How to Find God While Dealing with Chronic Pain

1 in every 4 Americans is dealing with some form of Chronic Pain according to a 2023 national survey on chronic illness from the CDC. Many of us (myself included) are a part of the chronic illness epidemic happening right now in the US. Despite the issues I have personally with doctors and modern medicine, I never want to advocate against traditional medicine use or attempt to provide medical advice about how to deal with chronic pain.

Instead I want to shift the focus and expose a deeply personal and REAL transformation that occurred in me during my healing journey with chronic illness, and share with you the TRUE healing power of Jesus Christ.

But to do this we need to go back in time 2000 years for some context...

In the time of Jesus, in Ancient Judea, many people suffered from a chronic illness called "Leprosy". Leprosy was this awful illness that brought with it everything from nerve damage, open sores, skin discoloration, ulcers, to other terrible afflictions that meant those with leprosy had to be quarantined and shunned from society. Many were even prevented from entering temples and places of worship due to their risk to others and it was all around just horrible.

So of course you can imagine it was a HUGE deal when our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, went into the dirty, disease ridden, streets and He not only touched someone with leprosy, He miraculously HEALED them as well!

To the people of Judea, this was Jesus associating with the unclean, unwanted, and to many - lowest of all society. Yet Jesus did not see it that way.

Jesus did not care what society thought, in fact he was there to prove otherwise. That despite whatever pain and suffering these people had gone through with their chronic illness, there was always the possibility of restoration and healing for them through Him. His compassion and grace stood above any of society’s predispositions towards those with leprosy.

Now of course you are probably saying:

"Well that's great and all but that was Ancient Judea and Jesus is not alive anymore to do miracles, so how am I going to benefit from this?"

Here is the hidden truth you may not realize, God is still performing miracles, to this day! You still have the ability to invoke Jesus' name to heal you completely, from literally anything that ales you, and if you care to entertain this idea a bit further, I will share with you my first hand account of how Jesus healed me from my chronic pain and illness and changed my life forever…

Jesus Healed those considered the "Lowest" of society. The sick & broken.

My Healing Journey: From Chronically Ill to Chronically Jesus

In 2022, I was just 33 years old when a medical misdiagnosis left me to suffer from severe chronic pain and illness. On a random Tuesday I felt some bladder pains and when to a minute-clinic for what I assumed was a simple UTI. While there a doctor who had seen me for less than a few minutes prescribed me a "Black Box Labeled" antibiotic known as "Cipro" and sent me on my way.

(See, I was unaware of the severity of this drug and the doctor never explained these insane potential risks to me or I would have NEVER taken them to begin with.)

Not only did I later find out I had no UTI, I was told by the doctor's nurse to finish the antibiotics, despite having no medical reason to take them in the first place!

Shortly after finishing the drugs, my body felt like a bomb had gone off. I began having horrific nerve pain in my arms and legs to the point where I couldn't walk or hold something without being in severe agony.

The symptoms didn't stop there, what followed was a cavalcade of different symptoms including:

Anxiety, depression, tinnitus, heart palpitations, headaches, muscle spasms, panic attacks, stomach and urinary issues, swelling in my arms, and more.

I went from being able to lift a 20-25 pound weight with one arm to extreme bruising if I even lifted a 5 pound weight. I went from running miles in the sun to having a light sprint to my car cause my entire body to be in extreme pain.

My life became a horror movie that I was a victim in, a terrible nightmare I felt I would never wake up from.

I didn't understand why this was happening to me, I thought I was a pretty decent person, I treated people fairly yet "The Universe" as I thought back then, had turned on me.

"How could this be happening to me?" I thought, in tears after months of pain.

At the time I was agnostic but was very into the "New Age". I had crystals for healing, I believe in Karma, and I began to suspect maybe this was all the bad deeds I had done in the past catching up with me. The crystals didn't heal me, the universe wasn't speaking to me.

I also was trying to speak with doctors of conventional medicine with no help. For months I went to doctors who would gaslight me saying things like:

"That is not happening to you, that is an extremely rare side effect, you probably just have anxiety, here take some SSRI's, it will make you feel better."

No one listened, every physician I turned to didn't believe me, it made me question everything, thinking it was all in my head, but I KNEW my body, I was in pain, real pain and it wasn't just anxiety.

One night, I felt the crushing weight of everything overtaking me. As I sat near my bed, barely able to move my legs, pain shooting through my body with increased intensity, I suddenly had a burst of movement. I had moved up onto my knees in a kneeling position, my hands clasped together on the edge of my bed in a posture of prayer.

I had not truly prayed to God for over a decade, however in that moment, I was desperate, broken, scared, alone, and in so much pain that I felt there was no hope for me. I thought in that moment, perhaps if I just prayed, and if there was a God, he would heal my body? He would heal my wounds and make me whole again like I was before. I didn't believe it but for a moment there was a hope, as I began to pray.

“For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help." Psalm 72:12

Without any knowledge of the proper way to pray, I began. I prayed a solemn and heavy prayer. Tears streaming down my face. I asked God to take away my pain. I asked God to give me my body back. I asked for forgiveness, that I would change my ways if somehow this could all go away. I asked God to reveal Himself to me if he was real, to prove to me that I was able to heal.

What happened next was both unexpected and miraculous. I had a true encounter with the Lord our God, Jesus Christ.

Suddenly my anxiety was released from my body as I felt a presence over me, one that I did not think was real, it was someone foreign yet familiar. I felt a calming aura resonating from inside of me and suddenly, I was at peace. My body was still in all sorts of physical pain but this, was a spiritual peace.

Over the next couple of months I found myself every night in my bedroom, in that same spot, praying I wrote the exact same prayer down in my journal over and over again every night after finishing my prayers. My body wasn't healing at this point but my spirit was SOARING!!!

A little while later, a friend and I decided to find a church to go to and during the first service together, I felt God's presence in that room. Heavier than I had felt before, I felt Jesus with me. I wept, I cried, tears of joy ran down my cheeks, and when they did the altar call, I was one of the first down the steps.

I pleaded to the lead pastor directly. I told him what I was going through with my chronic illness and health issues and he listened and prayed over me and my whole spirit suddenly felt even more energized than before, and my body just a little bit lighter and better.

The Healing had begun, like the leapers, Jesus had met me where I was in my pain and illness. Jesus had taken a desolate, isolated, chronically ill person that no one wanted to be around and began miraculously healing me, and He didn't start with my body, He started with my heart.

After all those physicians that had gas-lit me, told me I was just depressed, and tried to push anxiety meds on me I finally came to the realization that what I really needed wasn't the traditional medicine from these doctors, it was a supernatural form of healing that can only come from The GREAT PHYSICIAN Jesus Christ!

“Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ He said. ‘Be clean!’” Matthew 8:3

3 Steps that lead you on your Healing Journey

While there is so much more I want to share in the future about my healing journey with chronic illness, what I REALLY want to do is provide insight for you all on how you too can Find God while Dealing with Chronic Pain, in hopes that you too can begin your own healing journey through the power of Jesus Christ.

Step #1

The first step is to realize that nothing that ails you is too great for God to heal. During my healing journey I questioned everyday how I could be healed of all 20+ different issues that were plaguing my body. It felt impossible, not only that it felt unfair, why was God going to heal me over a sick child? or someone that was morally way better than me? The truth is, I don't know why God heals some people over others or how that process works, that is for God to decide, not me. However what I do know is this, regardless of WHO God heals, he is capable of healing anyone and anything, and that goes for you and whatever you are dealing with currently.

Step #2

The second step is to pray BIG! You have the God of the Universe hearing your voice, the person who created all of existence, don't limit God's abilities because your common sense tells you it's not possible. This is not a natural form of healing like conventional medicine but a literal SUPERNATUAL Healing that can only come from the creator of all things. If you feel it's too hard to believe, keep praying and God will open your hear to this idea, I promise.

Step #3

The third and final step is to allow God to heal you on His Timing. Here is the truth, we are corrupted by film and television and flashy social media posts to think that God's healing is this intense immediate surge of healing that knocks you on your feet and you wake up fully healed like nothing ever happened. While that is always possible, it is an exception, not the standard.

God's Healing take's time, it is a healing journey, and like any journey there is going to be bumps in the road, there are going to be set backs, and there are going to be road blocks that stop you from going further for a set period of time. Do NOT take these set backs and blocks as a lack of attention from God. Many time's these set backs are intentional to allow more spiritual growth and for us to gain deeper understanding of God's Will in our lives.

I want to leave you with something very important. Something I feel the Lord want's me to tell you. You are going to heal, you are going to have peace, and that healing and peace will look different to you than my own journey.

If you are dealing with chronic pain or illness, remember you are not alone. Your Christ community if here for you.

Amen!

If you are someone whose dealing with these kinds of challenges and need support, leave a comment, send a DM, or make a follow up post and I will be there to help you on your healing journey. God continues to move in my life and heal me in ways I never thought possible everyday, and He Will Do the Same For You! I promise!