Categories
Wednesday Writings

You Can Have It, Lord: A Poem of Relinquishment in Chronic Illness

Last week we looked at how to find grace, joy, and peace in chronic illness based on Elisabeth Elliot’s short devotional about the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” by Horatio G. Spafford: by receiving what God has given us and by relinquishing what He takes from us. As I meditated on Elisabeth Elliot’s […]

Categories
Wednesday Writings

To Receive and To Relinquish: Finding Grace, Joy, and Peace in Chronic Illness

I recently started reading Elisabeth Elliot’s book Secure in the Everlasting Arms, a collection of short devotional thoughts from the newsletter she wrote for almost twenty years. The very first entry hit me square between the eyes.  The Lot We’re Dealt The entry is titled “Whatever My Lot” and, after giving a brief, personal backstory […]

Categories
Wednesday Writings

One Set of Footprints: What It Means for God to Carry You Through Suffering, Part 2

3. Jesus has suffered as we have…and more. If you’d said this to me during the darkest of my wilderness days, I would have probably gotten very cranky. Sometimes it feels like Jesus is that perfect older brother who does everything right and, more importantly, never does anything wrong. When we lean into that bitter […]

Categories
Lessons From Job Wednesday Writings

Lessons From Job: Identity in Chronic Illness

“You are not your diagnosis.” Have you heard this phrase? Commonly spoken to chronic illness warriors both in and outside the Christian community, it’s true. We are not defined by our illness. Our limitations. Our losses. Our physical changes.  On the converse, we’re not defined by our health either. Our abilities. Our talents. Our physical […]

Categories
Wednesday Writings

The Unravelling: Lessons From God’s Pruning

By Jasmine Originally published on The Gospel Coalition Australia Author’s Note: I wrote this article just over a year after having to leave my job overnight due to the onset of serious chronic illness. As I write this note in April 2022, I’m blessed to have finally received a diagnosis (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome), which […]