Does My Battle With Chronic Illness Mean I Lack Faith? – FREE PDF BIBLE VERSE CARDS

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If God still heals today…why am I still sick?

If Jesus bore our sicknesses on the cross…does my chronic illness mean I don’t have enough faith?

For years, those questions haunted me.

I prayed.

I believed.

I searched my heart for hidden sin.

Yet years later, I was still battling Adrenal Fatigue.

Maybe you’ve wondered the same thing.

Free Encouragement for Chronic Illness

If you’re walking through chronic illness, I’ve created a free set of 10 Bible Verses for Chronic Illness to remind you of God’s faithfulness on difficult days.

Keep them beside your bed, tuck them into your Bible, or carry them with you to doctor’s appointments.

Download your free Scripture cards here.

But did Jesus heal everyone he came in contact with?

Does My Battle With Chronic Illness Mean I Lack Faith?

While Scripture clearly teaches that God heals, it also shows us that He does not always remove suffering immediately.

So how should we understand chronic illness as believers?

I believe Scripture gives us at least three reasons God may choose not to heal immediately.

There are 3 reasons why God may not choose to heal.

One problem with modern Christianity is that we often value the physical more than the spiritual.

We think a healthy body is always God’s greatest goal.

Scripture presents a different picture.

Our bodies are temporary.

Our souls are eternal.

God certainly cares about our physical health—but He cares even more about making us like Christ.

Looking back over Scripture—and over my own life—I believe there are at least three reasons God sometimes allows His children to continue suffering.

1. God may use chronic illness to cultivate humility

“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.” 2 Corinthians 12:7

Paul accepted whatever it was that he referred to as “a thorn in the flesh” because he recognized it as God’s hand to keep him from becoming arrogant.

There was a time in my life that I looked at those with chronic illness as hypochondriacs and lazy. 

My attitude was that they needed to just work harder and exercise, so they’d feel better and get their minds off of themselves and their so-called illnesses.

And then I was diagnosed with a chronic illness.

If there has been any good that has come out of my chronic illness, it is that it has made me far more humble and empathetic to those whom I used to judge.

2. God may not choose to heal my physical body because He is glorified through my suffering.

“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.” 1 Peter 4:12

There is something beautiful about watching a believer who suffers well.

Their body may be weak.

But their spirit shines.

Their love for Christ deepens.

What pours out of them is pure gold.

When we encounter chronic illness, emotional pain, mental suffering, we have a choice. We can either wallow in our suffering, or we can go to Jesus and let Him begin a glorious work in our spirit.

Would He be glorified through our healing? Yes.

But it could be that He knows that He will be far more glorified through our suffering than through our healing. 

3. God may not choose to heal my physical body to refine me through my suffering 

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

If there is any good that has come out of my chronic illness, it is that I have learned – am still learning – to throw off the weight of others’ expectations and opinions.

I have learned that I physically cannot meet others’ expectations of me.

I tried for many years – and the fear of man kept me in a constant cycle of trying harder, getting sick, disappointing people, and feeling like a failure.

When I learned to accept the gift of my chronic illness to refine me and cleanse me from the fear of disappointing others and not living up to the expectations they had of me, I was free!

God may use suffering:

• to keep you close to Him.

• to teach you dependence.

• to transform you into Christ’s image.

Don’t Walk Through Chronic Illness Alone

If you’re in a season of chronic illness, I know how discouraging it can be.

Some days you simply need God’s Word more than another article.

That’s why I created these printable 10 Bible Verses for Chronic Illness.

They’re the verses I’ve returned to again and again on difficult days when I needed to remind myself that God hadn’t abandoned me.

Click here to download them for free.

Dear sister, perhaps the greatest miracle isn’t always the removal of suffering.

Sometimes the greatest miracle is what God produces through suffering.

Chronic illness may never become something you would have chosen.

But it can become one of God’s greatest tools for making you more like Christ.

And if that is true…

then your suffering is not wasted.

Looking back, I thank God for the years I prayed for healing.

I also thank God for how He used my chronic illness to humble me, deepen my dependence on Him, and teach me to rest in His grace.

I would never have chosen that road.

Yet I can honestly say that Christ has met me here in ways I never would have known otherwise.