Living with Chronic Pain or Illness
Praying for healing that hasn't come and wondering if God still cares? In this episode, discover how God's grace sustains you daily when chronic pain or illness doesn't go away, and why your faithfulness in weakness is never wasted.
Praying for healing that hasn't come and wondering if God still cares? In this episode, discover how God's grace sustains you daily when chronic pain or illness doesn't go away, and why your faithfulness in weakness is never wasted.
Have you ever prayed for healing over and over, and nothing changed?
You've asked God to take the pain away. You've believed. You've trusted. But you still wake up every morning managing the same condition, the same limitations, the same exhaustion. And somewhere in the silence, a quiet voice whispers, "Maybe your faith isn't strong enough. Maybe God doesn't care." That voice is a lie, but it's one many believers living with chronic pain or illness wrestle with every day.
In this episode, we look at the story of Andrew Wilson, a man whose chronic health condition limits his energy and capacity in ways most people never see. Some days, a single conversation drains everything he has. He's prayed about it. He's wrestled with it. But the condition hasn't gone away. Instead of seeing his limitations as a barrier, he began to see them as the place where God's power actually rests—and he learned to serve God faithfully within his limitations rather than resenting them.
Through his story and 2 Corinthians 12:9–10, you'll see that not every prayer for healing ends with a miracle, but that doesn't mean God has failed you or that your faith is deficient. Paul asked God three times to remove his thorn. Each time, God's answer was the same: "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." God's grace isn't just a theological idea; it's the real, daily sustaining power to get out of bed, face the pain, and keep trusting Him one more day.
BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU'LL DISCOVER:
- Why unanswered prayers for healing don't mean God has failed you or that your faith is lacking
- How Paul's thorn in the flesh reveals the difference between God removing the problem and God sustaining you through it
- The freedom that comes from serving God faithfully within your limitations instead of resenting them
Not every story ends with a miracle—but every story can be sustained by grace. And God's power shines brightest through your weakness.
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Jim Wilson: He wants to do so much more, but his body
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won't let him. Andrew Wilson lives with a chronic health
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condition that limits his energy and capacity in ways most people
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never see. Some days, getting through a single conversation
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drains every ounce of energy he has. Some weeks, the recovery
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takes longer than others. He's prayed about it, and he's
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wrestled with it, but the condition hasn't gone away. Why
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would God allow the very body meant to serve him to become the
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thing that holds him back?
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Welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm Bart Leger.
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Every day is a struggle. For some, it's worse than others.
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What am I talking about? Chronic pain or illness that doesn't go
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away. I should know. My wife lives with an ultimately
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debilitating diagnosis in daily chronic pain and fatigue. We've
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learned that not every prayer for healing ends with a miracle.
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Just like her, some believers wake up every single day
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managing pain or a diagnosis that isn't going away. That
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doesn't mean God has failed or that faith isn't strong enough.
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The Apostle Paul lived with a nagging illness or pain and
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discovered that God's grace was the sustaining power he needed
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instead of the removal of the problem. 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10
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says, Each time he said, "My grace is all you need, my power
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works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my
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weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me.
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That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses and in the insults,
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hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for
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Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Paul asked God
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three times to take his thorn away. Three times! But we're not
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told what it was, but obviously it altered his life in some way.
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He wasn't casual about it either. He was desperate. He wanted
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relief. And each time, God said the same thing, "My grace is all
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you need. My power works best in weakness." But that's not the
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answer most of us want. We want the miracle, and we want the
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healing. We want to wake up one morning and have the pain gone.
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The diagnosis reversed. We long for complete healing, and
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sometimes God does that, but sometimes he doesn't. And when
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he doesn't, we're left with a question that cuts deep. Does
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God still care about me? The answer is yes. Absolutely yes.
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Just because God doesn't always heal, it doesn't mean God's
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unaware of your suffering. He may not remove the pain, but he
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promises to be present in it. He may not take away the diagnosis,
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but he gives you grace. Real, tangible grace, daily grace so
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that you can endure it. And that word "grace" in Paul's passage
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isn't just a theological concept, it's sustaining power. It's the
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strength to get out of bed on a bad day, and it's the peace that
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shows up when your body is screaming in pain. It's the
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quiet confidence that God is still good, and he's still
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sovereign. The confidence that God is still working, even when
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your circumstances say otherwise. Living with chronic pain or
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illness can also bring a unique kind of spiritual loneliness.
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People around you may not understand why you're not better
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yet, or can't understand the depth of your pain. Some may
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offer well-meaning but hurtful comments, like, "If you just had
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more faith," or, "Have you tried this supplement?" My wife gets
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that all the time. They're well-meaning, but it doesn't
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help. Others simply stop asking how you're doing because your
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condition has become normal to them. But it's not normal for
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You live with it every single day. If that's where you are, I
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want you to know God sees you. He hasn't forgotten you, and
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your faithfulness in the middle of suffering isn't wasted. In
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fact, Paul says something difficult for most of us to
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understand. "When I'm weak, then I'm strong." Your weakness isn't
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a liability in God's kingdom. It's the very place where His
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power can shine the most brightly. Some of the most
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powerful testimonies of faith come from people whose bodies
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are broken, but whose spirits are unshakable. They're not
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strong because of what their bodies can do. They're strong
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because of what God does through their weaknesses.
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to serving others as God has called him, Andrew began to see
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them as a place where God's power actually rests. In his
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writings, he argues that accepting a thorn rather than
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constantly fighting it, can become its own form of worship.
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He's learned to serve God faithfully within his
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limitations rather than resenting them. Not every prayer
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for healing ends with a miracle. Some of us wake up every day
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managing pain or a diagnosis that isn't going away. That
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doesn't mean God's failed or that your faith isn't strong
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enough. As the apostle Paul learned, God's grace can become
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your daily sustaining power. Maybe you've prayed for healing
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and it hasn't come. Maybe you've wondered if God hears you. Or
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maybe you've questioned whether your faith is the problem.
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Here's what I want you to hold on to. Your unanswered prayer
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for healing does not mean your faith is deficient. It means God
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is writing a different story than the one you asked for. And
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in that story, His grace is sufficient. His power is made
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perfect in your weakness. Here's today's challenge. If you're
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living with chronic pain or illness, take a moment today and
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pray 2 Corinthians 12: 9 over yourself. You could pray
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something like, "Lord, I still wish you would take this away.
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But today I choose to trust that your grace is enough. Your power
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works best in my weakness." Help me to serve you faithfully
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within my limitations and let your strength shine through my
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broken body. And if you know someone who's living with
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chronic pain or illness, reach out to them this week. Don't try
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to fix them. Just let them know that you are there for them.
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Lord, some of us are tired. Our bodies hurt. Our diagnoses
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haven't changed. And we've wondered if you hear our prayers.
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Thank you that your grace is sufficient. Help us to trust you
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when healing doesn't come. Let your power rest on our
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weaknesses. And give us the courage to keep showing up
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faithfully one day at a time. In Jesus' name, amen. If this
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episode encouraged you, would you consider sharing it with
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someone who is living with chronic pain or illness? Just
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send them the link from the show notes below. They may need this
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reminder that God's grace is sufficient and His power shines
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brightest in weakness. Thanks for joining me on Daily
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Devotions for Busy Lives. Remember, not every prayer for
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healing ends with a miracle. But God's grace is always enough to
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sustain you. Come back next time for more encouragement to help
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you live grounded in God's truth. Until then, God bless and have a
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great day. Thank you.
