Last night, as I sat quietly meditating on the health struggles I’ve had for many years my heart felt heavy. Chronic migraines, stomach issues from celiac disease, and back pain from degenerative disc disease had worn me down. I felt tired, tired of hurting, tired of questioning, and tired of wondering if I was doing something wrong by seeking medical help instead of relying on God alone.
For years, I wrestled with thoughts like:
Should I question God about my pain?
Am I going against Him by taking medication or going to the doctor?
Will He be disappointed if I try to help myself instead of waiting on His timing?
As my mind grew still, God revealed Himself to me.
I envisioned a dirt path cutting through a field of irises. A tall, radiant figure walked toward me, and placed His arm around my shoulder, He said, “Walk with Me.” We sat together on an old wobbly wooden bench beneath a willow tree, overlooking a quiet pond. He asked gently, “What’s bothering you, my child?”
Ashamed, I looked away, believing I didn’t deserve His help. But He lifted my face toward Him and reminded me that He already knew my thoughts and my pain. He wasn’t waiting for information; He was waiting for surrender.
In that moment, understanding washed over me and these words echoed in my heart:
“By His stripes I am healed!”
Sometimes healing doesn’t look the way we expect because we are focused only on earthly pain. Pain is like a check engine light on a vehicle, it alerts us when something is wrong. We are not our bodies; we are spirits living within them. Our bodies are vessels and like any vessel they require maintenance to keep running.
God has given us instructions for this life just as a manufacturer gives instructions for the life of a vehicle. We wouldn’t put oil in a gas tank so why do we put things into our bodies that would harm us? Not all illness is our fault; the fallen world and environment affect us deeply. God has provided tools for us to repair ourselves with. The Bible, food, water, doctors, medication, herbs, wisdom, and community to name a few.
The Holy Spirit revealed something freeing to me:
My spirit is already healed through Jesus.
My body, however, lives in seasons and seasons require care.
A farmer doesn’t blame a struggling plant; he tends the soil and changs it’senvironment. In the same way, our spirits are the plant, and our bodies are the environment. God has given us everything needed to cultivate both. Seeking medical care is not a lack of faith but stewardship.
It’s like covering a plant from the frost to protect it. God doesn’t want you to pray to him to save the plant when he gave you the tools to cover it from the frost yourself.
“If you’re too lazy to plow, don’t expect a harvest.” — Proverbs 20:4
God’s word is medication to our spirits and his written word is what brings our two beings together. Our emotions are what make us sick. They overtake the spirit and spread lies throughout our bodies such as stress, anxiety, worry, depression, and anger. One of the fruits of the spirit is self-control, we must take control of our emotions so they no longer control us.
Feeling pain doesn’t mean we’re not healed, it means we’ve used the vessel God gave us and it’s wearing down, we just need to take better care of it. It’s the Holy Spirit in us that gives us the drive and willpower to go on living and smile despite the pain. Stop resisting your pain and accept it, feel it, and learn it so that God can show you what’s available in the world to help.
We all have those moments when our minds are full of questions and we’re unsure if what we’re doing is God’s will or mans. James 1:5, “If any of you needs wisdom to know what you should do, you should ask God, and he will give it to you. God is generous to everyone and doesn’t find fault with them.”
When we stop resisting pain and instead invite God into it, He shows us what help is available. He reminds us that asking questions is not rebellion, it is relationship.
So don’t be ashamed to ask God for help when you don’t understand his plan. He told me on the bench that He already knows our minds and hearts but He’s not going to force Himself on us.
Jesus said in Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
By his stripes we are healed!!!!
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for being gentle with us in our weakness. Thank You for healing our spirits through Jesus and for providing wisdom and care for our bodies. Help us steward the vessels You’ve given us with humility and faith. Teach us to ask, to seek, and to trust that You are working in every season. When pain comes, remind us that we are not abandoned, not broken, and not forgotten. By Your stripes, we are healed. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 