HELP FOR YOU

ILLNESS IN PERSPECTIVE

If you are ill, you need to know these things:

1. That your illness was not given to you BY God, but that He did allow it. Even earthly fathers wouldn’t dream of giving their child an illness. How much less would our Heavenly Father, who loved us enough to give His only Son for our redemption, want to give His children sickness. But, obviously, God allowed it. Why did He allow it? People may give us many answers to that question, but the truth is---WE DON'T REALLY KNOW!

2. That God knows and cares that you are sick. He knows the number of hairs on your head. He sees every tear and feels your pain with you.

3. That while you are sick, He will use it for good in your life. He will make you stronger and allow you to become a testimony for Him if you keep your heart tender and your attitude right.

4. That He can heal you no matter what your situation is; no matter what the doctors have told you.

5. That if you are not healed, it doesn't mean that you are not worthy or that you don't have enough faith. It doesn't mean that you are sinning.

6. That if you are not healed, it doesn't mean you have to be miserable, nor does it mean that you can't fulfill your purpose. God will give you the Grace to go through it and fulfill your destiny--to live life to the fullest.

7. That you should never condemn yourself or receive condemnation from others because you are sick. It's hard enough to endure chronic illness---adding guilt to that will make it unbearable. It is never what God wants.

GOD'S WORD TEACHES ABOUT HEALING

The Bible says that “Jesus Himself bore our infirmities”, and that “by His stripes we are healed”.

In His earthly ministry, Jesus healed every kind of illness.

MAT 4:23, "And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people."

This hasn't changed. He still heals today.

Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever."

He has put gifts of healing within the Body of Christ.

1 COR 12:9, "to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit."

That does not mean that we cannot get sick. As long as we live in our earthly bodies, we are subject to infirmity and sickness. But, that doesn't mean we have to get sick. We can and must do our best to take care of our bodies and live a healthy lifestyle. We also need to keep our attitude right and guard against excessive stress

and emotional breakdown. HOWEVER, even if we do everything right, we can still get sick.

REASONS FOR SICKNESS

There are so many reasons why sickness comes upon us that they are too numerous to list here. But here are some of them:

· An attack of Satan.

· Something ALLOWED in our lives to bring us closer to God.

· A result of not taking care of our bodies.

· A disease that is inherited through the bloodline.

· Something contagious we come into contact with

· And yes, sin itself can lead to sickness---not that God is punishing you---but that it is the result or effect of sin.

· And sometimes, WE JUST HAVE NO CLUE!

GOD WILL BRING GOOD OUT OF IT

Even though God didn’t put sickness upon you, He can turn it around and use it for good. And, if you have not been healed, squeeze as much good as you can out of it. Turn your experience into a way to help and encourage others. And, always remember that, no matter how long you have been sick and how many times people have prayed for you---seemingly without results---you can still be healed.

DON'T ACCEPT CONDEMNATION

Just make sure that you don’t condemn yourself for being sick and don’t allow yourself to receive condemnation from others either. It is difficult enough to deal with sickness without having to add GUILT to the list of things you have to fight.

Understand that your Believing friends are going to not only pray for you, but quote scripture to you. Some will even ask you if you’ve ever read Isaiah 53, and maybe even rebuke you for being sick. Most of these people, if not all, are well-meaning; they sincerely want to help you. Many of them will cite their own experiences (at least the ones where they were healed) and expect that things should work the same way for you---in the same period of time. But, though God’s promises are the same for every Believer, He works in different ways for each individual and He has His own time schedule (which usual doesn’t correspond to our own).

DON'T BECOME RESENTFUL

Don’t get angry or resentful when friends do this. Use wisdom and kindness in reacting to them. Maybe they will learn something from you. But, let me warn you (if you don’t already know) that someday, at a time when you are in great pain and can’t take one more thing, some well meaning person is going to exhort you and that may push you over the top. Try your best to control your reaction and not give in to anger, but if you do lose it and unload on them, wait till you calm down and ask their forgiveness. Being sick doesn’t give us the right to mistreat others. And never, never let resentment burn within you and turn into a bitter root from which all kinds of ugly things sprout up and grow---contaminating everything around you.

YOU CAN BE VICTORIOUS

Your condition, no matter how severe, cannot stop you from being close to God and fulfilling your purpose UNLESS YOU LET IT. Ask God to help you and change your perspective to see this ordeal through His eyes. And, though I’m not suggesting that you give Him thanks FOR your sickness, I am urging that you give Him thanks IN the sickness. A thankful heart makes your world better and it also brings you close to God. A thankful heart draws God’s attention in a wonderful way; it makes Him want to shower blessings on you, and the biggest blessing you could ever receive is the sense of His Presence.

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