Do you suffer from the pain and exhaustion of chronic illness? Diagnosed or undiagnosed, many of us know what it is like to be worn down by an illness that has no end in sight. I have suffered from a chronic illness for more than two decades, and I know what it’s like to struggle to understand God’s plan. There have been times when I even blamed God for my suffering rather than running to Him for the daily grace He offers me.
However, in spite of my unworthiness, He has proved Himself a faithful and loving Father. He has provided the truth and the strength I need each day, and His provision over the many years has helped me to grow in my trust in Him. Truly, we can do all things through Christ, and this means that we can glorify Him in each situation.
Here are 9 discouraging thoughts we may have when battling chronic illness, alongside the good news that will carry us through.
1. I feel too exhausted to read my Bible and pray.
Gospel hope: Jesus welcomes the weary. Our communication and devotion to Him is not about length or intensity but first and foremost about our recognition of our need for Him.
Matthew 5:3-6 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the weak, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
Romans 8:26-28 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
2. My body is failing me, and I don’t know how to go on.
Gospel hope: Jesus took on a human body, suffered, experienced physical frailty, and died. Our weakness isn’t foreign to Him. He has come near and meets us in our suffering. He did this to bring us life and hope.
Hebrews 4:14-16 “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
3. I feel useless.
Gospel hope: Our worth is not tied to our productivity. God loved us when we were “dead in our trespasses” and He continues to work through our weakness.
Ephesians 2:4-7 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
4. I can’t help others like I used to.
Gospel hope: Jesus served us in His life and in His suffering. In similar ways, our service to God and to others is not related merely to physical acts or even presence. Our most significant service may be in our endurance, prayers, and example in suffering.
Philippians 2:4-8 “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
5. I feel isolated and alone. People don’t understand what I’m going through.
Gospel hope: Jesus was misunderstood, dismissed, and rejected. He understands the loneliness of unseen suffering, and He took on this suffering so that we would never be alone. He loves you that much.
Isaiah 53:3-5 “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
John 15:13-15 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
6. I struggle with anxiety about my health and future.
Gospel hope: Jesus invites you to bring these fears to Him. He is ready to listen and cares about your concerns.
Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
1 Peter 5:6-7 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
7. I grieve the life I used to have.
Gospel hope: Jesus also wept at loss and suffering, even though He had perfect insight into the glory that would follow. Grief isn’t a lack of faith. We can grieve what we have lost without falling into despair. God has grace for us in these times, and we can glorify Him in our suffering.
John 11:32-35 “Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept.”
2 Corinthians 4:7-10 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies.”
8. Sometimes I feel angry about my suffering. Does God even care?
Gospel hope: We can bring our honest emotions and our questions directly to our Father. We can call out to Him for answers to our suffering. He will listen, and He will give us the grace and wisdom to endure.
Psalm 22 shows us just one of the examples of the emotional honesty we can have in prayer and how God answers. Jesus Christ even used this psalm as He was dying for us on the cross.
Psalm 22:1-2, 19, 22-23a, 24 “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.… But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!… I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: You who fear the Lord, praise him!… For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.”
9. I struggle to trust God’s goodness. Why would He allow this?
Gospel hope: The cross proves God’s love even when circumstances cause us to doubt. He may not always rescue us from suffering, but Jesus has come down to meet us in our suffering. Our suffering here on earth has a purpose, and He will give us daily grace.
Romans 8:32 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
Each of these passages holds rich truths for us in our suffering. These are best studied at length in their context, and I encourage you to use each of them for further study in God’s character and truth.
Recommended Reading
“This book will gently encourage and greatly help any woman who is struggling with suffering―whether physical, emotional or psychological, and whether for a season or for longer. For anyone who is hurting, this book will give hope, not just for life beyond the suffering, but for life in the suffering.vEach chapter contains a biblical reflection, with questions and prayers, and a space for journaling.” (Amazon description)
“The question of why God would allow pain and suffering in the world has vexed believers and nonbelievers for millennia. Timothy Keller, whose books have sold millions of copies to both religious and secular readers, takes on this enduring issue and shows that there is meaning and reason behind our pain and suffering, making a forceful and ground-breaking case that this essential part of the human experience can be overcome only by understanding our relationship with God.” (Amazon description)
“Elisabeth Elliot was no stranger to suffering. Her first husband, Jim, was murdered by the Waoroni people in Ecuador moments after he arrived in hopes of sharing the gospel. Her second husband was lost to cancer. Yet, it was in her deepest suffering that she learned the deepest lessons about God. Why doesn’t God do something about suffering? He has, He did, He is, and He will.” (Amazon description)
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