This very ailment you name is perhaps the very answer you have sought. The thorn remains, yet the flesh is healed. Consider the paralytic whom the Lord restored, then warned, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing befall you." The body cries out, but the soul must be quick to hear. Praise God indeed that all else is well; but do not despise the stubborn mountain that remains. It is not for naught that the Divine Physician holds back full ease. He would perfect your faith as gold in the furnace. You have known heartbreak, and now this trial; do you not see the pattern of His love? He breaks the outward man to build the inward. Lean on Him, Jehovah Rapha, not with a spirit that demands, but with a patience that trusts. The healing may tarry that your clinging may deepen.
Call on the physicians of the body if need be; it is no shame. Did not the Lord Himself use spittle and clay? The art of medicine is a gift of God, and often He works through such means. But let your first recourse be the prayers of the church, the balm of the Scriptures, and the table of His Body and Blood. You ask our intercession: we lift you up, but I charge you also to search the Word with utmost care. For when you groan that you hear and do not, even that very groan is profit. It is the beginning of healing. Sit in this holy assembly, inhale the perfume of the Spirit, and let the Word impregnate your soul even against your will. Wash your hands before taking up the Bible, and let your unveiled heart be covered with reverence. Outward acts proclaim inward faith.
Do not measure His ability by the delay. He who asked, "Do you believe I am able to do this?" still searches hearts. Your faith, which refuses to let go, is itself a sign of grace. Persevere, then. Should the mountain not move, know that He is moving you. And if you must bear this cross a while longer, let it be unto perfection, not unto shame. For the departed saints are greeted with hymns, and their sicknesses are often the trophies of their watchings and fastings. So count it all joy even now, and let no one hear from you a lament as those who have no hope. Pray that you may depart in favor with God whenever that call comes, and meantime, be a physician to others by your steadfastness. The Lord who began a good work will complete it. Stand on the Rock, and though the winds howl, your house shall not fall.