Rest Ministries daily devotionals have been going out to thousand of people each day since the late 1990s, all written by those walking alongside you living with chronic illness.
They provide refreshment, reminders of God’s faithfulness even in the most lonely moments, and maybe even a few giggles, for your illness journey.
These devotionals will make you smile, sometimes shed a tear, but they will always be written by someone who understand living with daily chronic pain and illness and they will always direct you back to what we put our true hope in, our Savior.
Here are the links for information!
I am devouring Mosaic Moments: Devotionals for the Chronically ill book and am going to be opening and closing my Bible study with devotions from it. What an incredible book it is. Speaking through pain is never easy, but God gifts us well to suit our “disabilities.” -Diane R.
Hello. I was diagnosed with sjogrens, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and undifferentiated spondylitis and have been feeling so alone with this journey. Sometimes I wonder what I have done wrong for God to punish me. I taught Sunday school and go to church. My friend shared your website
Hi Bethany,
I’m so sorry to hear that you feel so alone on your journey with so many conditions. Please don’t think God is punishing you. He loves you unconditionally and promises that He’ll never leave you or forsake you. He’s right there beside you every step of the way (even when it doesn’t feel like it). He knows all about your pain and suffering and wants to give you the strength to endure it . We live in a fallen world and illness is a part of that world. God can use our illness to teach us so much about Himself and to conform us into the likeness of His Son . I just pray that God will comfort you and send you the encouragement that you so obviously need at this very difficult time.
Sheila.
Having lived the last 15 years with Fibromyalgia and Ankylosing Spondylitis, I have learned that while sometimes it feels like a punishment, that is not at all what God intends it to be While I don’t believe God “caused” my illness, I believe he will not waste a minute of my suffering. When you say God is good from the back of your limo, in perfect health, it just doesn’t resonate that much with others. They say, “well of course you love God, you’re life is great!”. Yet when you are sifted and humbled by circumstances and you can still say that God is good, it has far more resonance.
Suffering is ubiquitous. Everyone suffers in different ways and no one is exempt. One advantage I’ve seen in my own suffering is when I am open about my struggles, others then feel more comfortable opening up about theirs, because in the end we do not connect to each other at our points of strength as much as in our points of weakness., just as God’d power is perfected not in our strength, but in our weakness.
The other advantage is that I have no delusion of “self sufficiency”. I know that I’m utterly dependent on God to make it through the day. This is obviously true for everyone, but they are often too distracted by daily living and buoyed by their own strength to see it.
I believe how we perceive things often determines how we receive them. Knowing that God loves us and has promised that he will perfect us, bring us closer to him and make us more useful for his purposes through this suffering is the truth that elevates suffering from a shaming thing to a honoring thing.
One of our struggles is that we have this idea that if we are “good” then nothing “bad” will ever happen to us. That’s based on human wisdom and isn’t at all what the Bible teaches us about how life works. The Word tells us we are in a war, that we will have trouble and that we shouldn’t be surprised or discouraged when we encounter trials as if something strange is happening to us. It shows us that some of the God’s most beloved servants suffered more than anyone and that didn’t mean that God had turned his back on them or us.
God uses our suffering to purify us in order to perfect us. I know some days I wish he didn’t want to “perfect” me so much, but it’s not up to me, he is the artist. C.S. Lewis made an observation about this:
“We are, not metaphorically but in very truth, a Divine work of art, something that God is making, and therefore something with which He will not be satisfied until it has a certain character. Here again we come up against what I have called the “intolerable compliment.” Over a sketch made idly to amuse a child, an artist may not take much trouble: he may be content to let it go even though it is not exactly as he meant it to be. But over the great picture of his life—the work which he loves, though in a different fashion, as intensely as a man loves a woman or a mother a child—he will take endless trouble—and would doubtless, thereby give endless trouble to the picture if it were sentient. One can imagine a sentient picture, after being rubbed and scraped and re-commenced for the tenth time, wishing that it were only a thumb-nail sketch whose making was over in a minute. In the same way, it is natural for us to wish that God had designed for us a less glorious and less arduous destiny; but then we are wishing not for more love but for less.” -C.S. Lewis
Bethany God loves you and is not punishing you, he is perfecting you and making you something entirely unique for a purposes only you can meet. It’s so hard to see that sometimes, but know that it’s true. I pray that in the midst of your struggles you will know God more fully and draw close to him, trusting his in good purpose for your life.
We have small troubles for a while now, but these troubles are helping us gain an eternal glory. That eternal glory is much greater than our troubles. 2 Cor 4:17 ERV
Hey bethany, i just came across your comment. I too was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis and feel utterly alone. I am thinking of you and hoping you are okay. You have a friend here, no matter what.
I thought God was punishing me when I became ill, but after seeing where I am now, He had to clear my schedule somehow! In order for me to be where I am now, He took everything away: my jobs, my car, my house…etc. BUT He left me all my friends and family, He relocated me to find a lost love and now he and I are enjoying life together! Yes, I am still sick, but the love He replaced in my heart from things is priceless! Pray without ceasing and always try to see what GOD IS doing!
I suffer from Interstitial Cystitis, a chronic bladder condition with no cure. The pain sometimes eases with better diet, but is very unpredictable and can have me in tears everyday. Living with this pain is unbearable at times and requires pain medication, which causes guilt to go along with my pain. It’s a lonely walk, but I know God is present in my times of trouble.
How do I receive the devotional?
Kathy, have you been prescribed Elmiron for your IC? I am a recovered IC sufferer because of this medication. God bless you and bring His comfort to you during this time. I am sorry for your suffering.
Greetings:
Do you have a daily devotional you could send me each day or at least each week?? I was online in the 90’s and then off for years and a good friend just e-mail me an article a few minutes ago about not being able to go to church from your website! I was so delighted to know you are still Blessing people with your ministry. GOD Bless you dear sister in CHRIST.
Sincerely,
Amy
thank you, Amy. Wow! Yes, we are celebrating 20 years this summer of when I first started envisioning a ministry like this. You can sign up for the daily devotionals here: http://restministries.com/devotionals/read-it/ – Click the big blue round button for the form to appear. I’m sorry the illness and pain is still with you, but am so glad you are here with us to be encouraged when needed. -Lisa
Just read Lisa’s devotion Why She Creates Pretty Things. I more than understand that is also me. Our stories are so close … I finally had the job I worked so hard to get , had started going to the gym regularly , family life had finally settled down , then one day I woke up in intense pain from top of my head to bottoms of me feet. It took a long time to get my diagnosis of neuropathy due to compressed spinal nerves.
I still cringe every time some touches me but with meds and injections I am managed
What has saved my sanity are the projects I take on. Right now there is a barn door , dining room table, vanity, and various windows etc waiting for my attention.
My little bench took me two months to refinish but I love it . I sanded and sealed 6 old crates that are now my new kitchen cubbords, imagine that conversation with my husband . it all keeps me going , God has blessed me through all of this and I live in His grace. God bless you all.
I suffer with chiari Malformation and syringomyelia please pray for me my husband left me and I am very depressed I believe God loves me but feel very lonely due to myillnrss
I received a book Mosaic Moments from a friend that has been reading it, since she loaned it to me I am interested in buying it. Is there some available anywhere that I can get one? Please let me know, thank you.
I have MS, and other chronic health issues that require a lot of time, energy, but I also have a wonderful network of friends that keep cropping up in my life trying to help. I am 70 years old and live alone. When I need help I call, but the compliment I continually get, is my Christ-like attitude and a beautiful smile that attracts people to me. I also volunteer 2 days a week & willing to offer a helping hand when I can and however I can, such as Kathy Lynch might try getting her book at Christianbook.com. Good Christian books at good prices. Thanks for listening and GOD BLESS