4 Things My Illness Showed Me About God – Life Lessons

Hello all! I hope your weeks are off to a good start… sending spoons either way! Today we have a wonderful guest post that I think will encourage you about life lessons learned from chronic illness. When you’re done, I was honored to be published on (in)courage this past week, sharing about how my deathbed didn’t scare me . . . but healing does. Enjoy! See you all next week.

Teachers have had a huge impact on me throughout my life.

Each one taught me something different. These unique lessons about life, learning, and love have made me the person that I am today.

The most notable teacher in my life right now, however, is one that I would never have chosen.

For the past two years, I have been learning to live with a chronic illness that causes me a lot of pain daily. Through this process, my illness has taught me many valuable lessons about myself, the people around me, and my God.

I often focus on the struggles of chronic illness in my writing, but today I want to encourage you with some things I have learned about God because of my illness.

1. He’s faithful, even when I’m not.

During the time that I have struggled with chronic illness, my relationship with God has often felt like a roller coaster ride. It has been the desire of my heart to be faithful in trusting my Father’s heart during this time, but I must be honest and say that it has been a serious struggle to be faithful. In my own doubt and unfaithfulness, God has shown Himself to be a faithful, loving Father who always knows what is best for me. Whether through His Word or His church, God has consistently drawn me close to His side with patience and love. Even when circumstances cause me to doubt Him, He remains faithful.

2. He’s unchanging, even when my life is uncertain.

Chronic illness often brings a lot of uncertainty into everyday life. Since my body is not exactly the most reliable, my plans for the future, the day at hand, or even the hour are always in jeopardy. Coming to terms with this new reality has been a long and often frustrating process. Throughout this process of learning to live with an unreliable body, I have experienced a deep appreciation for the unchanging character of my God. The perspective I have gained from coping with uncertainty has caused me to cherish God’s unchanging nature like I never have before. No matter what I go through, I find so much comfort in knowing that my gracious God will never change.

4. He’s good, even when it doesn’t feel like it.

There have been so many times that I have doubted the goodness of God during this time in my life. I have had to think long and hard about my theology. Being chronically ill has stretched my faith, but I don’t find any shame in that. This has been in incredibly valuable season of learning for me as I have devoured material about the goodness and sovereignty of God. His word has always held up in my pursuit of truth. Even if I don’t fully understand, and even if I don’t feel like God is good, I can trust the authority of His Word. It has never failed me. I definitely cannot say the same about my feelings.

What can you learn from your trials?

While it has not been easy, I am truly grateful for these lessons I have learned about God through my pain. Quite possibly the biggest lesson I have learned is that I still have so much more to learn about Him.

Friend, I want to encourage you to view your trials as teachers in your life. Anything can be your teacher if you let it. Don’t waste your suffering. You may be surprised by how much you can learn from things that you hate. It is not always easy, but it is certainly worth it.