Through the Fog: 6 Days of God's Goodness Amidst Physical Suffering, Chronic Pain, and Chronic Illnessமாதிரி

HEALING TRUTH

God will redeem any pain that is given to Him.

DEVOTIONAL

We know, deep down in our hearts, that stories are meant to be good. They’re meant to have happy endings, and the good guys are supposed to win. That’s why when we feel like the odds are stacked against us and the world is falling apart, something isn’t right. We often can’t help but question good and evil amidst physical suffering, because our Creator has written victory and redemption into the longing of every human heart.

So when we feel like our story isn’t ending up the way we want it to, it’s tempting to take the pen from God’s hand and write it ourselves. The problem is that you have probably tried to write your own story and mend what’s been broken, to no avail. You haven’t been able to set it all straight, because the world is just too broken. You’re too human. Your body is too fragile, and maybe you’ve found yourself lost in the fog even after everything you’ve tried.

That’s where I found myself as a sophomore in college. I had fought hard. There had been so many battles. I’d had some victories, but they paled in comparison to the overall tragedy that my life had become. The fog invaded every corner of my mind. Even the victories I’d had seemed pointless because of the monstrosity of the tragic place I then found myself in.

It didn’t matter how many times I’d come back from surgeries, how many times I’d been obedient to God, or how many times I had persevered with a faith that would move mountains. I was 19 years old, I had lost my quality of life, I had pain nearly every waking hour, and I had stepped out on a promise I felt God had given me and instead watched it blow up in my face. Even amidst all my disappointment, my heart hurt because somewhere deep in a place that I tried to deny still existed, hope lived.

I knew that God had written a story where He came as one of us, and fulfilled prophecies in a way so inexplicably marvelous that only the divine Author could write such a story. I knew that He died for us, was resurrected, and then committed to coming back to redeem us all forevermore.

But no matter how much I knew God had fought for me when I was deep in my fog I didn’t feel like I could fight for victory. The fog had crept in so thick that I couldn’t muster up the faith or the energy to fight back against the darkness. Yet in that place, God whispered redemption to me. And He’s probably whispering that ember of hope to you right now too.

Can you hang on long enough to see God fan your ember of hope into a blaze that burns through your darkness? Hang onto God’s hand long enough to see His goodness and redemption come in the land of the living. There is some good left in this world, and His name is Jesus. He’s worth fighting for. Your story will be full of trouble (John 16:33) and it will take you through valleys of defeat and over hills of victory. But with God, there will always be redemption. There will always be beauty on the other side of your ashes.

PRAYER

Lord, thank you that you knew every word of my story before my first breath and that you haven’t put down the pen, no matter how ugly my circumstances or my choices have been. Thank you for the redemption you have yet to weave into the pages of my life. If I have taken the pen from you, I give it back to you now to write my story in a way that honors you. Please show me your perspective this week. Please teach me how to fight for the redemption I know you still have in my story. Show me how to fight a fight worthy of the calling I’ve received (Ephesians 4:1). In Jesus’ name, Amen.