Can good come from chronic illness?
Frequently we with chronic illness are beaten down by pain, run down with fatigue, and overwhelmed trying to navigate life.
Our road is difficult, fraught with tough decisions and grief. Often our dreams for our lives are obliterated or slowly crushed.
We wonder what we did wrong, or how we can “fix” our lives, or why God is allowing the pain.
We might struggle with short tempers, irritability, and impatience. Though we can’t blame these behaviors on our illness because nothing is an excuse for sin, it IS undeniably more difficult to cultivate the Fruits of the Spirit while feeling physically bad.
We watch others, sometimes even evil people, sail through life with seemingly no trouble. (See Psalm 37 and 73, though!)
We are happy for our friends when they get to do things we can’t, but sometimes we still grieve a little bit.
What good can come of all the heartache, the deep weariness, and the pain?
The best thing about chronic illness: God is refining our characters.
Someone once wrote that our whole lives on earth are just a prelude to our lives (as Christian believers) in heaven. We may not understand the prelude, but heaven will be beyond our expectations.
When we suffer innocently (as in we didn’t cause our own troubles by breaking God’s law or being selfish), we are entering into suffering with Jesus.
Jesus really, really does know how you feel.
Even if you have to beat on His chest with your anger first, will you allow Him close?
Will you allow Him to work His strength in you when you can’t cope, His love in you when you don’t feel loving, His peace in you when you are angry?
Even though it doesn’t feel like it, chronic illness could be the best thing that’s ever happened to you.
Christa Upton Black Hills Picture Books PO Box 293 Custer, SD 57730
