There are two things are bad with chronic illness. The first is, you do not feel good. I’ve often thought that if one felt better, illness would not be so bad. That sounds silly, but back in the good, old days illness would happen and then in a short time I would feel better. This made colds, the flu, etc., not so bad. With chronic illness one either feels bad or worse.
The second is having to spend lots of time talking with doctors. Don’t get me wrong, personally I like my health care providers. I am blessed with brothers and sisters in Christ that attend to my health. What a wonderful gift from our Lord. But they never have good news. We hear none of this, “Take this medicine for a period of time and your symptoms will end.”
Living with a constant barrage of bad news tends to wear on a person. This can cause both sleepless nights and dreams which are most troubling. If not for the wonderful gift of God’s word one could easily despair of life.
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
(Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV)
One would not think to find such wonderful comfort in a book that has the label of lament. Reading this book one will see woe, despair and judgment. These are brought about by Our Lord to his people. It seems counter-intuitive to go to this same Lord for comfort and mercy. However, that is the reason for the Lord to chasten us. To drive us to him and away from ourselves and others we think can help.
There are times when I read scripture and it seems as if this is new stuff. It seems through the changing themes in life the mercy we have as a gift is brand new. This is fantastic rather than disheartening. The Holy Spirit is in the word, creating faith, leading in righteousness and comforting beleaguered souls. Jesus promised this gift before he ascended to the Father.
Times of trouble and affliction? These gifts are yours in Jesus Christ. Trust and live in the peace scripture gives. Amen. †
No comments:
Post a Comment