I have used this blog several times in the past to request prayer for certain people, including myself. Well, it’s that time again. I haven’t been able to write much over the course of the past year due to my wife’s medical situations.
Early in 2017, she started a migraine that she just couldn’t get rid of. It lasted for over 2 months, nearly 3. We had to travel to the Cleveland Clinic in order to get it resolved, and to get her headaches properly diagnosed. Throughout the year, we had ups and downs with health, and thought that we had finally come out on top.
For the sake of brevity, I am leaving some details out, but in January of this year, she started fainting. I’m not talking about once every now and then, but sometimes it is several times a day. With the fainting comes falling, which leads to pain. She has already had at least 3 concussions since October, and a number of other minor injuries. On top of that, she doesn’t just faint, she rolls. So if she faints while sitting on the couch, she will fall off, and then roll across the room until something stops her. She can’t sleep in a bed because she rolls out of it in her sleep. Bed rails have proven to be worthless.
So, I am asking for prayer:
- Prayer that her fainting stops
- Prayer that the doctors find the reason for it
- Prayer that we are able to get into a program at the Cleveland Clinic designed to fully assess what is going on
- Prayer that when we are accepted into this program, the appointments are soon
When I stop to think about these things, it is easy to question the “WHY?”
WHY:
- Does God allow my wife to have these fainting attacks, especially when she is getting hurt?
- Doesn’t God heal her when we ask Him to?
Pain reaches us all at various times and in various ways. I am sure that many people out there have faced their own circumstances. The pain may be internal or external. It may be your own, or it might be what I call “second-hand pain”. This is the pain of watching someone you love suffer. This could be a spouse, a child, a parent, a sibling, some other relative, or maybe just a friend. Whatever the cause of the suffering or the pain, if it stretches out for any length of time, then the WHY usually begins. Maybe it is not the same WHY that I listed above, but it is just as personal and meaningful and valid to you.
For some people, the WHY pushes them away from God. Their WHY usually ends up looking more like this: “WHY would a loving God…” fill it in any way you like. Others are drawn to God. Their WHY usually looks like this: “Lord, I don’t understand WHY…but, I trust in you.”
Sometimes, this situation seems absolutely too difficult for our faith. However, as Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.” These situations are bigger than us. They are known by God. He knows the WHY. He knows the reason behind the WHY. He knows the answer to the WHY. By the way, the answer is neither, WHY NOT, or BECAUSE!
Sometimes, in the middle of these problems, it is easy to forget that God is in control. It seems that everyone likes to throw this verse from Romans at you as a reminder: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28 NASB). But it is a good verse to remember in times like these.
I also like to think about the story of King Jehoshaphat. He was up against an enemy that was too powerful, and Judah was facing defeat. He cried out to the Lord, “We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” That has got to be the attitude that we, as Christians, maintain in every situation we face.
Christian musician Matthew West recorded a song called “The Reason for the World” on his 2010 album “The Story of Your Life”. This song definitely links the pain we feel to reaching out to Jesus:
There are no words in times like these
When tears don’t hide the tragedies
And all you want is a reason for the world
No comfort in the greeting card
Cause God is good, But life’s still hard
and your heart just wants a reason for the world
Maybe the reason for the pain
Is so we would pray for strength
And maybe the reason for the strength
Is so that we would not lose hope
And maybe the reason for the hope
Is so that we could face the world
And the reason for the world
Is to make us long for home
For God so loved your broken heart
He sent his son to where you are
and he died
To give a reason for the world
So lift your sorrows to the one
Whose plan for you has just begun
And rests here in the hands that hold the world
Maybe the reason for the pain
Is so we would pray for strength
And maybe the reason for the strength
Is so that we would not lose hope
And maybe the reason for the hope
Is so that we could face the world
And the reason for the world
Is to make us long for home
Well I know your past the point of broken
Surrounded by your fear
I know your feet are tired and weary
from the road that you walked down here
But just keep your eyes on heaven
and know that you are not alone
remember the reason for the world
No ear has heard, No eye has seen
Not even in your wildest dreams
A beauty that awaits beyond this world
When you look into the eyes of grace
and hear the voice of mercy say
Child, welcome to the reason for the world
Todd's Blog 