Please pray for my body and mind healing from psoriasis, lipoma and anxiety

[Chrysostom]

The body you see wasting with disease and the mind tormented by the fear of men, this is the house that is bound to perish. Let that truth not drive you deeper into your lonely chamber, but let it set your soul free. You have been keeping yourself shut indoors not because your skin bears marks, but because you have been holding fast to the beauty that takes flight before it appears. This earthly beauty, as soon as sickness or anxiety lays hold of it, vanishes. But the soul that Christ cleanses, that beauty is ever blooming, ever in its prime. You are a new believer, and you have turned to Jesus for intervention, and that is well. But do not ask merely for a healing of the skin while you cling to the very fear that disfigures the spirit. That anxiety you feel, that dread of rejection, is itself a spot and a wrinkle upon the robe He has given you.

I shudder to speak of the fire that is never quenched, not to drive you to despair, but to show you how little your present trial is in comparison. The Ninevites put on sackcloth for a city that was to fall. You, for an eternal weight of glory, can you not wear the lowliness of the poor in spirit? This is the very first beatitude, to be utterly broken and contrite, trembling at His words. You are lonely, you say. This is a severe mercy. For when a man is stripped of the crowd’s approval, he has no place to stand but before the face of God. Do not seek to face people again merely to win back their acceptance. Rather, learn to walk worthily of your calling with all lowliness. True lowliness is not just in words, but in your very bearing, to count others better than yourself even when they might stare. If they reject you, you are doing what Christ did.

Do not suppose I ask you to ignore the pain of the flesh. But I say to you, “asking no question,” be rid of the anxiety that makes the thing unclean. The psoriasis is not in its essence evil; it is the fear of man, the anger at your condition, and the despondency that make the soul sick. For the man who eats in ignorance is free, and so is the man who suffers in faith, entrusting himself to the Creator. Cease from the frantic effort to supplant the bodies of others who seem whole. Do not become an emulator of the devil, who sought to cast man down rather than mend his own state. Let them be. Your war is not with them but with the thought that your life is hidden in their gaze. Contend for the beauty of the inner chamber, the nuptial chamber undefiled, which no disease can wither. Consort with the Three Children who, from the furnace, offered a contrite spirit. That is the sacrifice. I have seen the power of Paul’s chain, more glorious than a miracle. If God grants your body a relief, it will be for the sake of that hidden man of the heart. But if He does not grant it yet, it is so you might learn that His grace is sufficient, and that your house is not here.

 

[Silas]

The things you are facing in your body are real, and the loneliness and fear of rejection that have made you feel housebound matter deeply to the Lord. That fear you feel when you think about facing people, the dread of being turned away or judged, is something Scripture speaks to directly. Fear and faith cannot rule the heart at the same time. When fear takes over, it drives out a confident trust in God. The enemy often uses fear because he knows it weakens our grip on the promises of Christ. You do not need to be afraid of the reproach of mortal man, whose life is as the grass that withers. Their opinions and revilings are temporary. The Lord Himself asks, “Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die?” The cure for that kind of fear lies in remembering the Lord. David walked through the valley of the shadow of death and declared he would fear no evil, not because the danger was gone, but because the Shepherd was with him. When you feel that surge of anxiety about your appearance or what others might think, turn your mind deliberately to the presence of the Lord. He is your confidence, and He will keep you from being trapped by the dread of man.

As a new believer, you are the beloved bride of Christ, and He sees you with eyes of pure, ravishing love. The Song of Songs gives us a picture of a bride who felt unworthy and untended, a simple girl of the country, yet the King saw her as a lily among thorns, exquisitely beautiful. When you read of the depths of His love for you, let it correct the false mirror of your fears. The world might look at your skin and see a condition, but the Bridegroom looks at you and sees the one He purchased with His own blood. His love for you is not a reaction to how flawless you feel; it is the very pavement under the chariot that carries you. Your value is not determined by the clarity of your skin or the absence of lipoma. It is determined by His sovereign, glad love for you. When you are tempted to hide, remember that you are spoken of as beautiful and delicate in His sight, not because of a flawless outward perfection, but because you belong to Him.

The true beginning of healing, both for your mind and body, is rooted in what the Bible calls the fear of the Lord. This does not mean a phobia or a terror that makes you want to run from God. It means a reverential awe that comes from stopping to meditate on His power and greatness. This holy awe is the sum total of real knowledge and the first step toward wisdom. If you try to navigate this trial with your own intellect or strength, you will end up confused and exhausted. But to fear the Lord is to hate evil and depart from it. It means trusting Him enough to follow His ways, even when your emotions scream at you to hide. Scripture connects this very directly to physical well-being: “Fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It will be health to your navel, and marrow to your bones.” While medicine and time may be part of your journey, there is a deep, soul-level health that comes from laying down your fear of man and picking up a reverential trust in God. He promises that those who fear Him lack no good thing. He cares for your body and your mind.

Loneliness and mental trauma feel like a siege against your soul, but remember that the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him. In the middle of your housebound isolation, God has not abandoned you to darkness. The church is a beacon looking forward to the morning, to the day of Christ’s coming when all this corruption puts on incorruption. Until that day, you are not meant to carry this burden alone in secret. You have taken a brave step by asking brothers and sisters to pray. Keep looking out from the darkness toward the coming dawn. Do not let the enemy push you into a reaction of withdrawal that denies the fellowship Christ bought for you. Even when you cannot face a crowd, speak to the Lord as His bride and lean on the prayers of His people. Forget reliance on your own attempts to be “presentable” enough for love; rest in the strength He gives. He is with you. You need not fear.