Dealing With Financial Turmoil

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:12-13 

  

  There are probably very few people with chronic illnesses and disabilities who are not severely impacted by financial losses due to their condition. As the primary breadwinner in our home, when I was knocked flat by illness, we went through terrible financial hardship because of the deterioration of my health. 

  It can feel like a cold slap in the face to be hit by financial losses on top of being stricken with illness and disease. You find yourself barely afloat just dealing with your affliction. Then the money stops coming in, doctor bills and medication costs pile up, making you feel like you are sinking in debt when your health is already dragging you down. 

  There is a terrible helpless feeling that overcomes you when you see rising expenses and have no idea how to pay for anything. The rising costs of our illness can be crushing. It is a suffocating feeling when our costs across the board are far more than we can deal with. 

  You are going to need faith to carry the associated burden of financial strain related to chronic illness. Looking back on just how terrible my finances have been because of my health, and looking forward to ongoing financial challenges, the word that comes to my mind is “faith.” 

  Trusting that the Lord will make a way is the only way forward through your financial challenges when illness turns your world upside down. I cannot fully explain how God enabled me to get through years of terrible financial strain because of my health woes. I can only say that it truly was God who worked miracles time and again so that we were not crushed by the weight of financial burdens. 

  We trust God for so many things. I would encourage you to take your financial burdens before the Lord and ask Him to make a way through your financial challenges. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, help us through the burden of health costs, and all of our financial needs. And thank You for the many ways You have already helped us. Amen. 

When You Are Pressed Beyond Your Strength

“When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; He brought me into a spacious place. Psalm 118:4-6 

  

“These are the times that try men’s souls.” ---Thomas Paine 

  

  There have been times that tried our soul, tested our strength and ability to endure. When we have our hopes high, often we come crashing down to reality by a setback of our hopes. Perhaps some new affliction arises, or old issues reemerge. You may find yourself in an intolerable situation that tests your endurance. 

  Standing strong when we feel weak can seem unbearable. Sometimes it feels that we are already carrying the maximum load possible, and just one more setback, one more stressful event is all it will take to push us over the edge.  

  Yet we find strength through the Lord Jesus Christ. He can take our weakness and empower our spirit through the Holy Spirit, making us strong within, driven by power and energy from above. 

  We may be weak in body, but we need never be weak in spirit. 

  Facing our limitations and continuing to move forward, especially after a series of setbacks or disappointments have made us even weaker, is challenging for those who live with illnesses and afflictions. Picking ourselves back up when feeling overwhelmed by weakness can seem impossible, yet with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27). 

  It is through God’s strength that we not only survive, but can thrive even with our weaknesses. And through Him our disappointment can be turned back to hope. 

  Today you may find yourself locked into a weak body subject to its ailments, you may find yourself in a disappointing situation you have no control over. Yet if you have put your faith in the Lord, you can look beyond bodily ailments, beyond terrible circumstances, and rely upon the Spirit of the living God to carry you through your challenges in spite of your afflictions and difficulties. 

  We may not have everything we want on this side of heaven, but no matter how little our ability to endure, we have the power and might of God on our side. With His help we can press through our physical limitations and inabilities to become the spiritual powerhouses God intended for us to become. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, sometimes we feel so weak and helpless, yet let us never forget that though we may be weak, through You we become strong within. Amen. 

Patience For Affliction

being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, Colossians 1:11 

  

  I thought I had mentally prepared myself for the Covid-19 epidemic. All my years of suffering various afflictions and my experience with nearly dying years ago had given me a strong foundation for trials. But then my Achilles heel began to act up. 

  Patience has always been my weak spot. I have struggled with it for as long as I can remember all the way back into my childhood. Even after going through many years of afflictions, a lack of patience has added to my difficulties. 

  When the Covid-19 epidemic began it looked like things would only be shut down for a few weeks. There were shortages of necessary items in stores, inability to eat at favorite restaurants or go to places we wanted to visit, fear of being too close to strangers who might carry the virus, and on it went. A few weeks of challenges did not seem an impossible hill to climb. 

  Then the order to stay at home was extended, and not seeing family members for up to six weeks or more was something I was not prepared for. Not seeing my child and grandchild, that was the bridge too far. And now I find my resolve and strength for enduring this epidemic weakening as my patience grows ever thinner. 

  We will always have struggles we are unprepared for no matter how strong our faith or resolve seems, our strength will at times come up short. In such situations we must turn in faith to our God to give us help, to give us strength, and in my case, give me patience. 

  Crisis’s will come and go. Life is filled with them. We should be as prepared as possible to meet them, but know that our strength alone is often insufficient. 

  What weaknesses plague you in times of trial? Call upon the Lord to strengthen you in His holy Spirit. The fruit deriving from the Holy Spirit is there to meet our needs and empower us always, but especially in times of crisis. The Lord gives us endurance for the challenges we are faced with. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, I need patience. I need Your strength. Thank You for understanding our weaknesses and graciously giving us help through Your Holy Spirit. Amen.