We all have days when we don’t want to hear about God’s purpose in the suffering, we just want to feel better. Still, Karlton shares how our outlook impacts our life dramatically.
“The Lord said, ‘I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.'” (Exodus 3:7)
It is the miserable times of my illness that are so challenging. You know what I mean, there is the normal, “everyday bad”, and then there is the truly “miserable bad.” Those miserable bad days really make me want to give the devil a black eye. It’s my hope that God can somehow use all that misery for His glory, that instead of me falling to my knees in pain and suffering, I can rise up and glorify God in the midst of my suffering.
Sometimes a bad mood trickling into my life becomes a raging torrent.
One of my favorite bands, a group named “Skillet” has a song called “Monster” that speaks of “sometimes feeling like a monster.” Our illnesses can do that to us, make us feel inhuman, drag us down into painful, miserable moods, and lead our minds down dark pathways. We seriously need help from above to redeem such times.
One of these days maybe the devil will learn his lesson. The more he hits me, the more I’m going to turn it to God’s purposes. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than punching the devil in the eye. More times than I can count the devil has whispered: You are not going to make it. But as always, he is a liar, and I’m still here praising God. And when the enemy comes to his final ending, I’ll be there praising God in my glorified body, and so will you.
But today can seem miserable, these bodies wracked with pain, moods dark and depressed, it can be a struggle getting from one day to the next. We need help from above, we need spiritual warfare to protect our hearts and minds from the arrows of the enemy, and we need the satisfaction of a counterstrike against our enemy. Often it is when we are our weakest that we are most effective as witnesses to the glory of God.
The enemy does not understand the paradox that out of weakness comes strength; sometimes the best things in life start out bitter and disappointing only to become our greatest moments and experiences. Dark days can be our greatest opportunities to witness about what God can do.
Sometimes life gets ugly and painful. And it seems the devil has a knack of showing up when you are weakest. When our Lord Jesus was weakest the devil came to tempt Him, so it should be no surprise that when we are down the enemy strikes.
I would encourage you to counterstrike, praise God in the midst of your pain, refuse to see yourself as a misshapen monster no matter how you may feel, you are a son or daughter of the Most High, so find a way to praise God, to bless God by ministering to others in the midst of your affliction when you are hit the hardest by the enemy.
The grace of God is an awesome thing. It may seem impossible for you to believe that God can use your weakness, your constant illness, and even worsening condition to somehow do good in this world. While your illness may not be a good thing, God working in and through you is always a good thing. It may just be that in the midst of your weakest times God has more room to maneuver and minister through your life.
Don’t let today pass by without praising the Lord. Give God glory for what He has already done in your life, and allow Him to take your pain and misery and make your weakness His strength. Allow Him to take your misery and turn it into a sweet time of what God’s glorious grace can do.
Prayer: Dear Lord, use our pain for Your glory, use our misery to give the devil a black eye and lift Your name high! Amen.
About the Author:
Karlton Douglas lives in Ohio with his lovely wife. He takes great satisfaction in proving the devil wrong and lifting Christ up in the midst of affliction.
Does your affliction leave you feeling down and defeated? Have you tried to praise God in the midst of your pain?
Do you ever wonder if people see Jesus in you? Do you have hope that others do not have? This is a touching song, “Do They See Jesus in Me?” by Joy Williams. I think I need to play this song at least weekly to remind myself how important it is to bring God glory. We never know who is watching. -Lisa
Chronic Illness Pain Daily Devotionals 