Does God Seem Silent About Your Suffering?
“I can’t help you.” The doctor’s words pierced my already weary soul. It had been years of seeking specialists, countless dollars spent on tests and supplements, and many prayers lifted up to a God who seemed silent to the fact that I was suffering every day.
After my third pregnancy, my body took a turn for the worse and brain fog and fatigue became two foes that regularly attacked me. I longed to be healthy again. But day after day, year after year, my symptoms remained the same.
I left that doctor’s appointment feeling the heaviness of the last few years pressing in on me. I felt hopeless and didn’t know where to turn next. I had prayed for answers and didn’t understand why feeling bad was “good” in God’s eyes. Why was He letting this happen?
I drove home from the doctor’s appointment with tears in my eyes. What would I do now? I had no more doctors to turn to, and God didn’t seem to care.
In the middle of my suffering, I chose gratitude.
As I continued to drive, I knew I had a choice to make. I could either continue to focus on the why, spiraling into despair and questioning God’s goodness. Or I could choose to be grateful. Even though I couldn’t see God working in this particular situation, even though it didn’t make any sense to me, I could look around and remember the “goodness of God in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13).
“Thank you, God, for my husband,” I said meekly. “And thank you for my children.”
The thanksgivings started slowly at first, but increased in speed as I was able to realize how much God really was doing in my life.
When life feels hopeless, look around you.
When John the Baptist was at the darkest moment of his life, he started to not only doubt the goodness of God, but the deity of Christ. In a last ditch effort to regain some sort of hope, he sent his disciples to question Christ and ask him, “Are you really the Christ?” Matthew 11:4-6 says, “Jesus answered and said to them,
Go and report to John what you hear and see: those who are blind receive sight and those who limp walk, those with leprosy are cleansed and those who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is any person who does not take offense at Me.
In other words, when you’re in a dark time, a season of waiting, a season of hopelessness, look around! See how God is moving! See where He’s working! Think about the great things He has done for you (1 Samuel 12:24)! You can always find something for which to be thankful.
By the time I got home after my appointment, I had exclaimed a few dozen phrases of thanksgiving to the Lord. My health hadn’t changed, but my heart had. I had hoped that day at the doctor would be pivotal in my health journey, but God had a better plan. He used that day to strengthen my faith, shift my perspective, and teach me about the power of gratitude.
Meet Julie Parido
Julie Parido is a follower of Jesus Christ, wife to Mike, and homeschooling mom to 4 kids ages 8 and under. Combining her biblical education and love for motherhood, she is currently writing a scripture memory and application book for parents and children, which is expected to be released around Christmas 2021. In her spare time, Julie enjoys playing games with her kids and date nights with her husband.
Where to find her . . .
Begin Within is a series to inspire a year-round lifestyle of gratitude that will impact not only your own life, but the lives of your neighbors as well. Gratitude is a theme we talk about often around here because it ties so closely into other missional living rhythms. Practicing gratitude reminds to keep our hearts soft and expectant and our eyes open. Therefore, the more we embrace gratitude, the easier it becomes to truly see our neighbors and where we can join what God is already doing in our neighborhoods.
My vision for this gratitude series is to help others embrace a year-round lifestyle of gratitude that will impact not only their own life, but the lives of their neighbors as well.
If you would like to contribute to Begin Within, you can find the submission guidelines here.
Creating Ripples
If you would like to cultivate rhythms in addition to gratitude that will empower you live on mission in your neighborhood, check out Cultivating a Missional Life: A 30-Day Devotional to Gently Help You Open Your Heart, Home, and Life to Your Neighbors. This small book will help you make a big impact in your neighborhood as you learn to let missional living flow from the inside out. Get the 30-day missional living challenge free when you purchase the book.
