Life's Inanities and Ironies

  Primary Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” Paul’s thorn was not removed. Three times he pleaded with the Lord for deliverance, and three times the answer was no. Instead of removal, Paul received a greater revelation: God’s grace is sufficient, and His strength reaches its full expression precisely in human weakness. This is one of the most important truths a recovering or disabled believer can embrace. The world, and sometimes the church, measures strength by independence, productivity, and physical capability. Scripture measures strength by the degree to which a person depends upon Christ. When the body is limited, the i...

  Primary Scripture: John 9:1-3; Exodus 4:11 “And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” “And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?” Some surgeries restore full function. Others leave permanent change: reduced mobility, chronic pain, an ostomy, sensory loss, or diminished stamina. The initial relief that the procedure is over is soon replaced by the sobering realization that life will not return to what it was. This is the moment when many believers face a crisis of identity and purpose. Jesus’ disciples assumed disability must be the direct result of personal or parental sin. Jesus corrected them sharply. The man’s blindness was not a ...

  Primary Scripture: Philippians 4:11-13; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound… I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” Post-surgical pain is often more intense and prolonged than the patient expected. Medication helps but rarely removes all discomfort. Sleep is fragmented. Simple movements become major efforts. In this state the flesh becomes irritable, demanding, and self-focused. The temptation is to believe that contentment is impossible until the pain is gone. Scripture teaches the opposite. Paul learned contentment. It was not automatic; it was learned through experience. The same Christ...

  Primary Scripture: Isaiah 53:5; 2 Corinthians 12:7-9; 1 Timothy 5:23 “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh… For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Few subjects produce more confusion among believers than the relationship between faith and physical healing. Some teach that every sickness is the direct result of personal sin or insufficient faith, and that healing is always available if one only believes hard enough. Others swing to the opposite extreme and act as though God no longer intervenes in the body at all. Both errors must be rejected. Isaiah 53:5 is first and foremost about the atoning work of ...

  Primary Scripture: Psalm 23:4; Isaiah 43:2 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee.” Few places expose the heart like a hospital room at 2:00 a.m. The hallway is quiet. The machines continue their rhythmic sounds. Pain or discomfort keeps sleep away. The mind, no longer distracted by daytime activity, begins to rehearse fears: What if the surgery did not fully succeed? What if complications arise? What if this is the beginning of a long decline? In those hours the promise of God’s presence is not a sentimental comfort; it is a lifeline. David did not say he would avoid the valley. He said he would walk through it without fearing evil because the Shepherd is with him. The rod and staff are not decorations; they are instruments of protection and guidance. Isaiah’s pr...

  Primary Scripture: James 5:14-16; Psalm 50:15 “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up… Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” “And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” The hospital room is one of the most important prayer closets a believer will ever enter. It is also one of the easiest places to neglect prayer. Pain, medication, interruptions, and sheer exhaustion can silence the lips and dull the mind. Yet James does not present prayer for the sick as optional or secondary. He commands the sick believer to call for the elders. The initiative belongs first to the one who is ill. Anointing with oil is not a sacrament that automatically produces healing, nor is it an empty ritual. It is a tangible expression of...

  Primary Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6; Psalm 31:14-15 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” “But I trusted in thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my God. My times are in thy hand.” The days and weeks leading up to surgery are often filled with more spiritual danger than the operating room itself. Fear multiplies in the quiet hours. What-if scenarios parade through the mind. Medical explanations, consent forms, and the sterile language of risk percentages can leave even mature believers feeling small and exposed. Yet Scripture never permits the child of God to face such a moment leaning on his own understanding. Trust is not the absence of concern; it is the deliberate transfer of that concern into the hands of the One who already holds our times. Before the hospital doors open, the believer must settle the issue of sovereignty. God is not surprised by the diagnosis. He is not scr...

  Living as those who have been given life again When strength begins to return, a new responsibility appears. We are not owners of our recovered health; we are stewards. Romans 12:1 calls us to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God. The strength the Lord restores is to be used for His glory, not merely for our former comforts or ambitions. Psalm 116:12-14 asks the right question: “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people.” Recovery is a fresh opportunity to walk carefully, redeem the time, and serve with the strength that remains. Some will be restored to full former strength. Others will walk with a limp, like Jacob after Peniel, yet still lean on the Lord. Either way, the call is the same: walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called (Ephesians 4:1). Use the recovered days to pray m...

  Fighting bitterness, fear, and discouragement Physical healing can be slow. Setbacks come. The enemy of our souls loves to use the waiting to plant bitterness, self-pity, or fear of the future. Scripture is clear: “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). The recovering believer must actively guard the heart. Philippians 4:6-7 remains the daily prescription: be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. The peace of God will keep (garrison) the heart and mind. Thanksgiving is not optional. It is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Even on the hard days we can thank Him for breath, for progress however small, for the people who stand with us, and for the eternal weight of glory that far exceeds these light afflictions (2 Corinthians 4:17). Refuse the lies that say, “This is taking too long,” or “God has forgotten me.”...

  Allowing others to help us heal Recovery is rarely a solo journey. Galatians 6:2 still applies: “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” In the acute phase we may have called for the elders. In the recovery phase we continue to need the body — meals, rides, encouragement, accountability, and simple presence. Pride often rises again once the crisis has passed. We want to “get back to normal” without needing anyone. Scripture will not permit that independence. Romans 12:15 calls us to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. The recovering believer still needs the weeping and the rejoicing of the saints. Hebrews 10:24-25 urges us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, even when assembling looks like short visits or phone calls rather than full services. Receive the help. Let the church fulfill its calling. And as strength returns, begin to look for small ways to encourage others who are still in the valley. The comfort we h...

  Cooperating with the design God built into us Scripture never teaches that faith replaces wisdom. Proverbs is full of practical instruction for the body. “My son, attend to my words… for they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh” (Proverbs 4:20-22). The body is the temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). After illness we are stewards of a weakened temple, and stewardship requires rest, patience, and wise choices. The Lord Himself established the pattern of rest. Even the land was to keep a Sabbath (Leviticus 25). Jesus often withdrew to rest and pray. After major illness the recovering believer must resist the urge to “prove” he is fine by overdoing. Wisdom says: sleep when the body needs sleep, eat what strengthens rather than what merely tastes good, walk as strength allows, and refuse the pride that pushes past safe limits. This is not legalism. It is obedience to the God who designed the body and who still gives wisdom liberally to those...

  The spiritual means God has given for recovery James 5:14-16 is not only for the crisis of acute sickness; it continues into the season of recovery. “The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up… Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” Prayer is not a last resort after the doctors have done all they can. It is the ongoing work of the recovering believer. We pray for strength, for wisdom in the daily decisions of recovery, for protection from setbacks, and for a heart that remains soft toward the Lord. We also keep the Word of God before us. Psalm 119:50 says, “This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.” The same Word that gives life to the soul sustains the body in its healing. Many recoveries are hindered not by lack of medical care but by neglected confession, lingering bitterness, or prayerlessness. The Lord often ti...

  A second series on recovery — what Scripture teaches about healing after illness and how we cooperate with the God who restores Brothers and sisters, the previous series looked at living by faith when sickness leaves us unable to help ourselves. Now we turn to the other side of the valley: the slow, often frustrating work of healing and recovery. The Bible does not leave us without light here. God is the Lord who heals (Exodus 15:26). He also calls His people to walk wisely, rest obediently, pray continually, and receive the means of grace He has provided. These six posts are written for the fundamentalist Christian who holds the inerrant Word as final authority. They reject both the despair that says God no longer heals and the error that treats healing as something we can demand by formula. We look to the whole counsel of God for the path of recovery.   The Lord Who Heals Thee Beginning recovery by fixing our eyes on the Healer Himself After illness, the first and greatest...

  The eternal perspective that keeps us from despair Even when the body can do almost nothing, the believer is not finished. Paul, writing of his own afflictions, said the God of all comfort comforts us so that we may be able to comfort others with the same comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). The sickbed can become a place of intercession, of quiet testimony, of demonstrating that Christ is enough. Romans 8:28 remains true in the hospital room and the recovery chair: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” The outward man may be perishing, but the eternal weight of glory is being worked in us (2 Corinthians 4:17). Present sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed (Romans 8:18). You may not be able to preach, teach, or serve in the ways you once did. You can still pray. You can still give thanks. You can still bear witness by the quiet confidence that whether we l...

  Humility when we must lean on others First Peter 5:7 is simple and sweeping: “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” Yet many of us find it harder to cast the care of being a burden than the care of the sickness itself. We never wanted to need help. We never wanted family or church to rearrange their lives around our weakness. Scripture does not shame the one who must receive. It shames the pride that refuses to receive. The early church held all things common so that none would lack (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-35). Pure religion visits the fatherless and widows in their affliction (James 1:27). When we are the one in affliction, allowing the saints to fulfill that calling is part of our obedience. There is a holy humility in saying, “I cannot do this alone.” It is the same humility that lets the Spirit help our infirmities (Romans 8:26). It is the same humility that lets the body of Christ function. The Lord who cares for you has also placed people around you to be the ...

  The secret Paul learned in every state Paul wrote from prison, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound… I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:11-13). Contentment is not natural. It is learned. And it is often learned most deeply when sickness strips away every ability to “do.” First Thessalonians 5:16-18 commands us: “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Notice it does not say give thanks for the sickness as if it were good in itself, but in every thing. The circumstance is real; the thanksgiving is an act of faith that God remains sovereign and good. Job lost everything and still worshiped. Habakkuk, facing barren fields, still determined to rejoice in the Lord (Habakkuk 3:17-18). The believer who can no longer help anyone else is not exempt from these commands. In fact, ...

  What Scripture commands when we are sick and dependent James does not leave the sick believer to suffer in isolation. He gives clear instruction: “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up” (James 5:14-15). He continues, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (v. 16). Notice the direction of the command. The sick one is to call. Dependence is not failure; it is obedience. We are not designed to carry every burden alone. Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” There is a difference between the personal load each must carry (Galatians 6:5) and the crushing burden that requires the help of the body. When sickness makes us unable to help ourselves or others...

When we can no longer help ourselves There comes a day for many of us when the honest confession is this: I cannot help myself, and I certainly cannot help anyone else. Pride hates that admission. Scripture meets it with one of the most liberating truths in all the Bible. Paul pleaded three times for the thorn to be removed. The Lord’s answer was not healing, but this: “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul then declared, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me… for when I am weak, then am I strong” (vv. 9-10). God is not limited by our inability. In fact, He often waits until our own strength is gone so that His power alone is seen. When we are reduced to the place where we cannot rise, cannot serve, cannot even pray as we used to, the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered (Romans 8:26). Our weakness becomes the ve...

 Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Word of God never pretends that the righteous will always walk in unbroken health. From Job on the ash heap to Paul with his thorn, from David on the bed of languishing to the saints James addresses, Scripture faces sickness head-on. It shows us both the outward man that perishes and the inward man that is renewed. It teaches us how to live when we can no longer help ourselves, let alone carry the load for others. These six posts draw from the whole counsel of God so that, whether we are the one lying weak or the one standing beside the bed, we may walk in faith, humility, and hope. The dichotomy of body and spirit that frees us from despair When sickness strikes and strength fails, the first truth we must settle is that we are not merely physical beings. Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). The body m...

  So much has happened in the last few days, and I’m still trying to soak it all in. Thursday morning I sat with the heart surgeon at IU Methodist in Indianapolis. They told me they can help me. On the 26th of this month I will go in for double-bypass surgery. I am more than a little scared physically. Spiritually, I know I have nothing to fear. Convincing my mind of that truth is the hard part. If someone had told me even a couple of years ago that a man could feel genuine physical dread and yet rest in complete spiritual peace at the same time, I would have thought they were talking nonsense. But the closer I walk with the Lord, the more I see that the two can truly dwell in the same body. The outward man and the inward man are not the same thing. Scripture has been preparing us for this reality all along. Paul wrote, “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). The body can be breaking down whil...

There comes a moment in the life of every believer—sometimes gradually, sometimes with the sudden force of a diagnosis, a failing body, or the quiet recognition that the years have grown short—when the nearness of death can no longer be ignored. The end of this earthly pilgrimage is no longer a distant theological concept. It is imminent. The horizon of eternity has drawn close, and the soul must reckon with the unalterable truth that soon it will step from this life into the presence of the living God. This is not a subject for the faint of heart, nor for those who prefer the soft language of modern sentimentality. Scripture does not permit us to treat death as a gentle transition or a natural cycle of life. Death is an enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26). It is the wages of sin (Romans 6:23). It is the great leveler that strips away every earthly pretense, every possession, every reputation, and every remaining ambition. Yet for the one who is in Christ, death has been stripped of its ultima...

  * (Hebrews 3:12–15) * The writer of Hebrews does not treat hardness of heart as a sudden event. He treats it as a progressive danger that can overtake even those who have already tasted the goodness of God. After quoting Psalm 95, he presses the warning home: “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” (Hebrews 3:12–15) Notice the careful language. The danger is an “evil heart of unbelief.” The means by which it takes root is “the deceitfulness of sin.” The result is progressive hardening. And the only window of opportunity named is “To day.” Hardening rarely begins with open rebellion. It usually ...

  The final word of biblical adaptation is not nostalgia for what was, but expectancy for what God is yet to do. Isaiah 43:18-19 declares, “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” The temptation in every season of change is to keep looking backward—to the former health, the former ministry, the former security, the former relationships. The Lord commands the opposite. Stop remembering the former things as the measure of the present. Lift your eyes. God is not finished. He specializes in making ways in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Paul lived this truth. Philippians 3:13-14 records his settled method: “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Luke 9:62 adds t...

  The biographical examples of Scripture are not given merely for inspiration. They establish non-negotiable principles that every believer must apply when life changes. From the whole counsel of God we draw seven anchors that must not be moved. First , anchor yourself in the unchanging Word. Psalm 119:89 declares that forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven. When everything else shifts, the believer returns to the settled Word. Do not adapt your doctrine to the new season. Force the new season to submit to the doctrine already revealed. Second , refuse the counsel of the ungodly. Psalm 1 stands as a perpetual warning. The world offers endless strategies for coping. The fundamentalist rejects them all. Our help comes from the Lord which made heaven and earth (Psalm 121:2). Third , maintain the fear of the Lord. Many adapt by growing casual with holy things. Scripture warns through Nadab and Abihu, Achan, and Ananias and Sapphira that God is not mocked. Seasons of personal up...

  No New Testament figure endured more constant and varied change than the apostle Paul. He went from respected Pharisee to hunted Christian, from free preacher to chained prisoner, from successful church planter to shipwrecked castaway. Yet from a Roman prison he could write, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:11-13). Contentment is not natural. Paul says he “learned” it. It is a grace cultivated through repeated experiences of both abundance and need, always in dependence upon the strengthening Christ. The fundamentalist Christian must reject the world’s counterfeit versions of contentment—positive thinking, gratitude journals divorced from the cross, or the pursuit of “balance.” Biblical contentment is the...

  David was anointed king as a young man, yet he spent years living in caves, hunted like an animal by the very king he had served. The path from the sheepfold to the throne was not a straight line of promotion. It was a long, painful education in waiting upon God while every outward circumstance contradicted the promise. 1 Samuel 16 records the anointing. 1 Samuel 18 begins the jealousy of Saul. By chapter 22 David is in the cave of Adullam with every one that was in distress, in debt, or discontented. The man after God’s own heart adapted by refusing two clear opportunities to kill Saul and seize the kingdom by force. He would not stretch forth his hand against the Lord’s anointed. Adaptation for David meant protecting the integrity of his future throne by refusing to grasp it prematurely. The Psalms written during these years are the manual of godly waiting. Psalm 57, composed in the cave, begins, “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: ye...

  Moses’ life is divided by the Spirit of God into three distinct forty-year periods, each requiring a complete adaptation of identity, purpose, and dependence. Forty years as a prince in Egypt. Forty years as a shepherd in Midian. Forty years as the deliverer and lawgiver of Israel. At each transition the familiar was stripped away and a new man was required. Acts 7:22-23 tells us that Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and in deeds. Yet when he attempted to deliver his people in the energy of the flesh, he failed, killed an Egyptian, and fled. The next forty years were spent on the backside of the desert, keeping the flock of his father-in-law. The man who once moved in royal courts now moved among sheep. The man who once spoke with authority now lived in obscurity. God was not wasting time. He was producing meekness. Numbers 12:3 records the result: “Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth...

  The book of Job confronts every believer with the most severe form of adaptation imaginable: the sudden, comprehensive loss of nearly everything that makes life bearable, while the sufferer remains conscious that God Himself has permitted it. In a single day Job lost his oxen, his sheep, his camels, his servants, and all ten of his children. Then his own body was covered with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. His wife looked at him in the ashes and said, “Curse God, and die.” Job’s first recorded response remains the gold standard of godly adaptation under catastrophic loss: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). The Holy Spirit immediately adds, “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” This is not stoicism. This is worship. Job did not deny the pain. He did not pretend the losses were small. He simply refused to let the lo...

  Brothers and sisters, few lives in Scripture display more violent and rapid change than the life of Joseph. One day he is the favored son wearing a coat of many colours. The next he is stripped, thrown into a pit, and sold to Ishmaelite traders. One day he is steward of Potiphar’s entire house. The next he is falsely accused and cast into prison. One day he is forgotten by the butler. The next he stands before Pharaoh and is made ruler over all the land of Egypt. Genesis 50:20 is the theological key that unlocks every reversal: “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” The fundamentalist Christian must learn to read every sudden downturn through this lens. Men may mean it for evil. Circumstances may appear chaotic. But the sovereign God is never absent, never surprised, and never defeated. Joseph’s adaptation was not passive resignation. In Potiphar’s house he served with excellence. I...

  Beloved saints of the living God, the first great movement of biblical adaptation is not found in a crisis of health or a sudden loss of income. It is found in a quiet, devastating command that strips a man of every earthly security at once. Genesis 12:1 records the word of the Lord to Abram: “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee.” No map was given. No timetable was supplied. No guarantee of comfort was offered. The call was absolute: leave the familiar, leave the family, leave the security of the known, and walk toward a land you have never seen. Abraham obeyed. Hebrews 11:8 states the matter with divine clarity: “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” This is the purest form of adaptation the believer will ever face—adaptation by obedience alone. The modern evangelical world sof...