For better or for worse

I try not to put too much emphasis on whether the Lord will completely heal you on this side of eternity. This is because of two reasons:

  1. I am not 100% certain if you will receive your complete healing on this side of eternity 
  2. Even if He heals you, I am 100% certain that there will be another area in your life that will cause you distress. 

Not because the Lord is cruel, but because suffering is part of life here on earth. 

The Lord wants you to sustain your faith in the difficulties of life so that you won’t lose your salvation. 

In the Western world, the gospel is often misinterpreted. There is a version of the gospel preached that the Lord is some genie that only promises good things when you give your life to Him. 

This is simply not true. 

The gospel is about the King of kings, your Maker, being next to you while you do life (Psalms 16:8). 

When life hits you with something you never saw coming, your Maker is by your side. 

When you find yourself in a pit with a depth you never could imagine, He is with you (Isaiah 43:2). 

Life will hit you with trials, and Christ will be by your side if you let Him. Every trial, He is standing with open arms (1 Corinthians 16:23), and it is your decision if you let Him be Lord while you’re suffering.

See, because you decide the level of intimacy you have with the Lord. 

Whenever you go through suffering, you have two choices: be mad at the Lord and go through suffering without Him. Or collapse in His arms and experience for yourself the Lord you serve. 

One that does not want you to lose intimacy with Him due to temporary suffering. One that doesn’t want you to lose your salvation due to suffering that is only fleeting. One that wants to sustain you through suffering that is nothing compared to the joy that awaits us in heaven. 

Maybe life is not about what God will give you on this side of eternity. Maybe life is about a commitment to intimacy with Him, for better or for worse.