Last week we looked at two reasons we are valuable, reasons that come from God Himself and that define us with truths that cannot be changed: we are made in God’s image, created in His plan, and redeemed into His family by the priceless blood of His own Son.
These next two reasons include truth but truth that is less directly drawn from Scripture, truth that relates more to the human perspective and focuses more on things that can change and be taken away.
So, for the foundation of your value, drill your identity into these bedrock truths: God made you and God redeemed you. Alone, these God-designed realities declare you more valuable than our human minds can fully appreciate.
On top of this general bedrock, however, I see two additional, more specific reasons for your value as a daughter of God with chronic illness.
3. You are valuable because of who you are
We know we’re created in God’s image, but what does that mean? What does it look like to be a functioning human, an intelligent being, a unique person in this world?
Think about who you are as a person and what (through the grace of God) makes you you: your experiences, your pursuits, your knowledge, your strengths (and weaknesses), your skills and abilities, your passions, your personality. If you need help coming up with things, enlist a friend or two!
While we shouldn’t base all of our identity or value in these things, it isn’t wrong to look at (and hold loosely to) what we DO have to offer.
Note: this is not to encourage an ego trip or suggest that all of us should sing our own versions of Gaston’s self-lauding “Me.” It is, however, to help us look beyond our chronic illness and recognize the value that we still have no matter what our health looks like.
So think about it:
- What experiences have grown you into the person you are today? Even if they were difficult, would you be who you are now without them? Have you thanked God for them?
- What passions fill your heart, soul, and mind with fire and purpose and excitement? What dreams, causes, and pursuits has God put into your heart that drive your actions and flavor your identity?
- What do you know? Even if it’s not knowledge exclusive to you, what do YOU know that you love to know, that runs constantly in the back of your mind, that flows into your life and the lives of others?
- How about your personality? What perspectives, traits, and values define you? What allows you to connect with and relate to other people?
- What are your skills and abilities? Even if chronic illness has taken some of these from you, or reduced your capacity in them, what can you still do and do well (whether something visible like crafting or something invisible like listening to people)?
While we shouldn’t find our value exclusively in what we have to offer, it’s important to keep in mind that in God’s infinite plan and by His gracious gifts, everyone–no matter the state of their health–has not just something but much to give to Him and to this world.
Don’t let chronic illness blind you to who you still are and what you still can do.
4. You are valuable because of your chronic illness
Yes, that “because” is correct.
You don’t just have value despite your chronic illness; you have value because of your chronic illness.
Maybe you’ve already thought about this, but if not, let me explain.
Earlier I challenged you to think about the experiences that have shaped you. Was chronic illness on that list? If so, can you identify specific ways your health journey has equipped you, refined you, and used you for good?
It’s easy to think of what chronic illness takes away, but take a moment to think about what you’ve gained from your valley experience. Here are some prompts to get you started.
1. Perspective. We talk a lot about perspective on this blog, and that’s not by accident. Any trial, but especially the long-lasting trial of chronic illness, forces us to examine and often adjust our perspective: how we view life, suffering, God, and ourselves.
How has your chronic illness adjusted, clarified, or broadened your perspective?
2. Faith. When we’re suffering, we seek something to hold on to, something beyond ourselves and this life and its difficulties that will carry us through. As the Apostle Paul reminds us, we “walk by faith, not by sight” (II Corinthians 5:7). The visible realities of chronic illness push us to lean even harder on the invisible realities of God’s character, God’s plan, the future He promises His children, and the redemption of suffering He’s accomplishing.
How has your faith deepened (or been placed in deeper things) through your chronic illness journey?
3. A closer walk with God. I don’t know about you, but my ongoing health challenges have invited me into–and rewarded me with–a deeper relationship with my Father than I would have known without these trials. While there are many lessons I’m still learning, I can look back and trace some specific pathways of spiritual growth that took place in or as a result of the dark valleys. My relationship with God and appreciation of Jesus (and hopefully my likeness to Him) are deeper, sweeter, and closer because of my suffering. I pray this is a reality for you too.
In what ways has your chronic illness grown your relationship with God?
4. Compassion. This is one of the most common gains I see in the lives of people with chronic illness. When we suffer, it’s easier to relate to others who suffer, even if the type of suffering isn’t the same. And beyond simply relating, we also have opportunities to comfort in ways that would be closed to us without our own suffering. Paul speaks to this compassion when he writes about the comfort we receive from God in our trials, “that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (II Corinthians 1:4).
How has your chronic illness developed compassion in your heart and life?
5. Creativity. One of the tongue-in-cheek jokes among the chronic illness community is the unique, original, and outside-the-box way we do things. Our health challenges often force us to do the same things in a different way, or do different things entirely. Enter creativity: with food plans, with scheduling strategies, with social gatherings, with wardrobe choices, with ministry opportunities, you name it.
What do you do creatively because of your chronic illness? Have you seen this creativity influence other areas of life?
6. Practical knowledge. Chronic illness can be a classroom, a professor, and a training program all in one, giving us knowledge we never would have otherwise about medical jargon, social situations, relationships, alternative treatments, etc. This knowledge often circles beyond ourselves to help other “spoonies” or other people in general.
How have you been able to help others with what you’ve learned in your chronic illness?
I hope these words remind you, even as they’ve reminded me, that you are valuable no matter how sick you are, no matter what you can or can’t do, no matter how you feel, no matter what people say.
(In fact, let me point out that there will be times when people will not value you. And that’s okay, because our value doesn’t come from people. Our value comes from God and cannot change.)
My sister, never forget that you are valuable–precious, priceless, and worth so much–even in your chronic illness.
Who are you, and what can you do? How has chronic illness made you stronger? What gifts have you found in your valley that enrich not just your own life but also the lives of others?
The Valley 