“Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.” (1 Timothy 5:23)
During a recent doctor visit I told my doctor: “I don’t need another problem.” He replied: “I know.”
Additional illnesses and extra diagnoses are things we do not want. If you are like me, you really just want the affliction merry-go-round to stop. I’m guessing that you feel exactly the same as I do when additional illnesses are added to the scale of your already overburdened affliction account.
My “extra” illness is diabetes. I’ve been non-diabetic, pre-diabetic, and now am diagnosed diabetic. I have packet to carry around to check my blood with, and an additional medication, and one more thing to worry about.
Sometimes you feel like you have “paid your dues.” You have had your share of suffering, you have done your time in the prison of affliction, and need a reprieve or a complete pardon. Life is not fair, that is the most difficult pill we have to swallow, it is the hard reality we face. As our our list of afflictions grow, we can find ourselves lacking the resources to meet the obligations our afflictions cast upon us.
Pray, pray, pray, every Christian with their own list of afflictions must take that long list before the Lord. I’ve said more than once that I have no idea how those who do not call upon the Lord can survive chronic and continual afflictions. Prayer energizes us, gives us hope, peace and strength. Prayer reminds us we do not carry our burdens alone. And prayer puts into motion the resources from above that we will need to endure and overcome and simply survive affliction.
My fellow Christians, my brothers and sisters in affliction, let us encourage one another in the Lord, and lift each other up in prayer. We do not walk alone in our afflictions, and we are not without help. Let us continually remind each other of this truth. For the Lord is our strength and help in affliction.
Prayer: Dear Lord, as added burdens come, give us added grace, peace, and strength. Amen.
About the Author:
Karlton Douglas lives in Ohio with his lovely wife. He depends upon God’s grace for all the afflictions in his life.
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How do you handle extra diagnosis’s and added burdens of affliction?
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