Draw Closer to God When Battling An Illness
GROWING YOUR FAITH THROUGH ILLNESS
Illness is a fact of life you can't avoid. However, what you choose to do during your illness will make a world of difference in the quality of your life. You can choose to respond in a way that allows for growth and maturing or you can respond in the flesh which hinders your spiritual growth.
Only you can choose how you will respond.
Suffering will derail many believers because they fall back on reacting in the flesh. I get it. It is hard to stand strong when we are in a prolonged battle. We begin to doubt ourselves and God. This is why illness is a favorite trick of the enemy. If he can get us to focus on our emotions and not on God's truth, he will have us right where he wants us; downcast and stuck in bondage.
For Additional Reading: How to get unstuck and keep growing spiritually.
If you have been suffering from an illness and have found yourself reacting in the flesh, don't throw up your hands in defeat. Keep reading to see how you can implement 5 key strategies to draw closer to God during your illness.
BUT FIRST, WHERE ARE YOUR PRIORITIES?
You might not realize it but this is where it begins. Is your day dictated by your biblical priorities? If your priorities are messed up God will do what he needs to do to get your attention, even allow you to battle an illness.
It's so easy to get things confused when we have demands coming at us from every direction. If this is you, I urge you to re-evaluate things. We need to approach our lifestyle and our illness biblically no matter how we feel.
GOD
Regardless of what you are going through, you are to always turn first to God allowing him to have your time and attention. Your time with God doesn't have to be first thing in the morning, for a set period of time, or anything else so legalistic. The point is to carve out time in your day for your Lord and Savior.
Talk to God about your desire to spend time with him and don't be surprised or angry when he provides what you ask for. You might suddenly find yourself waking up at 4:30 in the morning instead of 6:30. Or you might find your usual bedtime coming and going and you're just not tired like you usually are. Guess what? You just might not be wide awake so you can watch another TV show.
Crack open that Bible and use the time God has given you. If you ask, He will give you a way.
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."
(Matthew 6:33)
HUSBAND
After God, you need to make your spouse a priority. When you got married, you became one with your spouse (Ephesians 5:31). During an illness, we tend to focus on everything else in our life figuring our spouse is an adult and he can take care of himself. But that isn't God's way. It’s not that God doesn’t want you to indulge in self-care. But your self-care shouldn’t have priority over your God-given responsibilities.
God holds your unity with your spouse as a precious priority and you need to do the same. It's God first, then your spouse.
CHILDREN
Next would be your children. When you are ill, especially if you have a chronic illness, it can be difficult not to fall into the trap of ignoring bad behavior, giving in out of guilt, or focusing all of your attention on your child.
For example, maybe you had a long-awaited date night planned but little Suzie doesn't want you to go and has a full-blown meltdown. You know she has had plenty of attention and is fine but guilt is whispering pretty nasty condemnation in your ear. Do you cancel and spend the evening making little Suzie feel better?
It's possible you haven't thought of it this way but if your answer to that question is yes then you have been putting your child ahead of your spouse and you're wrong. It is God first, then your spouse, then your child.
EXTENDED FAMILY
Next is your extended family, including our church family. Are you ignoring or neglecting their needs because you have gotten caught up in simply getting through your day? How much time you spend in this area is up to you but God says we are not to ignore our extended family. He doesn't say we are to put our extended family before our immediate family. As much as you love them, your extended family’s needs shouldn't be placed ahead of your spouse or children. It's God first, your spouse next, your children next, then your extended family.
"But if any provide not for his own, and specifically for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."
(1 Timothy 5:8)
FIVE PRACTICAL WAYS TO DRAW CLOSER TO GOD
DIG INTO THE WORD
Spend more time in God's Word than you do reading about your illness. It is smart to learn about your illness and your options but it should never come before your time with God. Why don't you study healing in the Bible? Don't focus on your illness as much as getting to know for yourself what God has to say about illness, suffering, and healing. Let God speak to you as you read and study.
For Additional Reading: Handwrite Scripture for a unique Bible study.
It is so critical that you know what God says. Don't ever rely on someone else's interpretation, mine included. Check everything against the Bible. With this knowledge, you are able to fight the Evil One when he whispers his lies. Remember, the enemy is a liar and is an expert at taking God's Word and slightly tweaking it to change its meaning. He won't hesitate to use God's Word against you so you must be able to pull out your sword of the Spirit. None of this is possible if you won't take the time to study God's truth (his Bible).
"Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth."
(John 17:17)
"You search the Scriptures because you believe they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet, you refuse to come to me so that I can give you this eternal life."
(This was Jesus speaking in John 5:39)
HOW IS YOUR PRAYER LIFE
You should be talking to God more than anyone, including your doctors and friends. Fix your thoughts on Him. God wants you to draw closer in all things and that includes your illness. He sees you. He hears you. He knows how much you cry in your suffering.
Go to him in prayer, repent of any sin, and seek comfort from the only one who can give true comfort (read John 5:39 again).
To take your prayers to the next level and use another of God's mighty weapons, consider adding a time of biblical fasting to your prayers. Fasting is life-changing. God welcomes everyone to take their prayers to his altar.
For Additional Reading: Establishing a firm foundation with prayer and fasting.
God will always answer a humble and contrite heart. He doesn't give us spiritual fist bumps for turning to him but he will turn and notice the humbling of our spirit.
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” (1 Chronicle 16:11)
CHANGE YOUR MINDSET
Unless you allow God to help you develop a biblical mindset about your health, you will think more in line with wrong thinking; if it feels good it must be good and of God. If it feels bad, it must be of Satan and must be rebuked. That is wrong, sweet friend. You must line up your thinking with God's.
I'm not talking positive thinking or mind over matter here. Both are worldly ways of thinking. I am talking about lining up your thoughts (and your words) with what God says in the Bible. When you study what God has to say about illness and healing, look for his promises, and think about the things you read.
If God didn't say it, refuse to allow your mind to go there. This will take lots of practice to be able to do it consistently.
As you read, regularly ask yourself questions like; could what happen to King Hezekiah (or whomever) apply to me? God gives a list of 7 things he hates, am I doing any of those things and have not repented? Could God be allowing my illness to get my attention or to test me?
"As a man thinks in his heart, so is he."
(Proverbs 23:7)“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
(Philippians 4:8)
Renewing your mind requires that you focus your mind on God and his ways. That has to start with reading the Bible and praying about what you read. Quit worrying about the "why" and the "how" of your illness. Keep your focus on the "who".
For Additional Reading: Break free of mental strongholds by renewing your mind.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter why we go through something or how God will fix it. Our job isn't to get obsessed trying to figure it all out. Our job is to stay focused on our "who" (our Savior) and to trust him no matter the outcome.
"So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while. These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold - and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold.
So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world." (1 Peter 1:6-7)
As you study, you will see that not all suffering or illness is bad. God has his reasons for allowing it. Your promise here is that God will work out ALL things for good. All things mean both good and bad things. We need to remember that it is the adversity of any kind that produces godly character (fruit) in our lives, which is vital for all Christians.
It's the end of the journey ("well done, my good and faithful servant!") we are to be focusing on, not our temporary problems.
Please don't get upset with me here. Temporary to us is not the same as it is to God because we see time differently. It’s possible we have been going through something for 22 years. To God, 22 years is the blink of an eye. That is why we must line our thoughts up with God's thoughts and renew our thinking.
"That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.
For our present troubles are quite small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever!
So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever."
(2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
PRAISE GOD REGARDLESS OF YOUR FEELINGS
Force yourself to search daily for the joy in your life then thank God for it. Do you think you can't possibly find a single thing in your life to be joyful about? Just the fact that you are alive and breathing is enough. Go from there. You can walk...you can talk...you have those who love you...you have access to medical help...etc. This will cultivate a heart that searches for his blessings, large and small.
"Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything."
(James 1:2-4)
Praise God for who he is and all the amazing things he has done. Don't praise him for what you might get. Time spent in praise and worship might or might not change your situation. That will happen at the will of our Father. But by the time you are done praising, your spirit WILL be changed. You are showering God with love and adoration, how can it not change you?
For Additional Reading: What do you want Jesus to do for you?
Some blessings you won't see right away but others will be immediately apparent. It doesn't matter though because you are praising him in faith. You don't have to praise God out loud and you don't have to sing to praise him. You can praise him in prayer, dancing, even quietly in your thoughts as you talk to him. Praise and adoration arise from your heart, not your head.
When you are going through a prolonged illness, spend time praising God from the moment you get up until the moment you lie down.
"You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!"
(Psalm 30:11-12)
WATCH WHAT YOU SAY
Just as important as renewing your mind and guarding your thoughts is to guard your mouth. We know from the book of James that the tongue holds incredible power; the power of life or death.
This is another example of God's principle of reaping and sowing. Words sown into someone's life can never be taken back once spoken. They can reap healing to a hurting heart or reap the destruction of an already delicate situation. Oddly enough, sometimes we will remember a harsh word spoken to us 30 years ago and it still has the power to hurt like it was said to us today. Words are POWERFUL!
God created the world through his spoken word. He knows the power words hold. We believe the lies of the enemy and say whatever enters our minds. When we repeat the words from the enemy of our soul instead of the truth from our Savior, how could we expect God to bless what is said? He can't because those lies are birthing death.
"Take control of what I say, O Lord, and keep my lips sealed."
(Psalm 141:3)
We help ourselves speak life and not death by filling our hearts and minds with the Holy Scriptures. We can allow that joy to overflow into our speech through praise and worship (especially when we REALLY don't feel like thanking God or being very charitable) but our real help comes when we turn to the Holy Spirit and allow him to do his good work in us.
"Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."
(Proverbs 16:24)
If you have sowed a seed into God's rich soil and gone to him about your illness, stop telling everyone how much your body hurts or that nothing has changed with your health. Allow your seed the ability to grow by speaking life (God's very words) over your illness regardless of what your senses tell you. Maybe your body still hurts but it hurts less today than it did yesterday. Focus on that. Maybe you are still having seizures but maybe they are less intense and less often. Thank God for that.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Keep sowing your seeds by doing the 5 things listed above. Focus on your blessings and thank God for every one of them. Others may not see your blessing but that doesn't mean they aren't there. Keep your focus on God, speak life over your situation, and remember, as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.
"A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."
(Proverbs 17:22)