Finding Christ in the Struggle: Encouragement for Those With Chronic IllnessSample

Pre-chronic illness, I thought I knew pain. After all, I had broken bones and gave birth to two children au nautral. But a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) proved me wrong when it was accompanied by chronic pain. By that, I mean never-ending, varying degrees of agony.

The question, “What’s wrong, honey?” was now impossible to answer. Even my most vivid description cannot fully convey the pain that’s left me feeling gutted and hollow.

As much as I appreciate my family and friends caring enough to ask how I’m doing, their lack of understanding often leaves me frustrated. Conversations with fellow MS patients and the best neurologists further confirm that no one can fully comprehend what I’m experiencing.

In times like these, I find solace in Scripture. 

The apostle Matthew wrote about Christ’s distress in the Garden of Gethsemane. Knowing His devastating fate, Jesus was overcome with sadness when He asked His disciples to stand by His side in prayer. Falling to the ground, He asked, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.’” (Matthew 6:34)

Those closest to me may never comprehend what I go through while living with chronic illness, but Jesus knows despair firsthand. He’s fallen to His knees and begged to have His suffering removed and felt the lingering sorrow when it wasn’t.

If you’re like me, you’ve prayed for a miracle and will continue to ask God for healing, but to live like Jesus, is to move past our anguish to accept our fate regardless of how much it hurts, knowing we can trust God’s divine purpose for our lives. 

When it feels like no one else can relate, we can find comfort knowing Christ shared in our suffering. He knows, cares, and remains accessible as we can draw closer to Him.