We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)
How to Live Well with Chronic Illness
Living well with chronic illness begins with understanding who we are in Christ: we are God’s beloved, His masterpiece, created in His image, and filled with His Spirit.
The first step is extending compassion to ourselves, recognizing that chronic illness is hard, but we are still here. We have endured. Persevered. Persisted.
Let that backpack full of shame slide off your shoulders. Set down the heavy stack of pain. Drop your suitcase full of suffering, shake free from expectation, and release the dragging guilt.
Instead, Jesus invites: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
As we learn to release expectation and loosen our grip on control, we begin to sense God’s Presence in every heartbeat, His beauty woven through every atom of creation.
“Come,” invites the Prince of peace. Lean in, drink deep, and savor.
A PLACE TO BEGIN
Step in with our FREE printable: Story Matters – Writing the Story of Your Illness. Whether you see yourself as a writer or not, you have a story, and it matters.
Let the questions percolate. Remember where you’ve been, and trace the moments that have prepared you for such a time as this. (Esther 4:14)
Brainstorm and bullet point as you journey back across the years the locusts have eaten. (Joel 2:25)
Seek God’s Presence. Listen for the dreams He established in your soul, the calling He wove into your DNA.
You are an integral, vital, and necessary member of the Body of Christ. Without you, the Body is incomplete.
Come.
Lean in and learn to thrive in a life with chronic illness.
Practical Tools to Express Your Story and Connect More Deeply with God
- What are you passionate about?
- Who can you pray for?
- When have you felt most deeply connected to God?
- What skills, hobbies, gifts, or abilities do you have?
- Who can you encourage?
- Where did you find your greatest joy as a child? What brings you joy today?
- When do you sense God’s pleasure?
Use the questions in our Story Matters printable to step into story. Walk through the details, remember, and let pain do its work. Grieve. Celebrate. Smile. Laugh. Step into joy forged in the crucible of suffering.
Use the Creative Ways printable as a springboard. Brainstorm, dream, and open your heart to new possibilities. You are an indispensable member of the Body of Christ.
FREE PRINTABLES
Prayers for the Journey
Short prayers to strengthen, encourage, and inspire you to step into the comforting presence of God, where you are fully, known, infinitely cared about, and deeply loved.
Story Matters
Creatively Express Your Story
We can feel isolated and powerless when living with chronic illness, but what if your story begins to bridge the gaps? What if your story offers a glimmer of hope to someone standing at the edge of hopelessness?
Telling Your Medical Story
What is a Medical Story? In order for our healthcare teams to build the best possible treatment plans for us, we need to learn to keep well-maintained logs, including the date, length, and severity of symptoms, medications, treatments, and brief notes.
16 Verses to Ignite Hope
In the middle of prolonged illness it can seem like God doesn’t see you. Weakness and stress can make it difficult to hold onto hope. God’s strength never falters. Allow these scriptures to sink deep into your heart, igniting hope as He carries you.
You Are So Loved
Do you love yourself like God loves you? Do you live like you’re valuable? Do you live like you’re set free? You have only ONE identity, and it’s found in Jesus Christ. Only He is qualified to define you, to remind you of who you are, of who He created you to be, and of who you can become in Him as He sets you free.
13 Things That Might Resonate
With chronic illness, every day is an adventure! It isn’t a life we would have chosen, but it is one we’re learning to walk through with courage, tenacity, humor, and grace. We are so much more than our illnesses!
Verses to Comfort & Encourage
The most significant thing we can do when we’re lonely, anxious, afraid, or overwhelmed, is to turn to the One who knows us and loves us completely – the God of all comfort.
Emotions Wheel • 14 Ways to Make a Difficult Day Brighter
A tool designed to help us identify and communicate our emotions. It begins at the center with six core emotions (angry, bad, disgusted, fearful, happy, sad, and surprised).
Wonder Walks • A Prayer Guide
Wonder Walks are an invitation to savor God’s holy fingerprint in every atom of creation, to engage our senses and cultivate curiosity, to listen for His still small voice, and to delight in His extraordinary creativity.
Celebrate Little Things Everyday
Celebrate each small win, every tiny triumph and every unexpected victory, even if today your milestone is just a pebble.
Allegory
Allegory is a beautiful, artistic form of storytelling that offers us an opportunity to explore difficult, painful, or vulnerable parts of our stories from a safer distance and a fictional character’s perspective.
Creative Ways to Connect
Looking for creative ways to connect with others as you unpack the Chronic Joy studies? This FREE printable does just that and more!
16 Verses to Ignite Hope
In the middle of prolonged illness it can seem like God doesn’t see you. Weakness and stress can make it difficult to hold onto hope. God’s strength never falters. Allow these scriptures to sink deep into your heart, igniting hope as He carries you.
- Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. (Psalm 62:5-6)
- “I said, ‘You are my servant;’ I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:9b-10)
- Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)
- Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. (Psalm 55:22)
- The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. (Exodus 14:14)
- My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:26)
- This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it – the Lord is his name: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 332-3)
- May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
- Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. (2 Thessalonians 3:16)
- Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)
- This is what the Lord says: “Blessed are the ones who trust in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8)
- But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
- Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
- And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)
- I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:12-13)
- I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord. (Psalm 121:1-2)
Chronic Joy Study Series
DISCOVERING HOPE: Beginning the Journey Toward Hope in Chronic Illness
Cindee Snider Re
This 10-chapter study invites participants to experience radical hope and compassionate change in a life with chronic illness.
No matter how dark the days, how wild the storm, how deep the valley, or how long the winter, there is hope.
There is always hope.
FINDING PURPOSE: Rediscovering Meaning in a Life with Chronic Illness
Cindee Snider Re
What if purpose looks different than we believe?
In this 10-chapter study, author Cindee Snider Re invites participants to release cultural and traditional definitions of purpose and, instead, embrace God's timeless definition. Rooted in His Word, His definition is as refreshing as a gentle spring rain.
EMBRACING WORTH: Understanding Your Value in a Life with Chronic Illness
Cindee Snider Re
This 10-chapter study powerfully reminds us that our value isn’t found in what we can or cannot do but in Christ alone. Regardless of what we’ve lost through chronic illness, this isn’t the end of our story. Despite our circumstances, in the midst of the hard when we’re not sure we can take even one more breath, God is still good.
I TAKE YOU IN SICKNESS & IN HEALTH: Marriage with Chronic Illness
Cindee Snider Re
Rejuvenate, revitalize, rekindle, and reconnect with this insightful and enriching 10-chapter study (designed just for couples) that offers you and your spouse a safe place to grieve, heal, grow, dream together, and thrive as one – in sickness and in health.
Video
THROUGH CHRIST, WE ARE STRONG
Joni Eareckson Tada
“I’ve got strength sent straight from heaven. Joy hard-fought-for and hard-won.” Click here to watch and be encouraged from the Living Hope: Annual Conference, Diamonds 2019.
CHOOSING JOY IN SUFFERING
Vaneetha Rendall Risner
“Pain is what draws us to God.” Click here to watch from the Living Hope: Annual Conference, Diamonds 2019.
6 STRUGGLES WE FACE IN SUFFERING AND HOW THE GOSPEL SPEAKS TO THEM
Sarah Walton and Kristen Wetherell
“Loneliness strips away the external comfort found in those around me, driving me to find comfort in Christ alone.” Click here to watch and glean Gospel comfort from the Living Hope: Annual Conference, Diamonds 2019.
YOUR LABOR IS NOT IN VAIN
Esther Smith
“Any activity, no matter how small, that fills your day that you do with a reliance on God and for the glory of God is the work of the Lord.” Click here to watch Esther from the Living Hope: Annual Conference, Diamonds 2019.