, that You would work in their hearts, bring them to truth, and draw them to honor what is right. And we pray for this grandmother who intercedes with such love, comfort her as she trusts You. You are the Lord our peace. Let Your peace rule in this home. Amen.
Continue to encourage your son to bring his hurt honestly to the Lord each day, to ask for grace before peace, and to seek help if his temper continues to wound his family, whether through wise counsel from Scripture or from a trusted pastor. God is able to keep him and to bring healing in His time.
