Stamp out the Lies, 2011, #3

In a Junior English class we're studying about the slave trading all the way through their travels to America.  As the teacher was giving an overview of what we would be talking about, the African Americans religion was on the list.  She said that even though they were treated so badly, they held onto their beliefs.  

I wanted to stand up and say, "Well duh!"  I can't imagine going through hard times without God in my life.  The enemy enjoys lying to us and saying that God doesn't care what we go through.  What a lie!  God is with us every step of the way, even when we turn our backs on Him for a bit.  He's always there.  

A couple of months ago I asked a few friends to write a testimony about their life with chronic pain, whether it's physical or emotional.  A dear friend Sunny, from Texas, responded to my call and I want to share with you what she wrote. 

I Will Worship Through the Pain 

By Sunny Shell, January 2011

“I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.”

~Psalm 9:1-2

I have more specialists than there are colors in the rainbow. I’ve complained about this in the past, but as I recount all God’s goodness to me, my heart is lifted towards heavenly things and I see my situation in a new light. Having so many specialists, must just mean I’m extra special (silly grin).

There’s no name for my condition. There’s no cure for anything I have, no assurance as to whether I will get better, worse or if the current treatments will stabilize me. Presently, my darling husband gives me 1,000 mcg of B12 in my arm every 2 weeks. I take 50,000 units of Vitamin D every 2 weeks as well as 2,000 units/day (this is after discovering 50,000 wasn’t enough). I take 400 units of Vitamin E for my fatty liver and 5 mg of Crestor along with 200 mg of CO Q10 daily for my high cholesterol. Recently, I’ve been tested for a rare muscle disease and am awaiting results. It’s never ending. Most days I’m hurting and am completely wiped out by ordinary activities.

All this, and I’m only 41 years young, thin and work out regularly...as best as I can. So what’s a gal to do? Well, I could wallow in self-pity, whine and complain. Check. Check. Check. Been there, done that! Now what? 

Now, I turn my eyes, heart, mind and everything I have, towards Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of my faith (Hebrews 12:1-2).

“The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him; let him put his mouth in the dust -- there may yet be hope; let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults. For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though He cause grief, He will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love; for He does not willingly afflict men.”

~Jeremiah 3:25-33 

It is good for me to sit quietly, endure this trial, and wait for His deliverance. I’m so comforted in knowing that God doesn’t rejoice in my affliction, but He rejoices that the flames of my afflictions burn away all the useless chaff in my life that doesn’t resemble my awesome Savior, Christ Jesus my Lord (John 9:3).

I am a wife, mother, friend, writer, a chronically ill person, and so many other things. While all these things play a huge role in my life, they do not define who I am. Since the day of my salvation, I am forever defined by my relationship with Jesus Christ. How I choose to live daily, demonstrates the measure of my love and gratitude towards God for the greatest Gift ever known -- Jesus Christ. Therefore I choose to worship Him while I wait. Even in my darkest and most painful moments, I choose to remember that my illness does not define me. It does not make me who I am, unless I choose to let it.

My joy is not set in the hope that one day I may be healed, but my joy instead, is firmly established in knowing Christ and being known by Him.

"Christ is our best friend and ere long will be our only friend. I pray God with all my heart that I may be weary of everything else but converse and communion with Him"

~ John Owen, 17th century Puritan and lover of Jesus Christ

Thank you for sharing, Sunny.  The enemy wants to knock us down when the going gets tough but the Bible says that when we are weak, He's all the more strong in our lives - and that is a fact.  We can praise Him through any and all storms. 


Stamp out the Lies #1  
Stamp out the Lies #2