When Your Illness Makes You Feel Betrayed By Your Body

“My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.” Psalm 31:10 

  

  Do you ever feel that your body has betrayed you? Has it left you feeling embarrassed, disappointed, or discouraged? There are times our body feels more like an enemy than a friend, times when no matter what we do, no matter what treatments or medications we give it, our body responds by letting us down. 

  Sometimes it seems like we are in an endless battle with our bodies, we think we have gained some ground, that we have turned the tide in the war, and yet it rallies against us and sets us back once again. It can get discouraging after a while. 

  The truth is that our bodies are not our enemies. Our bodies have been afflicted by diseases common to this world. To see our body as the enemy, rather than the victim of affliction, is to see our body as something foreign rather than a part of us that is subject to illnesses and weaknesses. 

  

  While it is true that a new body awaits the Christian believer, it is also true that our lives on this earth will be spent in a body subject to affliction. Rather than see our body as the enemy, we must make peace with it and do our best to keep it in the best possible condition. 

  Often, I long for my heavenly body, and I suspect you do as well. The Philosopher Epictetus said essentially: 

  

We have the mind of God but we drag about a dead body. 

  

  I know that sometimes seems the case. And dragging about these “dead bodies” can be quite the challenge. Yet it is also true that we are redeemed, not just our mind, but also our bodies will be redeemed, and renewed: 

  

“Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:23 

  

  We suffer much because of our bodies, yet these physical temples are a part of us. Without them we would be dead. While we live we must do our best to make peace with these afflicted vessels, and with God’s help we will survive them as we drag them along with us toward redemption. 

  Don’t let your body drag you down. You are more than your body, more than a flesh and blood vessel. You are more than your afflictions. 

  When you feel frustrated and betrayed by your body, try to keep in mind that it is part of you, and along with you it is also on its way to redemption. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, so often these bodies let us down and at times we feel we are at war with them, help us through until we receive the redemption of our body. Amen. 

Karlton Douglas  

Copyright 2017