Scriptures & Sites for Chronic Pain or Chronic Illness

Some of you know that I've lived with chronic pain (fibromyalgia & spinal degeneration) for many years.  Studies show that one-third to one-half of all Americans live with chronic pain or chronic illness.    So this is a widespread issue.   So here are some Scriptures for those with chronic pain or illness.  It is not a complete list; it's just an introduction to some of them.  My hope is that some of these Scriptures and/or sites will help you or someone you know.

2 Corinthians 5:1  “If the earthly tent we live in (our bodies), is destroyed, we have a  

    building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

2 Corinthians 12:1-10 –Paul’s thorn in the flesh, esp. v 9, “My grace is sufficient for you,

                 for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Job, esp. chapt. 1-2, 38:1-15, 42

Galatians 6:17  “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Matt. 11:28-30 –when you’re tired & worn out

I Peter 5:10  “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ,

after you have suffered a little while,

will himself restore you and make you strong, firm & steadfast.”

Psalm 6: 2-4, 6-9

Psalm 22:1-2  -David felt abandoned by God.

        Vs. 24 “For he (God) has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one;      

                      he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.”

Psalm 69: esp 13-17

Psalm 103: 1-5

Psalm 119:50  “My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.”

Joseph in Gen. 37-50  -suffered unfairly, but responded in gracious ways

           50:20 to his brothers: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good…”

HOPE:

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,

     plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him,  

                        so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Hebrews 6:19  “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”

Isaiah 40:31 “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength;

                       they will soar on wings like eagles…”

ONLINE RESOURCES:

http://www.restministries.com -free chronic pain email devotionals & articles,

                                        Bible study materials, support groups called Hope Keepers

 http://www.joniandfriends.org/  -Joni Eareckson Tada, disability center, email devotionals

 http://www.theacpa.org/default.aspx  American Chronic Pain Assoc. - excellent & includes a few for family members.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/ -look up any chronic pain or illness by name

www.facebook.com/ have numerous groups for those w/ chronic pain or illness; just search for your illness.

http://www.meetup.com/North-Texas-Fibromyalgia-Support-Group  -mtgs in Dallas area.  If u go to http://www.meetup.com/, look up your kind of pain/illness & your city, u might find a meetup group near u.

Listen for the whisper.

After Elijah’s God publicly defeated the false prophets of Baal, Elijah ran away to escape the wrath of evil Queen Jezebel who’d threatened to kill him.  When he stopped, he asked the Lord to take his life because he felt lonely and exhausted.  An angel gave him food, water, and he slept.  Each time he woke up, he ate, drank, and rested.

Then I Kings 19: 11-13 reports this:

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.  After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.  When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him…

I wonder how many times I’ve missed God’s voice because I expected to hear it in something exciting like the wind, earthquake or fire, rather than in a quiet whisper.  Our lives can get so noisy and chaotic which can make it hard to hear the quiet whisper.  How often have we assumed that God wasn’t speaking to us because we couldn’t hear His quiet whisper?

In Psalm 46:10, God says, “Be still, and know that I am God.
                                             I am exalted among the nations,
                                             I am exalted in the earth!”

Maybe if we didn’t pay so much attention to the wind, earthquake or fire (the exciting things) in our lives, we would be more open to hearing God’s quiet whisper.  Can we be still long enough to hear God’s quiet whisper?  If so, life could be very different.  Why not find a place where you can be quiet and still, while listening for God’s whisper?

Lost and Found

Luke 15 has 3 of Jesus’ parables.  First, Jesus told of a sheep that was lost.  The shepherd goes and finds the lost sheep.  Then he calls his friends together and said,  “Let’s celebrate because my sheep was lost and now is found.”

Then Jesus told of a woman who lost a silver coin.  She searches high and low, and finally finds the lost coin.  Then she called her friends and said, “Let’s have a party because my coin was lost and now is found!”

Then Jesus told of a man who had 2 sons.  One son asked for his inheritance early, and went and wasted it in a foreign country.  When he came to his senses, he remembered his father and decided to return to his father.  When he got home, his father called his friends and said, “Let’s have a party because my son was lost and now is found!”

The older son was working in the back forty.  He came home and heard music and dancing.  He called a servant who said, “Oh your father is so glad because your brother was lost but now is found.”

The older brother became angry and refused to go into the party.  So his father came out and pleaded with him.  But he said, “All these years I’ve been slaving for you, and did you ever throw a party for me and my friends?  I’ll tell you the party we got; it’s called work!”  The father said, “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.  But we had to celebrate and be glad, because your brother was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

The Loving Father represents God’s love and forgiveness.  When we go to God humbly and admitting our sin, God, in his mercy and grace, treats us like the father who welcomed back the rebellious son.  Let us go and do likewise.

The older brother represents self-righteous individuals.   His attitude shows that his obedience to his father had been years of grim duty, not loving service.  If you’re struggling with grim duty, let your heart be found by the gracious Father.

Of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, only the son deliberately got lost, callously turning his back on his father.  But God’s love can defeat the deliberate rebellion of the heart.  Why not turn to the Loving Father today?  He is waiting and watching for you.  Go into his gracious presence today.