Where do we place our hope in hopeless situations?
A six-minute testimony during hard times
“Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:7–8
It might be your blood sugar.
Have you looked at your full blood panels? Check your thyroid.
I don’t think it’s a side effect of your medication.
It looks like you should hold off on taking that medication.
The amount of advice and suggestions I have received from those in and out of the medical field this past week has done little to relieve me of my sudden symptoms. Last Sunday I was playing with my daughter after church and living my normal life: tired from toddlerdom but able to lift, move, and function. The next morning I was unable to catch my breath, lightheaded when I stood up and concerned enough to seek emergency help.
I was sent home with a 2-week heart monitor that has allowed me to track symptoms long-term but the week has continued with elevated heart rates and no answers to what I’m experiencing. Every test and scan has yet to reveal why I’m unhealthy.
I have assumed at some point in life that if a Christian is potentially facing major health issues they would have the mental capacity to pray and think upon what is happening. I can tell you from my own current experiences that I have been wandering in and out of that capability.
There are moments when I am so focused on trying to breathe properly or not fall over from walking from one end of my house to the other that I have a blank mind about what is happening. As my husband cancels his trips and checks my blood pressure or heart rate, my mind cannot fathom the reality of the present. I only see my daughter and him and feel the chair beneath me.
There is a desire to be close to them. There is a desire to write or create even when I have little energy to do so. My definition of functioning has changed hour by hour.
What is the most important thing right now?
Is it the ability to bring in income? Take care of my family? Grow in my career skills?
It is to live. It seems obvious to everyone but the deep roots of my identity still provide me with the wrong answers. The “old man” Apostle Paul speaks of in Romans still tries to take over despite how dead he is.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
Don’t you know you are a new creation?
Don’t you see that your eternal life is more important than your worldly one? Don’t you see, Chanel?
Your work here is to learn about Jesus and teach about Jesus and show others how deeply and profoundly his grace has impacted your life. Everything else is extra. The thoughts that swirl up in my mind about other things I “should” be doing are fossil remains of my old-self seeking identity.
With the best of intentions, I have been advised to spend less time focusing on Bible school studies and I know why. The energy and time I have right now is minimal. There are hours when I can do nothing but drink water while resting on a couch and hoping to bring my body back to near normal. But this is exactly the reason why I need to stay focused on learning about my eternal life in the struggles of my worldly one.
Matthew 6 is a wonderful summary of where we need to focus when we are struggling to survive.
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Matthew 6: 19-24
Jesus knows you and me well. Our human nature is to rely upon what we have in front of us, whether that is worrying over money, worldly definitions of success, or the social media apps we cling to when we feel alone. We shouldn’t look inward to ourselves for answers or look to the physical things we can hold in our hands because they are prone to loss and decay.
That’s exactly what Jesus’s followers were doing in John 6. Many people began to witness his healings and massive crowds sought him out to make him an earthly king among them (John 6:15). Jesus then reminds people of the following points:
You’re seeking me because you had your fill of the loaves but you’re empty without accepting me as the Bread of Life
You say Moses gave you manna and forget it was God that creates all things and worked through Moses
You choose to see and believe instead of having faith in order to see His works
John 6:66 says “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” The people who ran after Jesus fell away when He proclaimed there was nothing more important than following Him. That’s not the answer they wanted from their Messiah, who they believed would ride into Jerusalem like a conquering war hero. Instead, they got a man on a donkey who died and refused to fight back. So they too turned back from him.
God desires our hearts. He desires mercy, not burnt offerings. He desires our souls to change through His works not our own (Hosea 6:6, Psalm 51:16-17). That is why he became the sacrifice. He became the ultimate sign of mercy. The same power that brought his body from the grave reaches us out of our own dead selves and we are born into a new creation through Him.
What does this all mean? It doesn’t change the fact that I cannot currently stand without shaking. Physically, yes. But eternally, my body will one day be dead and He will raise it again. I won’t need to worry over how I will eat or what I will wear or when money will come because I will only see Jesus.
That’s all that matters. In good times or hard times, it’s truly all that matters.
The fact that an unbelieving, angry girl could suddenly feel the hardening of her heart decrease and inexplicably feel called to baptism is a miracle.
The fact that a girl who didn’t believe in God and was walking around ready to die for years could find the smallest amount of last-minute hope and never feel suicidal again is a miracle.
The fact that a woman who has crawled on the floor in tears in the midst of struggling with addiction and has been able to ask God to do whatever is necessary and then seen unbelievable healing happen is a miracle.
These truths are not seen and then believed. They came through believing and then seeing.
Well said. I pray many will read this offering.