“How painful are honest words! But what do your arguments prove?” Job 6:25 (NIV)
Why is it so painful to be honest? Why is it I would rather make up just about any excuse for not doing something than admit my health is not up to some event or activity?
Even after all these years of affliction, I still don’t like to admit that my health is the reason I can’t do something. I guess none of us like to admit to weakness of any sort. We would rather excuse our health situation and blame anything other than admit to weakness.
Somehow, admitting to a physical disability seems like a defeat. We cheer on those who do not let handicaps get in their way, and rightly so, but even in a culture that ought to be a bit smarter by now, we still steer away from afflictions of all sorts. There is still a discomfort level at seeing someone in a wheelchair or using a cane, because we correctly surmise that, being human, it could be us in that chair or leaning on that cane; age and disability reaches us all eventually, but no one likes to think about that.
Perhaps it is pride, perhaps it is social pressure, whatever the reason, we like to hide our disabilities. And those of us with invisible illnesses are probably the worst of all. We are both favored and disfavored by the invisibility of our illnesses. Because we can hide it–we do. But because we are ill–the affliction often shows itself whether we want it to or not in the way it shuts us down.
No one wants to be afflicted, and it can be hard to admit to affliction, but we are not fooling anyone, especially not ourselves. Call on the Lord for help, lean on Him and depend upon His strength in your afflictions, and be honest both with yourself and everyone else regarding your affliction.
Prayer: Dear Lord, how we hate affliction, give the courage to be honest about our weaknesses. Amen.
Karlton Douglas
Why is it so painful to be honest? Why is it I would rather make up just about any excuse for not doing something than admit my health is not up to some event or activity?
Even after all these years of affliction, I still don’t like to admit that my health is the reason I can’t do something. I guess none of us like to admit to weakness of any sort. We would rather excuse our health situation and blame anything other than admit to weakness.
Somehow, admitting to a physical disability seems like a defeat. We cheer on those who do not let handicaps get in their way, and rightly so, but even in a culture that ought to be a bit smarter by now, we still steer away from afflictions of all sorts. There is still a discomfort level at seeing someone in a wheelchair or using a cane, because we correctly surmise that, being human, it could be us in that chair or leaning on that cane; age and disability reaches us all eventually, but no one likes to think about that.
Perhaps it is pride, perhaps it is social pressure, whatever the reason, we like to hide our disabilities. And those of us with invisible illnesses are probably the worst of all. We are both favored and disfavored by the invisibility of our illnesses. Because we can hide it–we do. But because we are ill–the affliction often shows itself whether we want it to or not in the way it shuts us down.
No one wants to be afflicted, and it can be hard to admit to affliction, but we are not fooling anyone, especially not ourselves. Call on the Lord for help, lean on Him and depend upon His strength in your afflictions, and be honest both with yourself and everyone else regarding your affliction.
Prayer: Dear Lord, how we hate affliction, give the courage to be honest about our weaknesses. Amen.
Karlton Douglas
Copyright 2017
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