Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Getting through tough times”
Our Bible verse for today: “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” John 11:4 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “God can be glorified by how we handle sickness.”
Serious illness is one of the most difficult things any of us will ever have to deal with. There are few things in life that affect us as deeply as how we feel. It’s hard to be active when you don’t feel well. Being bright and bubbly takes extra effort when you’re exhausted and hurting. Our natural inclination is to focus our attention on our aches and pains, talk about them a lot, and expect everyone around us to be interested in hearing about how we feel.
I know this to be true on a personal level. I’ve been blessed with good health. I come from pretty hearty stock to begin with, but then I’ve also made it a point to take good care of myself. Therefore I seldom get sick. And that being the case, when I do get sick I’m not good at it. I’m a little bit of a baby about it.
My wife on the other hand handles sickness extremely well. Over the years she has had more surgeries than I can keep track of. She lives everyday with aches and pains and physical limitations. But for the most part she just shrugs it off and gets on with life. She does it with determination and a good sense of humor (she uses a black walker on wheels that is decorated with Harley Davidson stickers and flames).
I’ve always admired people who handle sickness well – especially Christians who use their illness to bring glory to God. Yesterday I performed a funeral for an 84 year old man who had struggled with multiple health problems for many years. But he did so with grace and good humor. He used his sicknesses to be a bright spot in the day of the healthcare workers who attended to him. He would laugh and joke with them, tease them and compliment them. And he would tell them about Jesus.
God can be glorified in how we handle sickness. We can be intentional about surrendering the issue to Him and then inviting Him to use it for a greater good.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 