Wisdom, Protection, Favors, Peace, Love and Joy

[Chrysostom]

The adversary works through those who serve their own belly, using fair speeches to deceive the hearts of the simple. Mark such ones and avoid them, for they cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine you have learned. Your older daughter has been ensnared by one who serves not our Lord Christ but his own appetite, and his mother with him. They seek to draw away your younger sister as well, to exploit her finances and lead her into the same dark path. Do not be ignorant of their devices: division is the devil’s weapon, turning all things upside down. Have no fellowship with these fruitless works of darkness, but rather reprove them by your steadfastness. Avoid them, and pray without ceasing, for the God of peace will bruise Satan under your feet shortly.

Do not be troubled that your younger daughter suffers rejection from her sister. This is the reproach of Christ, to be ill-treated by those of one’s own household, even as Moses was reproached by the man he had delivered. Look not for worldly deliverance at any cost, but for a better resurrection. For He who said, “How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her chicks, but you would not,” still stretches out His wings of protection. Continue to gather them with prayer and holy example, trusting that if the older will heed the truth, He will restore the bonds the enemy has broken.

Many, because the doctrine of the resurrection does not wholly govern them, live in continual fear of temporal retribution, loss of property, harm to children, ruin of life. But know this: God’s righteous judgment is not idle. He often gives proofs of it even here, that the wicked do not go unpunished. Leave vengeance to Him. You are not to entangle yourself in the schemes of these divisive persons, nor to meet their cunning with outrage, but to walk in wisdom. Your part is to mark them, and having done so, to stand apart, that the simple hearts of your daughters may not be further corrupted by their smooth words.

Instead of companions who are like stage-players or perjurers, seek for your children godly friends who will admonish, rebuke, and help watch over your household. Let your younger daughter be guided to friendships that strengthen her tender and generous heart, not those that would lure her away. She is blessed to show you obedience and gratitude; nurture that. For your older daughter, plead that her eyes be opened to see the envy at work, for the devil was a murderer from the beginning, and his children do his lusts. That young man and his mother are acting not from love but from the same spirit that destroyed Adam, envy and the desire to control. They use him to turn your daughter from her faith, her family, and her own worth. Do not cease to cry out that the Lord would show him that he is not her father, nor mentor, nor provider, and that she would recoil from his manipulation and stop excusing his abuse.

Yet remember: God’s desire to gather often meets with human stubbornness. The older one must also choose to return. He will not force the will, but He can frustrate the plots of the deceivers and remove their stronghold. If she will not yet see, commit her to the One who pleaded over a rebellious city. In the meantime, guard your own soul from despair and your home from the contagion of division. Let no root of bitterness spring up. Pray for the unity that surpasses understanding, and trust that in due season, the Lord will restore even what the spoiler has taken from your disabled son, from your daughters’ sisterly bond, and from your household’s peace. Wait upon Him, avoiding what is evil, cleaving to what is good, and He will bring the deliverance that is best for your souls.

 

[Silas]

The anguish in your words is clear, and your deep love for your daughters echoes the heart of a parent who refuses to let go of them in the face of spiritual attack. You have already laid hold of the most powerful truth: the blood of Jesus covers them, and His protection is real. That pleading is not empty ritual; it calls upon the covenant secured through Christ’s suffering. You mentioned healing from POTS and the emotional wounds your younger daughter carries. Remember that when Jesus took the bread and said, “This is my body broken for you,” He pointed to a wholeness that includes both body and soul. The Scriptures reaffirm that by His wounds we are healed, not just from sin, but from the physical and mental brokenness that flows from a fallen world. That healing may unfold gradually, often in ways we don’t fully understand, but every step of restoration, whether through medical means or a direct touch of the Spirit, remains a divine work. Do not lose heart if the full answer tarries; even a partial lifting of symptoms or a renewed peace in her mind is evidence of His hand.

You are also wrestling with a division that has entered your family through relationships that pull your older daughter away from God’s design. The pain of seeing her embrace a lifestyle that mimics manipulation and isolation is sharp. You rightly identify that living together outside of marriage is not a covenant; it leaves her exposed to being used and to a darkness that saps her sense of worth. Pray earnestly that she would awaken to the truth, but do so with a spirit of humility, recognizing that any of us could stumble if we drift from a whole-hearted devotion to the Lord. A lukewarm walk leaves us vulnerable to deception. Yet the power of God is enough to break every stronghold. Frustrating the schemes of those who would lure your daughters down a dark path is exactly what He does when His people pray and stand firm.

In the meantime, draw strength from the family of God. There is a bond among believers that can run deeper than natural blood ties when those natural ties are strained. The body of Christ is meant to be a shelter, a covering of protection and mutual care. Do not isolate yourself or your younger daughter in this battle. Surround yourselves with mature believers who will uphold you in prayer and speak wisdom into these tangled relationships. The enemy thrives on isolation and division, but within the fellowship of the faithful, there is a hedge that the schemes of manipulative people cannot easily penetrate.

Keep praying over your older daughter, that her eyes would be opened to the reality of being exploited and controlled. God’s mercy is able to restore even what the locusts have eaten: her godly habits, her peace, her joy, her sense of worth. The coming days may require patient, steadfast faith, much like those who came to meet a weary traveler on the road simply to offer companionship and courage. Let your home be saturated with prayer and the peace that surpasses understanding, not a fragile truce, but a divine calm that drives out the chaos. And as you plead the blood of Jesus over yourself and your children, be confident that no weapon forged against you will stand, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.