My Heart is Good Ground

Where to start... 
I have sort of been avoiding writing this past week since I've been struggling privately with something I thought was no longer an issue.  Let me explain about the 15 year journey, the battle, the miracle, the relapses, the pain and the encouragement I received.

The fifteen-year journey was dealing with rheumatoid arthritis; which naturally worsens with time, disfiguring and immobilizing the joints, which in my case were wrists, knees, neck, elbows, feet and hands.

(it's so ugly, isn't it?)

The battle was the part of me which rose up in faith declaring that my God would heal me of this awful disease.  I had witnessed the miraculous healing my father received 35 years ago—same diagnosis—completely well again. In my heart, I hid the word, believing and declaring it for years which built my faith.

The miracle took place 2 1/2 years ago, when I needed a cane to walk and was unfit to drive, I experienced a touch from God when I was visiting another church.  I literally ran around the inside of the building that day and recovered mobility and lost the pain.

The relapses can be so disheartening.  Over the past two years there have been a few struggles with inflammation and pain, and since I've never attained 100% wellness, I remain under the care of a very kind doctor who has heard me testify time and again about God's healing power.  We are both waiting for the complete healing that I've been proclaiming for 30 months now.

The pain level in the last few days has been intense and has introduced some confusion into my thought life, so I knew trouble was brewing in my spirit.  This is not the way I normally think, yet I began to feel sorry for myself and questioned God's faithfulness.  Sometimes we get weary when we've been on the front lines of a battle for an extended period.  We tend to think that the small strides we've made don't matter anymore—we only want the big thing.

The encouragement came (finally) as I picked up a favorite devotional this morning.
If you cannot see this, click here for devotional: HERE



I truly hope this encourages you as it did me.  You may not be suffering physically; your struggle may be emotional or relational or even financial, yet the same faith applies to your specific need.  When you and I are waiting on God, we must make sure that our hearts are good ground which will yield the best crop.  How?  By affirming our trust in His goodness and faithfulness. Then we can rest assured that He has a plan that includes building our character in the difficult times, just like a good parent would do for a child he dearly loves.