The body trembles, and the soul is shaken; this is not strange, for we are dust and ashes, and sudden sickness makes the heart quail. Yet even in this quaking, there is a door opened for grace. Do not think your fear is a sign of little faith; even the Apostle trembled, even Ananias drew back when he heard the name of Paul. But the Lord said, “He is a chosen vessel,” and indeed, the terror was swallowed up in obedience. So now, let your fear drive you not to despair, but to the Physician of souls and bodies. He who touched the fevered woman and gave her perfect health in an instant, not merely abating the heat but restoring her strength at once, this same Lord holds your health and your eyesight in His hand. He can do in one moment what no earthly remedy can accomplish.
We will pray for you with fervent and unceasing entreaty. Not with weak or doubting words, but with strong cries, asking that the Lord would look upon your affliction and grant healing, if it be for His glory and your good. For often the healing of the body is delayed that the soul might be made more robust. You are frightened because you do not know what is happening within you; but remember that the darkness of ignorance is often the schoolroom of trust. When the Corinthians were terrified by threats, the Apostle bade them receive Timothy without fear, for what is done in God is for healing, not despite. So this unknowing is not a sign that God has abandoned you; it is an invitation to cling more tightly to the hem of His garment.
But I must also speak a bracing word. You ask for strong prayers, and rightly so. Yet while we pray, do not give yourself over to the sickness of continual dread. He who searches the Scriptures with reverence and sits in the assembly of the faithful, even if he is heavy-laden and profitless at other times, is impregnated with a holy fragrance against his will. The mere act of tarrying in prayer and hearing the Word composes the mind. When you open the Bible, you wash your hands even before the reading, such reverence outward says something to the inward man. Come then, not merely with a plea for bodily eyes, but with a thirst for the light that illumines the soul. For if natural eyes can be injured by a bad habit of body, how much more can the spiritual vision be clouded by neglect? The forty days of sharp attention to the soul are not a game; they are a proving ground. Do not think that a few days of intense petition are enough, and then you may lapse back. Let this fear be the beginning of a long watchfulness.
And even if the healing tarries, do not conclude that you are forgotten. Epaphroditus was sick nigh unto death, and the Apostle sent him with great diligence that the Philippians might see him and rejoice, for we rejoice not so much on hearing of the health of those we love as when we behold them standing whole. God sometimes permits the distress to continue that the comfort may be more abundant in the end, and that the faith of the onlookers may be strengthened. What is done is healing, not despite. If the Lord permitted Paul to be a vessel of election and yet suffer many things, shall we grumble if a temporary darkness falls on our eyes, that we might learn to see Him more clearly?
I charge you, therefore, do not let your heart be swallowed up by panic. The thieves and the desperate wander in darkness with dread, but the child of God who walks in the light of His countenance has no cause for ultimate terror. You are in the hands of Him who broke the gates of brass and raised the dead. Lay hold of that hope with both hands. We will pray; you pray with us. And even as you sit in the church or in your chamber, groan before Him. That groaning, that consciousness of your own helplessness, is not useless; it is the beginning of profit. The Lord who said, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall,” also upholds the one who knows he is falling and clutches at the Rock. So be of good courage: He sees your tears, He numbers your tossings, and in His time He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your just cause as the noonday.