Theme: MANAGING CHRONIC ILLNESSES
Text: “And the inhabitants shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity”. – Isaiah 33:24
Comment: There are some kinds of sickness for which medicines can at best offer only a palliative – to enable one manage to live a life that is close to normal. Such is the case with cancer of any part of the body. St. Paul, was a man given the extra-ordinary grace of being a vastly gifted apostle. But he was nevertheless afflicted with illness by the devil. He thrice prayed God to heal him, but God told him, “My grace is sufficient for thee”. So he learned to live with his infirmity, even glorying in it while carrying on the work. (2 Corinthian 12: 8-10) Those who are not healed, as was the case with St. Paul, should continue to trust in God and make use of available medications for managing the disease, and to carry on with life as much as possible. In such cases, healing can only come from God through prayer. Even if it is not the will of God to heal the person in this present world, He (God) has promised to send healing to His true worshippers who hold fast their faith in Him in His everlasting Kingdom when it is fully established, as nothing defiled shall be in that kingdom. (Isaiah 35:8; Revelation 21:27) Speaking in the first person, God said “Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth”. – Jeremiah 33:6.