“How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Ps. 13:1 ESV)
What is the nature of chronic illness?
Chronic pain?
Well…it’s chronic.
So, “how long” will my symptoms last?
I must accept that it may be for the rest of my earthly life.
Doctors say so.
So many don’t want to believe this could be part of Your perfect plan for me.
For it shatters my planned tasks for any given hour.
It brings a host of troubles on every front.
And worse, a tumble of temptations to think things about You that are untrue.
Help me, my God.
Please remind me of what is true when symptoms tempt me to forget.
Lord, You are with me in my cries
I know You are with me, for I am “in Jesus Christ” who also cried in agony.
For me.
You have not forgotten me.
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me” (Is. 49:15-16 ESV).
“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Eph. 1:13-14 ESV).
Be still, my soul: the Lord is on your side;
bear patiently the cross of grief or pain…
(“Be Still, My Soul,” von Schlegel, K., 1855)
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23:4 ESV).
Be still, my soul: your best, your heav'nly Friend
through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Faithful Father, give me a proper sense of “time”
Leave to your God to order and provide;
in every change, he faithful will remain.
“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:17 ESV).
This illness and pain feel chronic…forever.
But forever? It is Your “eternity” time.
“With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Pet. 3:8 ESV).
Your hope, your confidence let nothing shake;
all now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Whatever is happening to my body, it is preparing me for a particularly, specifically, glorious eternal reward when I see You!
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
there is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
as Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.
(“Great is Thy Faithfulness,” Chisholm, T. O., 1923)
Help me release my fixation on “timing” and “chronic” into Your eternal time.
How?
Releasing, morning by morning, into Your faithful love for me in Christ, providing all I need to endure chronic illness and pain
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23 ESV).
Morning by morning new mercies I see!
“God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor. 1:9 ESV).
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided…
“But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one” (2 Thess. 3:3 ESV).
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
“But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Mt. 24:13 ESV).
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one” (Jn. 10:27-30 ESV).
“He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” (1 Thess. 5:24 ESV).
Be still, my soul: your God will undertake
to guide the future as he has the past.
Releasing symptom flares into worship and adoration, instead…
Oh Father, when my body flares up, and I can hardly breathe, release me to exhale love songs to You, instead…
Instead of clenched and tight cries in my mind of “How long?”
Instead of fearing You don’t love me.
Instead of fixating on feeling lonely and misunderstood.
Be still, my soul: the hour is hast'ning on
when we shall be forever with the Lord,
when disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Help me to adore Jesus as I fix my eyes on something other than the pain. It is there; one day, you promise, it will be gone.
How long, O Lord?
Forever!
So, for now? Hour by hour? Morning by morning?
Your love is within me, in it. Help me through a song…of love. Prepare me for the next flare-up with Your songs of love for me and my songs of love for You.
This is my prayer when my body screams, “How long….”
“According to the riches of Your glory, grant me to be strengthened with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith—that I, being rooted and grounded in love,
may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that I may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:16-19 ESV).
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow:
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past,
all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
In the name of my beloved Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, amen.
Did you know?
The regions of our brain that “light up” when symptoms are strong cause stress hormones and neurochemical anxiety symptoms to increase while lessening our ability to focus. By God’s design of our brains, focusing on truths of His Word, enabled by songs that echo His Word, can help us physically endure flare-ups!
Tips for using podcast, to help us do this!
As you breathe in time to this podcast’s hymns, focus and sync to its intentional music therapy-inspired rhythm.
Some instructions:
Use noise-cancelling headphones. Keep the volume low but audible. Eliminate distraction. Close your eyes. Put your body in a comfortable position, ideally lying flat with knees supported by a pillow.
Tap on your body if it’s still hard to focus on the sound.
As you begin to breathe to the music, put one hand on your belly and notice its rise and fall. Fill your belly with air as each Scripture and hymn fills your thoughts.
The pulsing beat of the music intentionally offers you musical phrases of inhalations of about eight heats, a short resting there, and a slow exhale of about 6-8 beats. Ask God to help you breathe in time to the music and “sing” the lyrics in your thoughts, using this set-apart time to worship and adore Him.
Practice as He helps reset your autonomic nervous system and heal the beautifully complex body He’s created for us.
I’m joining you! I NEED this! I use these podcasts when the pain is intense! Please email me your feedback, and I will tweak our podcasts accordingly!
How long, O Lord?