"But He knows the way that I take; when he has
tested me, I will come forth as gold." (Job 23:10)
It's human nature to question and wonder why bad
things happen to us. Why am I afflicted with
this illness or disease? Why am I in pain all
of the time? When we are daily coping with pain,
illness, medications and lack of understanding
from others in dealing with our illnesses, it
becomes difficult to see the hand of God in all
of this. But God's hand is in it nevertheless,
and He overrules everything. No trial comes
except by his permission and for some wise and
loving purpose which perhaps only eternity will
disclose.
There have been times in my life as I deal with
pain that my faith has faltered. I recently
read about a lady who had suffered much and her
faith began to grow thin. She explained that she
and God had been wonderful friends, but right
now He seemed so far away. She said right now
she felt so utterly alone. But she continued
with tears in her eyes, "If I never see His face
again, I will keep looking at the spot where I
saw His face last."
There is a wonderful outcome to the trials in a
life of victorious faith like this. This was
Job's greatest triumph. "But He knows the way
that I take; when he has tested me, I will come
forth as gold." Job 23:10
"Life is a mixture of sunshine and rain, Laughter
and teardrops, Pleasure and pain Low tides and
high tides, Mountains and plains, Triumphs,
defeats, and losses and gains. But there never
was a cloud That the sun didn't shine through And
there's nothing impossible For Jesus Christ to
do." ~Helen Steiner Rice
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Patricia Armstrong lives in Va. Beach, Va., with
her very supportive husband, Richard. Patricia
enjoys church activities, reading, gardening and
camping. She also gets much joy from helping
others find Christ's healing in the Chronic Pain
and Illness Support Group which she has organized
at her church
THROUGH THE EYES OF NEED
"But as for me, it is good to be near
God." (Psalm 73:28 NIV)
Our pastor has been teaching through the
Gospel of Luke. Since these teachings have
started he has been fond of one statement
that is "Jesus always made a beeline to
the one in need". And since "Jesus Christ
is the same yesterday and today and forever."
(Hebrews 13:8 NIV), we may take comfort that
Jesus will "make a beeline" to those of us
who deal with chronic pain or illness.
Now, most of us would say that we would promise to seek the LORD if well. But God
knows and human nature proves that it is
a rare person who seeks The Almighty when
feeling well. It is the loving, compassionate
heart of God that seeks to comfort us and
whisper sweet words of encouragement into
our ears when we are struggling with pain
or illness.
Jesus became a man partly so that He would
know and "feel" what we are going through
when we are suffering. He knows that we
are usually much more open to Him and His
presence when we are struggling. He knows that we also tend to long to go "home" to
Heaven and be with Him when our needs are
great and prolonged. Even if these were
the only benefits to come out of pain it
would be enough. Because when we really
begin studying the life of God, as
expressed in Jesus Christ, we discover
that He is enough; that He is all that we
need.
When we begin studying His life we discover
that, if all else is stripped away from us,
Jesus is enough to satisfy our deepest longings.
Yes, I would love to be able to take long
walks in our beautiful countryside again. I long
to be able to get out in the garden and work
until the sun goes down. But I know if I was
pain-free that my walk with Jesus would be
less rich and rewarding and I would not be
listening for His gentle words of comfort
and love. How both He and I would miss the sweet fellowship that has begun between us;
because of the pain that I carry in my body.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Virginia has struggled with chronic leg and
back pain since 1997. Many trials have driven
her to study the life of Christ as depicted in
The Gospels. She has been overjoyed to discover
the beauty that is in our Savior and she hopes
and prays that we all get to know Him better.
I CRY
Carl'a ~ Journal