Health knowledge made personal
 Lisa C.San Diego, California
Website:
http://www.restministries.com
Lisa Copen is the founder of Rest Ministries, a Christian organization that serves the chronically ill. She has authored eight books, including resources for over 300 HopeKeepers groups, a program of Rest Ministries. As editor of HopeKeepers. Magazine and founder of National Invisible Chronic...
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“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth.” (Psalm 33:6)
Ca-zillions of words surround me every day. Words from my laptop, TV, movies, thoughts, conversations and Bible.
Today it struck me anew, that I need to hear just one word, from the Lord, and everything else fades into insignificance. The Lord spoke a word and the heavens were made. Wow! Now that’s a powerful word! A word began our universe, created and ordered out of nothingness.
During illness, some days feel like nothingness. . . lonely, tiring, devoid of creativity and life.
When God speaks a word, nothing else matters because He creates life and order from that one word. What a wonderful reminder this has been today. He’s also brought me back to special memories from my past.
My husband and I have both had the blessing of hearing God audibly speak to us a couple of times in our lives. They were very significant words that changed the course of our lives in wonderful ways. Once the Lord said clearly to me “it’s time!” My husband and I knew immediately that the Lord was telling us it was time to leave our home church, which my husband had been in for his whole life. This move created very important growth, career changes, friendships and faith journeys in our new church. We wouldn’t have moved without those two little words.
Another time my husband heard his name, audibly in a crowd, in China. He followed it’s direction and heard it twice more. Before long he was in a tiny shop, speaking to a lady who had just become a Christian recently and knew no other Christians. She had prayed to meet a Christian that day! Two of her friends then gave their lives to the Lord right there, simply because my husband was directed by a word.
I’ve come to realize that an audible word is a rare and treasured occurrence, but the still small voice of the Lord can happen often over a day. It might be a word jumping out at me through the scriptures, spoken by a friend, popping into my thoughts or prayers, or in an email.
Now that I’m ill, I have individual words around the house: hope, love, peace, dream, faith, create and believe. They are all placed in significant places where I can see them. Those individual words also create changes in my life on a daily basis. They speak loudly through the noisy, negative narratives of the world.
I praise God for His individual words that produce life, creativity, order and peace in my life.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for the power of Your Word. Help me to listen to You and to hear the word that You have especially for me. Thank You that Your words bless and encourage me and those around me. Speak, Lord, for I am listening. Amen.
About the Author Kerryn Wright lives with her family amongst the gum trees in South Australia. She was a special education teacher prior to chronic illness. Her husband is carer for three of their family, who have chronic illnesses and disabilities. God has always guided them through life’s challenges, often in surprising ways.
How do you hear the word of the Lord? What words give you life? Have you ever had significant times that the Lord has spoken into with a word? How has that blessed you or others?
Here is Chris Tomlin singing “Indescribable.” Enjoy! -Lisa
“Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from His heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of His right hand. (Psalm 20:6)
Sometimes it feels like we are stuck in a rut of disappointments. We get to the point we are expecting bad news because we have had so much bad news. Yet I don’t think the Lord wants us to stay in a state of gloomy expectations.
Recently I was struggling through several days of depression and just feeling “off” mentally. I was dreading going to see my diabetes specialist because I was unsure how much, or if my blood sugar had improved. I also suspected I had gained some weight from the inactivity of this winter. To my surprise, I had not only lost some weight, my blood test showed overall improvement in my blood sugar levels.
Expecting bad news, instead I received good news.
We need to celebrate our victories. We certainly bewail our losses and difficulties. Indeed, I think we must celebrate even the small victories as they are very important to those of us who live with affliction, disease, pain and suffering. It is too easy to overlook the many victories God gives us, both small and large, and get caught up only in a mindset of focusing on our difficulties.
Perhaps you received some unexpected financial blessing, or perhaps a family member was recently blessed. Maybe you got an unexpected visit from an old friend. Perhaps the diagnosis from your doctor was not as bad as expected. Celebrate it! We are blessed in many ways, and I think when so many things go wrong in our lives, we can easily overlook or dismiss those things that go right.
Today maybe the sun is shining after several gloomy, rainy days. Perhaps someone made you your favorite meal or dessert. Perhaps someone took you out to eat at your favorite restaurant, or sewed you a quilt, or called you out of the blue just to let you know they care. Celebrate it!
Maybe your favorite song was playing on the radio today, or your dog or cat nestled up beside you to show their affection. Maybe your child got a good grade in school today, or an older child got a new job. Celebrate it! I think we are only limited in our appreciation of the small and large blessings by our own imagination and by getting into a rut of expecting gloom and disappointment.
So what are some of the blessings that have come your way this month, this week, this day? Who in your family has been blessed of late? What surprising blessing has God brought your way lately? Perhaps it is time to look beyond the very real challenges and difficulties in our lives and start adding up the blessings, large and small. We might just be surprised to find those blessing and victories add up to much evidence of God’s goodness in our lives.
Prayer: Dear Lord, forgive us our complaints, and help us to count up our victories instead. Help me find a victory today and celebrate it. Amen.
About the Author Karlton Douglas lives in Ohio with his lovely wife. His desire is to focus more on his victories than on his difficulties.
Do you find it is easy to overlook the victories in your life? Have you tried adding up the victories God has given you and your loved ones?
This is an 80s video of Kim Boyce singing “I Just Want to Celebrate” – I remember listening to Kathy Troccoli sing this on one of her albums and it always was uplifting. Celebrate! -Lisa
“The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.” (Proverbs 19:23)
Recent months have given me cause for fear. A couple of weeks ago, what I believed was a pinched nerve in my left side, went from painful to disabling in a few hours. It was a pain I distinctly remembered from a back injury in 2011. As I stood by the sink trying to make myself do dishes, and could not even bend enough to drop the silverware into the holder, the tears started to fall.
I had to submit to the pain and call my husband to come home. And the fear that this was all starting over again made me start to panic. I can’t go through that pain again I thought. And my son’s birthday party was in three days!
A trip to the doctor the next day resulted in his suspicions sending me for x-rays. And the x-rays showed a fractured rib–a re-fracture actually. And I had a gas bubble pushing on the fracture, a gas bubble about half the size of a bowling ball! The doctor sent me home with pain pads and pain killers and wished me luck. I begged for any kind of shot, but he said it wouldn’t make a difference.
We are told over and over in the Bible not to fear. Yet, it is life we are not to fear because God has control over all of it. The only time we should have fear is when we have a healthy-respect-kind-of-fear of God.
I grew up hearing the popular motto, “Get a life!” and that is something those of us with chronic illness deeply desire–a life. While our friends may be deciding between dinner out or having friends over for dinner, we are deciding whether we should try a heating pad or another bag of ice. It just doesn’t feel like life!
This scripture above, however, reminds me that it is not the social shenanigans we are attending that give us life. If we are looking foe the path to life it is. . . (listen up) fear of the Lord. Fear of the Lord! Of all the ways I can think of to give me life (less pain, more friends, fewer financial struggles, etc.) I sure would not have thought of fear as being life-giving. But it is the appropriate kind of fear–fear of the Lord.
We should not fear our circumstances, test results, even the extreme pain. We should only fear the Lord, and know that He desires the very best for us. We don’t have to try to create a life–we just have to surrender to His will and allow Him to take action in our days. That may be staying in bed when we would rather go somewhere–or. . . it may be going out and taking a walk when we would rather just stay in bed.
Our circumstances will change and with it, our fears could change. When our only fear is of the Lord, we have the freedom to pursue joy without the fear that our situation will alter it.
Prayer: Lord, when I am weak and give in to the fears of my circumstances, of pain, of treatments, of medication side effects, and more, help me know that I need only fear You–not these things of the earth. You are eternal and love me unconditionally. Amen.
About the author Lisa Copen is the founder of Rest Ministries and she lives in San Diego with her husband and son. She is gradually learning how to balance motherhood, family, illness, and ministry, but she still knows it will be a lifetime lesson. You can see the books she has written, including, Why Can’t I Make People Understand? at the Rest Ministries shop .
What fears have you been caught up in lately? How have you avoided letting them consume you?
Here is the song “We Choose the Fear of the Lord” with the Maranatha Singers. Blessings to you! – Lisa
“I am the Root and Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star” (Revelation 22:16).
Most people, whether chronically ill or not, have experienced sleepless nights for various reasons. When we have pain, nights seem endless. Although our days may not be much better, it can be a relief to see some light in the sky and know that our long and sleepless night is finally over.
Jesus is called the Morning Star in three places in Scripture (Numbers 24:17; 1 Peter 1:19; Revelation 22:16). The Morning Star is not really a star at all, but the planet Venus. It is most visible just before sunrise, and is one of the brightest objects in the sky. The sight of this “star” means that night is nearly over.
What a wonderful representation of Christ. Whether our dark nights are literal 8-hour ones or whether they are entire seasons of pain and suffering, the light of Jesus shines through. His light illuminates His truths for us to hold on to during our times of darkness: He will guide us continually (Isaiah 58:11), He is continually with us (Joshua 1:9), His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), the mind controlled by His Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:6), and many more.
Venus is also sometimes called the Evening Star. It is the Morning Star when it is on one side of the Sun, leading it across the sky and being most visible a few hours before sunrise. But when Venus is on the other side of the Sun, it is seen shortly after the Sun sets. At its brightest, it becomes visible right after the Sun goes down.
How much that describes Jesus! Whether our nights of suffering are ending or just beginning, Jesus is right there with us. His light will continue to shine on us and for us, lighting up our sky with the glory of His presence. So some dusk or dawn look for the light of Venus in the sky–and see Jesus.
Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, that wherever I am in my suffering and pain, You are there. May the light of Your presence give me hope, perseverance, and faith to bring me through my darkness. Amen.
About the author
Bronlynn Spindler lives in VA and is blessed to have the support and encouragement of a wonderful husband and three grown daughters. God’s grace and strength have brought her through thyroid cancer and continue to sustain her through ongoing back pain, depression, headaches, multiple sensitivities, eye pain, and fibromyalgia. You may view her blog of devotionals at www.aplaceofsprings57.blogspot.com.
What darkness are you experiencing right now that you need the light of Jesus to shine on? Have you seen ways that He has shone His light on this situation already?
Light Up the Sky by the Afters is one of Bronlynn’s favorite songs. We hope it blesses you today as you remember that God is always beside you. -Lisa
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” (Colossians 4:2)
Over the last year or so, the changes in my cognitive ability have begun to affect what I remember and also how hard it is to concentrate on what I’m thinking or saying. It’s been frustrating and difficult and has even led to some embarrassing situations where I don’t remember what I’ve been told about someone.
One of the other things I’ve noticed is that I’m finding it harder to pray. I’ve begun finding other ways to remember what I want to be praying about, to make sure I don’t let people down when I’ve said “I’ll pray” –because I really do want to be praying for them.
Physical mobility, pain, energy resources–all these things can have a bearing on what we can still do for God. But I’m often reminded that “we can always pray,”–without leaving our homes, without the help of anyone else.
So to feel that I’m struggling to pray has been a huge thing for me.
But, I’m encouraged by the following:
I think that what matters is that we pray. Sometimes we might pray as we type an email to someone; or write a card to post; or just as we have someone, or some circumstance come to mind. It might be just a passing thought, or a long crying out to God on someone’s behalf. Whatever form it takes–God knows–and He always understands.
Recently, I came across this quote that reminded me that prayer is not just asking God for a list of things we want, it’s keeping in touch.
“Dear God, whether all my prayers are short or long, they are a way of keeping me connected to Your love.” -Linda Neukrug
So maybe I don’t have to be so bothered by my struggles to have my prayers be what I think they should be. What it is–keeping me connected to God’s love–is what matters.
Prayer: Father, I may forget, confuse, or feel I mess up my prayers, but thank You that You know what I meant to pray, You understand. Thank You that prayer draws me closer to You, whatever form it takes. Amen.
About the Author Fiona Burrows lives in Melbourne, Australia. She is thankful for the difference God makes in her life, and the lessons He is teaching her, as she lives with chronic back pain. She enjoys finding time for reading, writing, and photography, and to travel if she is able. You can contact her in the Sunroom, or read more of her writing on her blog there.
Does your illness make it hard for you to pray? Has that worried you? What do you do to help?
Does prayer work? Of course it does! We may not need actual research and “proof” from the world, but guess what? It exists. This peaceful video share a bunch of the studies that show just how amazing prayer is and can make a difference in your health–and your life.
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)
How do you make it? How can anyone with a serious illness survive in a cruel world, especially the cruel world of affliction?
How can a couple stay together when one of the partners is seriously ill, putting a constant strain and drain on a marriage? There is only one answer, the word is love. Love covers our frustrations, it covers our impatience, and anger and disappointment. Nothing else can cover the multitude of hardships and challenges and terrible moments of affliction.
Sometimes you are angry, at other times it is your spouse, your child, or your parent. Affliction and its frustrations affect everyone in the household. There is no escaping the daily strain of illness and the webs of irritations that it spreads throughout a home and its occupants. It is just like that scripture that says: When one part of the body is in pain, the whole body suffers (1 Corinthians 12:26).
And so it is with a home affected by affliction.
If not for . . .
I bet you can finish that sentence. If not for love. . . we could not forgive each other. If not for love. . . we could not accept each other. Indeed, we could not even tolerate each other.
Love covers.
That is probably the best sentence I ever wrote: Love covers. Love has covered my home, healed my home, kept relationships from falling apart. Even in a home without affliction, it will never hold fast, never stay together without the covering power of love, much less a home with the added burden of affliction.
The Christian religion boils down to one word: Love. Without love the Christian religion would become a mean, harsh, intolerant mess, because the true faith of Christianity begins with a God of love creating, and ends with a God of love dying to save His creation. It is a circular miracle of love. It is driven by love, held together by love, uplifted by a loving Savior on a cross. Because of His love, we live, and our faith is empowered by love.
The religions and beliefs of cultures vary, some look for enlightenment, some for an altered state of consciousness, some for virtue or knowledge. But the Christian religion is a religion born of, and built upon love. When we love we are at our best, and we are best representing our faith when motivated by, and acting upon love.
Christian, you may be one of those “blessed” by affliction. Your life may be one continuous challenge. I cannot promise you it will get easier, I can only tell you that to survive affliction you will need love, a love that is born of God, and only by and through God’s love can you survive and even thrive in the land of your affliction.
Prayer: Dear Lord, let Your love live in us, and through Your grace help us to live a life filled with love. Amen.
About the Author Karlton Douglas lives in Ohio with his lovely wife. He is grateful for God’s love, a love that covers all things.
Have you lived without love? Have you considered how much better your life is with love?
Jesus loves you. I know, you have heard it before. But click on this video and sit back and hear the faith of a child remind you just how much He really does. -Lisa
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