“As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.” (1 Kings 11:4)
My great grandfather was a preacher, and so is one of my brothers. I never truly wanted to be a preacher. Yet I love the Lord, and His Word, and my hope is that when my life is through they will say of me: “He was devoted to the Lord.”
The NIV Study Bible describes the Hebrew word “devotion” as meaning the most intimate degree of loyalty, having love and faithfulness between an individual and the Lord. I don’t think any greater thing could be said of us regarding our relationship with God.
So, how do you devote your life to God when living with illness? Many people who suffer chronic illnesses and disabilities beat themselves up because they don’t feel they are doing much for the Lord. But I wonder, what greater thing can one do to please the Lord than be devoted to Him? When one is a constant friend and companion and in continual fellowship with God, that is an incredible thing. I suspect that there are many people “doing things for God” that never take the time to truly fellowship with the Lord.
Not always–but oftentimes–those with afflictions are so slowed down by their situation that they can barely move from their beds or leave their chairs. They may find themselves with many empty hours on any given day.
I would suggest that those hours could be spent getting to know the Lord better, strengthening your relationship with Him, devoting yourself to God.
Perhaps you don’t believe that you could ever do anything for God because of your affliction. You may feel hopeless and useless when it comes to serving the Lord. I would suggest to you that you can take the time you have and spend it on God. Get to know Him better. Talk to Him (pray), read His word, devote yourself to becoming a friend of God.
Anyone can devote themselves to the Lord. All it takes is the desire to do so.
Don’t let your affliction convince you that you are of no use to God. The Lord highly values loyalty and our devotion to Him. You may not be able to get out of your sickbed, you may be unable to walk or leave your chair, you may find the simplest tasks that others take for granted impossible to accomplish, but not matter who you are or what your abilities add up to, you can fully devote yourself to the Lord.
Prayer: Dear Lord, we spend so much time on nonsense in this world, we complain about what we can’t do, help us instead to spend ourselves in devotion to You instead. Amen.
About the Author:
Karlton Douglas lives in Ohio with his lovely wife. His desire is to live a life devoted to God.
Do you feel helpless in your ability to serve God? Have you considered devoting yourself to Him? If someone asked you, “how do you devote your life to God when living with illness?” what would your response be?
I have heart failure and I find praying and bible reading difficult as concentration makes me start to fall asleep.
Do you have any suggestions. I used to be a church pastor. Would value any advice
Blessings
Stuart
Stuart:
My hubby is a “retired” pastor, now filling in while we wait for a new pastor. Now over a year. I mentioned your request to him and he suggested walking while listening to a Scripture tape or CD. But I’m thinking your breathing may be an issue.
What if you sipped on a cold drink while focusing on prayer or reading? Just a thought. Or, reading, praying out loud.
Dear Lord, please give Stuart grace and peace for each day and help him with this particular problem. Thank you for these daily devotionals and for Karlton, who is using his writing skills and devotion to You and Your hurting children to encourage and challenge us. In Jesus’ precious Name, Amen
Stuart, the suggestion by Beth is a good one. I have the Bible on DVD which you can both read and listen to on your TV. I like the youversion Bible site http://www.youversion.com/bible/john.1.kjv you can find the Bible in different versions there and have it read to you.
Thanks Beth
Blessings.
Karlton
Karlton, this is timely for me. (Not that I’ve never felt this way about my life before. Hmm!) Just last week I was sharing what was on my mind with a Christian sister I’m very close to. I complained that I just didn’t feel like I was using my God-given gifts to their potential. Or, words to that effect. She answered that it’s not the quantity of things we do for the Lord that’s most important; it’s the quality.
Well, she does have a good point. After all, Jesus did say, when asked what the greatest commandment was, that we are to love the Lord our God with our whole being. (And our neighbour as ourselves.) And I think “devotion” is a great way to describe that goal in life.
I’m not forced to stay in bed or sit most of the time like many with chronic illnesses, but, my severe attention deficit disorder means that I take a long time to do things. And, at times I have trouble concentrating on reading, praying and just quietly worshiping the Lord.
I so agree with what you say in your prayer, that a lot of our time is spent on “nonsense” or trivial things in light of eternity. We are influenced more than we realize by our culture and those around us. But I’m thankful that He is “re-making me …” (Phillips, Rom. 12:2). I don’t learn spiritual lessons easily and I’m sure my trials are an important part of His “teaching tool supply”.
Thanks for this brother.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Beth
I think God looks at our heart and it’s where our heart is at that matters. If we can cultivate love and compassion for others, and remain in steadfast fellowship with the Lord, we have truly accomplished something 
Blessings.
Karlton
I agree with you heartily Karlton.