Where Does Your Strength Come From For Coping with Illness?

29 Jun 2010 4 Comments

by Rest Ministries in Devotionals2 Tags: christian encouragement, chronic illness, chronic pain, daily devotionals, deni, devotional writers, hopekeepers, illness ministry, inspirational stories, invisible illness, meditation, rest ministries

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. “ (2 Corinthians 12:9, 11)

I sit in my wheelchair at my electro-physiologist’s office. He oversees some of my heart problems. He looks at me intently as I tell him about the past few months. I describe how even though I have issues with my body, the ‘inside’ me feels pretty good. Me. Not my body.

He stares at me intently.

“You know, you are dealing with at least five major health issues.”

He pauses. I wonder what he’s going to say next. The words surprise me.

“You amaze me.”

I stare at him, not really understanding what he means.

“I have patients who have half the problems you do, and they don’t cope half as well as you do. You simply amaze me.”

Those words did my heart so much good. To have someone say I was doing well, in spite of everything, was so encouraging. Yet, I realize now that I overlooked something very important.

You see, I took the credit. In reality, what he said was simply another way of saying what I have always said about chronic illnesses.

‘I don’t know anyone can cope with a chronic illness without God.’

His words echoed that sentiment, albeit in a different form.

Am I doing anything “special” to be doing so well internally? No. It’s not me. It’s God who is giving me the strength, the encouragement, the hope to continue in the day-after-dayness of my disorders. It’s God who feeds my soul. My body may have deteriorated, but the real “me” inside is not only surviving (which is all I can do physically some days), but thriving, growing, learning, in spite of everything that I am going through.

I realize now that my response to my doctor was an open door I missed. I had the opportunity to say, “I’m not the amazing one. God is.”

So, I’m saying it here – now. It’s not me. It’s God.

About the author
deni believes that the only true way to deal with chronic pain and illness is to bring them to the feet of her Lord and Savior. Her multiple illnesses (Celiac Sprue, Atrial Fibrillation, Ankylosing Spondylitis, to name a few) have taught her many things about herself and her Christian walk. It is her fondest desire that her lessons may be helpful to others as they walk the path of chronic illness. Her website is http://www.pathwaysforchange.com/Encouragement . deni can be reached at encouragingwords@me.com .

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