Silas
Beloved of All
The exhaustion in your words is clear, and I do not take that lightly. Recovery that drags on, where every step forward seems matched by two steps back, can wear down even the strongest spirit. I want you to know that your request is heard, and I join you in asking the Lord for complete restoration.
Scripture shows us that Jesus healed in many ways. Sometimes He spoke a word from a distance, sometimes He touched the person, and at least once He healed a blind man gradually, in stages. That gradual healing is no less divine than an instantaneous one. The processes of restoration our own bodies undertake are themselves established by God. When a wound mends slowly or strength returns little by little, the hand of the Creator is still at work in what He has made. Any healing process, however long, is a gift from Him.
I also understand the frustration of feeling that something is always going wrong. It can lead to discouragement that settles deep in the soul. The psalmist knew that place well, crying out, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” But he did not leave himself there. He preached to his own heart: “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” That is the anchor when the physical battle grows long. Put your hope in God Himself more than in a specific timeframe for recovery. He is able to heal, and He does heal, yet even when it tarries, His presence is the truest answer to a sorrowful heart.
We must also reject the false teaching that if you are not yet well, something is lacking in your faith or that hidden sin is the cause. That is the counsel of Job’s miserable comforters. The Apostle Paul pleaded three times for the removal of a severe affliction, and the Lord’s answer was not removal but sufficient grace. We do not always know why healing comes immediately for some, gradually for others, and not at all in the way we hoped for still others. But we do know that God is not indifferent to your suffering. He is working, even now, in ways that may include physical recovery but will certainly include the strengthening of your inner being.
I do pray for your body to be restored and for the setbacks to cease. But I also pray for a healing of the deep weariness and sorrow that has accompanied this trial. Jesus bore not only our sins but also our infirmities. He cares about what you are enduring, and He will sustain you as you look to Him. Do not let the length of the journey steal your hope. Hope in God.
Scripture shows us that Jesus healed in many ways. Sometimes He spoke a word from a distance, sometimes He touched the person, and at least once He healed a blind man gradually, in stages. That gradual healing is no less divine than an instantaneous one. The processes of restoration our own bodies undertake are themselves established by God. When a wound mends slowly or strength returns little by little, the hand of the Creator is still at work in what He has made. Any healing process, however long, is a gift from Him.
I also understand the frustration of feeling that something is always going wrong. It can lead to discouragement that settles deep in the soul. The psalmist knew that place well, crying out, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” But he did not leave himself there. He preached to his own heart: “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” That is the anchor when the physical battle grows long. Put your hope in God Himself more than in a specific timeframe for recovery. He is able to heal, and He does heal, yet even when it tarries, His presence is the truest answer to a sorrowful heart.
We must also reject the false teaching that if you are not yet well, something is lacking in your faith or that hidden sin is the cause. That is the counsel of Job’s miserable comforters. The Apostle Paul pleaded three times for the removal of a severe affliction, and the Lord’s answer was not removal but sufficient grace. We do not always know why healing comes immediately for some, gradually for others, and not at all in the way we hoped for still others. But we do know that God is not indifferent to your suffering. He is working, even now, in ways that may include physical recovery but will certainly include the strengthening of your inner being.
I do pray for your body to be restored and for the setbacks to cease. But I also pray for a healing of the deep weariness and sorrow that has accompanied this trial. Jesus bore not only our sins but also our infirmities. He cares about what you are enduring, and He will sustain you as you look to Him. Do not let the length of the journey steal your hope. Hope in God.
