Tag Archives: suffering

Overcoming Disability: A Journey of Faith

12 Dec

Did you know there is a wonderful story of a woman in the middle east who had struggled with a physical disability for 18 years. The disability may have been a severe case of scoliosis, an abnormally curved spine. There is no way to know the correct diagnosis because the story does not give us one. The description is only that she was bent over and could not raise herself up. The description, however, does give us enough information to scoliosis.

Can you sense the pain this woman must have endured for 18 years. Not only the physical pain but the difficulty in getting a good deep breath. How about the emotional and mental pain. Just trying to imagine her dilemma would be hard for most of us, but there are those who can. Like those who suffer in their own disability, whether physically, emotionally, or mentally. Many of these disabilities are invisible, yet people are suffering. You might be asking, how this woman’s story has anything to do with those suffering with disabilities today? Maybe, just maybe finding or renewing their hope.

As the story goes, during the time of this woman’s life there was a man who traveled throughout the region in which she lived healing every kind of disease and illness, even those who were demon possessed, epileptic, or paralyzed. He healed them all. What’s interesting about this story is the cause of her disability. You see, this man happened to be teaching in the city she lived and saw her. He couldn’t help but notice her disability or sickness and called her over to himself. Once she made her way to him, he had compassion for her and told her she was healed of her sickness. He then touched her and instantly she could stand straight. He told those who questioned him about her healing, that she had been held in bondage by Satan for 18 years and that it was right for him to release her.

Wow, what a story! A story of healing and deliverance. And what’s even more exciting is that this same man lives today, being the same as he was then, today, and forever. Let’s dive a little deeper into this man. You see, this man’s coming was foretold years before by another. He described his appearance as nothing beautiful or majestic, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. A man people would turn their backs on and look the other way, not even caring. Yet this man carried our weaknesses. Our sorrows weighed him down. He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins, beaten so we could be whole, and whipped so we could be healed. Yet we ignore this back story. We’re blinded to the truth about this man. This man is Jesus, the son of God. God himself who came in the flesh. Who loved us and gave himself for us, so we could be made right with him.

This man, Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah about himself, when he said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that the captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come” (Luke 4:18,19). You see, Jesus is the answer to our deepest need. The need for our sins to be forgiven, our lives to be made whole, and the healing of our body, soul, and spirit. Jesus also said, the thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. But his purpose is to give us a rich and satisfying life, an abundant life (see John 10:10).

Jesus is calling us all to himself as he did the woman in this story. He says, “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for you souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

The story of the woman with the disability can be found in Luke 13:11-33. Its truth will resonate with hope and an expectation of the possibilities of healing and deliverance for anyone who comes to Jesus, the Son of God!

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Pressure, Frustration, Hopelessness, and Suffering

5 Dec

There is not a single person alive who has not been affected by the pressures of life, the frustrations of lack, the hopelessness of a situation, or the suffering of pain, loss, sickness, and death. Many bury the anguish and move through life resentful, scared, and joyless. They feel as though life is unfair and, on some days, unbearable. They really just want to run away or find a way to lessen the pain. We all know from our own experiences or watching others running from their anguish it only extends the negative effects of any one of these situations and we fall deeper into the darkness. So, what’s the answer to dealing with these crises of life, is there any hope?

There is hope, but it’s found in perseverance, creativity, and resilience. Examples would be Nelson Mandela who was imprisoned for 27 years but persevered by enduring the hardships and later emerged to lead his country to freedom and became the first Black president. Then there’s Victor Frankl who endured the Holocaust and wrote a book about finding purpose in the darkest of times. Or how about the author of, “Harry Potter”, J.K. Rowling who was deep in poverty and depression, who never gave up, persevering till she escaped her poverty and depression. Their examples teach us there’s light in the darkness, that the crises of pressure, frustration, hopelessness, and suffering are surmountable through perseverance, creativity and resilience.

Have you heard the saying, “Facts tell, but Stories sale”. In finding your way out of crises in your life, reading life stories may give you the courage to persevere. You may even begin to see the light again and come up with ideas when acted upon that may extinguish your anguish of feeling less than or depressed to a brighter more joyful future. Giving it a good try surely can’t hurt. So, pick up a good book on a life story of someone who found themselves in the depths of hopelessness, who persevered and came out the other side with purpose, meaning, and victory. A couple books may be, “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand, the story of Louie Zamperini or “The Class Castle” by Jannette Walls, which has to do with the dynamics of family relationships. You might even read “The Power of Positive Thinking” by Norman Vencent Peale is a book about how a positive attitude can change everything. But whatever you do find a story that interest you and begin.

Recently, a gentleman had found himself in quite a crisis. He had returned home from a deployment and had lost everything, from his wife, family, home, and even a car. He was truly beside himself and was spiraling quickly into a depressive state. Having little hope if any, he was traveling to visit other family to help with some of his needs. However, as destiny would have it, he found himself with a tire on his used car, which he had recently acquired and for which he had purchased new tires for going flat. Fortunately, he was able to make if to a tire store, but the only problem was he had no money.

As the story was told, the gentleman made his way into the store and ran into another gentleman who had been waiting for the counter help. As they waited, the gentleman with the tire problem began sharing the dire crisis he found himself in and how he wanted to just get to his little apartment with his dog and regress from the rest of the world. His problems were just too overwhelming. The pressure and frustration of life was just too much. He expressed his hopelessness and the emotional suffering he was experiencing. Little did he know his life was about to change for he had prayed earlier that morning for God to help him, actually he felt that was all he could do, he had come to his end. What he didn’t know was God was going to answer that prayer, you see, the other gentleman has spent time with God in prayer that morning too but had a different conversation with God. He had shared in his prayer that he was available to be used by God if needed. Through a series of circumstances both gentlemen ended up at the tire store. After hearing about the other gentleman’s crisis, a conversation began that caught the attention of two other men in the tire store, one of which was the owner. By the end of the conversation the gentleman turned all his cares over to God, decided he needed to turn his attention from himself to others, and in fact turned from his way of doing life to God.

What were the results of the encounter brought about by praying to God. Well, a gentleman surrendered his life and crisis to God and was made new, along with the answer to the other gentleman’s prayer of being available. How awesome is that? Oh, and by the way, the owner of the tire store who heard the conversation did not charge for his service of repairing the tire.

So, if you’re experiencing a crisis in your life, call out to God for help and he will help. Cast all your care on him for he cares for you!

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