Part of learning to live with a chronic illness is developing compassion for others. Suffering a long-lasting disease affects people in different ways. Depression may come to reside with some people. Other persons can become bitter. Withdrawal from friends and family can occur with some.
For the Believer in Jesus Christ, the chronic illness often mellows our heart to make us more compassionate. The persistent disease allows us empathy and often becomes the point of rapport where we can minister to others now walking down the pathway we have recently or are currently navigating.
Today’s Bible Verses:
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (KJV), “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”
What the Verses Mean:
The verses are a reminder of what a wonderful God we have. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy. He is the one who comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials.
Why does he do this? He does this where we can help others.
When family, friends, or coworkers are troubled, needing our support, sympathy, and encouragement, we can pass on to them the help and comfort God has given us.
Personalized Prayer Using Today’s Scripture:
- Heavenly Father, I praise you for how wonderful you are.
- I acknowledge you are the Father of the Lord Jesus.
- I proclaim you as the one who wonderfully comforts and strengthens me in hardships and trials.
- Thank you for teaching me how to comfort others by your example to me where I can give sympathy and encouragement.
Photo Source: Enver Rahmanov [CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons
Today’s blog post is from the book “Thy Will Be Done: 60 Prayers for the Chronically Ill” by Jimmie Aaron Kepler. It is available in print and on Kindle for Amazon at Amazon Print or Amazon Kindle.
If you are an Amazon Kindle Unlimited member, the book is available to read for free in Kindle format. Over the next two months, I will publish each chapter as a blog post
It’s amazing how God takes a hard thing in our lives and uses it to bring about beautiful character, like the compassion you mentioned.
A good reminder that we are to be a comforter to others, just as God comforts us. Sometimes we get so focused on our own pain and sorrow that we forget that command. As the holiday season arrives, we need to remember that for many, the holidays are a sad reminder of missing loved ones. I pray that we can reach out to those in need. Thank you for this important message.
Thank you for both your kind words and the reminder of the difficulty the holiday season brings to many as they miss loved ones.