The LORD is with you.
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” – Psalm 73:25-26
In her blog post “When God Meets You in a Hospital Room”, Leah Jolly writes the following: “As difficult as my husband’s illness and diagnosis was, I look back on those difficult weeks as a means God used to sanctify me.
In a cold, fourth-floor hospital room, God met me in my darkest hour and taught me about his power to heal and provide for all of my needs. I didn’t ask God to send me or my husband through a devastating medical and financial crisis. However, it was part of his sovereign plan for my life and sanctification.
The authors of the Heidelberg Catechism–a 16th century document used by the church to teach Reformed theology and doctrine–explain that, because of God’s sovereign plan, “all things, in fact, come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand.”
Knowing God’s sovereignty and providence is a great comfort to me, even as God’s means of sanctifying me are faith-testing, difficult, and costly.
The Heidelberg Catechism reminds us that when we know about God’s providence, “We can be patient when things go against us, thankful when things go well, and for the future we can have good confidence in our faithful God and Father that nothing in creation will separate us from his love.
For all creatures are so completely in God’s hand that without his will they can neither move nor be moved.”
Now, looking back, I’m grateful to God for using every means including hospital rooms and chronic illness diagnoses as a means of sanctification and growth for my good and his glory.”
When your flesh fails, praise Jesus. Know that in suffering, the Lord is with you.
“The comfort of Revelation 21 has given me a greater anticipation of heaven. Only in heaven will my husband’s illness be eternally cured and he will be given a disease-free body, free from all complications and limitations. Praise God!” – Leah Jolly
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” – Revelation 21:3-4