Your interest in the subject of "Living With Illness" indicates that you, or some person close you, may be facing some serious illness; that you may be wondering why you or your loved one is suffering with the illness; and that you may want to know how to live with such a problem.
As to why you have this problem personally, the exact reason may not be easy to determine. Illnesses are caused by many factors: gems, conditions with which people are born, traumas (such as broken bones), psychological mechanisms, sin, and so on. Sometimes we human beings so live as to bring some illnesses on ourselves. Sometimes for no known reason, they just happen. The concern now is not so much why the illness. Doctors can often discover reasons. But your immediate problem should be: what can I do now?
Don't let yourself be ungrateful and grieve over the past, or impatient and fret about the future. Fill every hour with gratitude to God for whatever degree of health you or your loved one has. Thank God for every improvement you may see. The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians, Chapter 5, verse 20, "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ". You may be surprised at how much you have to be thankful for. Think about other people who are less fortunate than you, and do something each day for them: call them, write them, make something for them, etc. 6. Read your Bible daily and see how God has always cared for His children and planned for them to live with Him eternally in heaven after this short life, filled with trouble. In James, Chapter 4, verse 14, the scriptures say, "For what is your life? It is a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away". Heaven, the eternal home God has for man, is really where we belong, and there, no pain and sickness will ever be. As we read in Revelation, Chapter 21, verses 1 through 4: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away". In the beginning of this message we posed two questions about human illness. One was in regard to how we may effectively face such a problem. We hope that this recording has been useful in helping you to find a solution. The second question had to do with why God allows such trouble to happen to us. A discussion of this question is in the message entitled "Why Does God Allow Trouble?" You are also invited to read that message if you are concerned about this question.