God has blessed me with good health most all of my life. I am very aware that not everyone has been so fortunate. 

Recently I have had had several health-related issues. It has given me a renewed thankfulness for the normally excellent health that I have been blessed with. Over the years, I have been involved in several car accidents and other kinds of accidents that have injured some part of my body and created pain issues. Most of the pains have been for short intervals of time, so again, once it was over (or better), I again began to reflect upon the majority of my life that has been mostly pain free. And again I had a very thankful heart.

Most of us have family members or good friends with chronic health issues. We have watched them suffer, many of them for years and years with no real relief. Some of them have given up on the medical profession, having exhausted every possible potential answer to their problem. Some of them have become bitter and even resentful. Some have become offended with God because they have cried out to Him for relief or healing and not seen the manifestation of that request.

Many of us who believe that God can heal have not been very understanding. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, we see many examples of the Lord healing an individual or even a group of people (the Exodus, the 10 lepers). Some of us can testify to a supernatural healing in our own bodies or we have seen another person healed by the Lord. 

I think one thing that has been lacking in the body of Christ has been the kind of compassion that Jesus manifested to all of those who came to Him for healing. A friend, who has had chronic pain for over 20 years and been on lots of medications to try to mask or relieve his symptoms, shared a very touching story recently. He finally took himself off of a very addictive medication that he had been on for years, because it was no longer doing for him what it was manufactured for. His doctor said that in all the years of his practice, he had never heard of anyone doing that who was still in that much pain. 

Years ago, the medication was helpful, but well-meaning people told him he was an addict who needed to get help for his addiction. He could still function in his vocation at the time with the help of the medication. He was devastated by their lack of compassion. My dad, who also suffered greatly with chronic pain in his legs and feet, took him aside and told him that this was not good counsel. Years ago, I might not have agreed with him because I had not had any pain issues to compare with what my dad or my friend was going through.

This scenario reminds me a little of Job’s well meaning “friends.” Because life is not always predictable, nor does everything go according to our wishes, desires or ideals, we experience a whole range of situations that can bring disappointment, confusion and even discouragement or hopelessness. The longer I am alive, the more I realize that everything is not black and white, cut and dried. Some things we experience are beyond our understanding at the time. 

If we are not willing to wait upon the Lord and trust Him, that He really works all things together for our good ultimately, we will experience the negative emotions that go along with not understanding our current circumstances. My friend has questioned the Lord many times and I think has been tempted to give up or become offended with God. Thankfully he has chosen not to do that. The reality of his relationship with the Lord has sustained him for over 20 years now. His health has not improved, but he functions the best that he can. Some days are better than others. But one thing all of this suffering has done is given him and his wife a compassion for others who are also suffering in one way or another (not just physical).

Now that I have more understanding, I also want to operate with more compassion toward those who go through things, especially physical suffering. Because I have experienced a small measure of pain, sickness, etc. compared to many others, I wanted to share this insight with my readers, knowing that each of us has a different sphere of influence. Sometimes all it takes is one compassionate person to help someone who is suffering to endure a while longer.

I still pray for people to receive physical healing. I still pray for myself when I experience pain or other symptoms of discomfort. But I am no longer pointing the finger at someone else, assuming that they have no faith or that they are “in sin” because they are not seeing a manifestation to their petition. Jesus’ love for each of us is so wonderful, so perfect, and He wants us to represent His divine nature to others in the midst of all that they may be going through. 

We don’t always have to understand or have the answer for their situation. Let us take a little time to meditate on the wonderful quality of compassion that He wants us to demonstrate to the world.