Today’s a new day! As I run this crazy beautiful health journey, several in the Christian community, have tried to sell me a lie that I do not have enough faith or I have unresolved sin in my life and that’s why I am sick. That my health issues and God cannot coexist.

Over the past twenty-two years, multiple health issues have been my “thorn.”  Of course this has brought on many questions over the years.

At times, questions of doubt danced around in my head. I pondered my walk with God.

Did I do something to bring these health issues into my life?

If God actually loves me, why would He allow me to walk this journey?

How could a broken and cracked body fit into God’s plans?

Unfortunately, our worldly value depends on what we do and what we can accomplish. For a guy who spends the majority of the year in the hospital or doctor appointments, a meaningful life seemed out of reach. To some Christians, the presence of sickness seemed to indicate an absence of God’s affection and love in my life.

But this false theology is simply unbiblical. Let’s dispel this lie by replacing it with God’s truth and equip ourselves with biblical instruction for endurance. 

Maybe you don’t struggle with a chronic illness, but we all struggle with chronic life issues. Whether you’re dealing with an incurable disease or the scars of walking through the storms of life, God tells us that no trial can separate us from His Love (Romans 8:35).

In fact, our pain might be the very tool God uses to strengthen our relationship with Him and to share the gospel. So, instead of getting caught up in the lies “what could I have done differently to prevent these health issues”, instead start asking, “God, how can you use me as I walk through this health journey?”

Two words come to mind when I consider how God can work through our pain to build our faith. Reliance and Glory.

1). Reliance: God can use the storms of life to encourage us to rely more fully on Him. For those struggling to understand why God allows hardship in our lives, the Book of Job is a masterpiece written just for us. The Bible describes Job as a faithful man with many blessings. But to test whether Job would still praise God’s name even when his life got turned upside down, God allowed Satan to wreak havoc on Job’s life. Allowing Job to walk through a season of multiple health issues. Striking his family down. Job was not only chronically ill, but also chronically lonely, as his loved ones and so called friends tell him to just give up and curse God.

Let’s pause here for a moment. God allowed the enemy to test Job. Why would God allow this? Among many reasons, God used suffering as a tool to refine Job’s faith. God knows that it is in the valleys that we are encouraged to rely on Him. Many lessons can be learned in our valley seasons, but only if we take the time to listen.

Amid all the storms of life, Job’s mind was a battlefield much like our own as we walk through a painful season. Job’s thoughts yo-yo between wanting God to leave Him alone and begging for God’s support. As we read in the end, Job remained faithful that God’s love and promises are true. Job learned that God loved him during the good and tough seasons. That everything works together for good.

Sometimes God allows us to walk through tough times. Not to punish us, but to strengthen our relationship with Him. When storms come our way, I pray we will trust that God’s plans are purposeful and better than ours. Even when we do not understand them. This means that whether we are battling a cold or fighting for our lives, God’s loving hand is in everything.

2). God’s Glory: Our weakness reveals the need for God.

In 2 Corinthians 12:7, the Apostle Paul describes pleading with the Lord to remove a “thorn in his flesh.” Our current life storms can represent the “thorn” in our own lives.

Jesus responds to Paul’s pleas by equipping him with endurance and explaining that his pain has a purpose.  Jesus answers, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My Power is perfected in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul’s story reminds us of our need for God in every area our lives.

Even though, God does not answer Paul’s request for healing, God assures Paul that His grace will help him endure. Paul is not blessed with healing from whatever that “thorn” in his side was, but he experienced something more life changing. Paul experienced the amazing ability to see God’s light in the darkest moments of his life. God never leaves us to sit in our pain, He helps us endure. To Overcome.

God gives hope to those who might feel their prayers are seemingly going unanswered.  As we pray for God to remove the “thorn”, in our side, may we remember that a lack of healing is not evidence of a distant God. No, God always responds to our requests; His response just might be different than what we prayed for. But no matter the response, if we put our trust in God, we can be sure that He is working for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28).

As we learn from Paul’s experience with God, some of our wounds will only heal once we go home to Heaven, but we can trust that our pain is a part of a beautiful redemption story. A testimony.

Let’s look at another example of how God can work through our pain to reveal His Power. In John 9, Jesus is walking around town with his disciples when they spot a man who is blind from birth. Jesus’ disciples ask him a question that might sound like one you’ve asked yourself or someone has asked you: “who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2).  Sound familiar? The disciples mistakenly assume that this man’s disability is due to his personal sin.

Jesus corrects the disciples by responding, “neither this man nor his parents sinned…This came about so that God’s works might be displayed in him” (John 9:3).  With this declaration, Jesus dispels the lie that the only purpose for our pain is punishment, and He communicates that our pain can be used to display God’s power.

Jesus then heals the blind man, confirming his belief and establishing an eternal relationship.

Before his healing, we can’t be sure of how this man’s disability affected his self-esteem, but he might have believed some of the same lies that often ravage our minds.  When measuring himself against the standards society puts on us, he very well could have attributed his disability to a distant God. However, when Jesus enters the scene, it becomes clear that this man’s disability was the very experience God utilized to strengthen his relationship with Him. 

As we reflect on each of these stories, the word of God illuminates his heart for the chronically ill or those facing some other storm of life. God has a purpose for our storms. His love never wavers and God will work all things together for His good, even in the messiness of our lives.

God does not promise to remove our thorns, but He does promise to help us endure. To overcome. Whatever your thorn looks like, may you remember that God provides a peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7).

Throughout my crazy beautiful health journey, one verse that has given me hope to keep running is “We do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:12).

So today, no matter how deep the thorn in your side digs, I pray you never give up and keep leaning into the promises of God. ~OC