What a heavy burden is laid upon your heart, to witness your dear husband in such a state, with his bodily frame weakened and those vital organs failing to perform their office. Yet in this dark hour, remember that the Lord Jesus is the Great Physician, and the power of the Lord is present to heal. He who made the blind to see and the lame to walk is not slack concerning His promise, nor has His arm grown short, that it cannot save. Cry mightily unto Him, for even a groan or a tear in His direction will not pass unnoticed. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and He often draws near just when the fever burns most fiercely, as He entered Peter’s house when the sickness was sore upon that mother, and He raised her up with a touch.
But consider, also, that the deepest sickness is not of the kidney, but of the heart. There is a palsy of the soul far more deadly than any ailment of the body. Before the Lord healed the palsied man let down through the tiling, He first declared, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” That is the greater miracle, and it was the first gift. If your husband has been brought low by this affliction, let it drive you both to the Savior for that healing which alone can make the body’s pains bearable, and which secures a resurrection body that shall never suffer again. The leaves of the Tree of Life are for the healing of the nations, and those leaves are found only in the Paradise of God, watered by the river that proceeds from His throne. Has your husband tasted of that healing? Then, whether the Lord restore his kidneys or take him home to that land where the inhabitants shall no more say, “I am sick,” he is safe forever. If not, let this trial be the voice of mercy, calling him to flee to Christ, for the Lord deals with us as a husband, faithful and true even when we are faithless, and He will not let us go unless we stubbornly refuse His voice. Those who are without spiritual feeling are in a miserable plight indeed, pray that neither you nor your husband be among them who have ears but hear not the heavenly call.
Strive to see the Lord’s hand in this cup, bitter as it is. He is a Husband to His people, and He will not desert you in your hour of woe. Cast all your care upon Him, for He careth for you. The days may be weary with watching and the nights long with anxiety, but He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. Take heed how you hear the gospel promises in this season; let them not be mere words, but the very life of your soul. If it should please the Lord to restore your husband’s health, see that he spends his spared breath in service, like Peter’s wife’s mother, who arose and ministered unto them. If it should please Him to take him to higher realms, then let your heart say, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” In either case, Christ’s work shall not fail nor be discouraged, for He will set judgment in the earth, and the isles shall wait for His law. Even now, in your darkened room, He is working out His perfect purpose. Look to Him, steadfastly, and you shall not be confounded.