Resources for Coping with Chronic Pain and Illness
“My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.”
Psalm 119:50
Joni Eareckson Tada often says that chronic pain gives her more difficulty than quadriplegia. Over decades Joni has depended on Jesus to get her through the physical suffering that might otherwise overwhelm her. Throughout long, sleepless nights and difficult days, Joni turns her heart and mind to the promises of Scripture. She speaks to her own heart, reminding her soul that God never abandons his people in their pain.
If you are living with a chronic illness, pain, or hidden disability, we highly recommend the following resources. We pray they are a source of encouragement as they take a close look at how our suffering fits into God’s sovereign plans.
Invisible Disabilities: Fibromyalgia
On the Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast, Crystal talks with Hallie Sheaffer about her experience with fibromyalgia. Hear how this hidden disability affects her daily activities, people’s perceptions of her, and what she has found helpful in her community of support.
Pain and Providence
By: Joni Eareckson Tada
Pain and chronic illness can erode your joy like acid, and can lead you to question God and his power. Join Joni in taking a close look at what the Bible says about pain and the sovereign providence of God.
Pain is a Gift
“God completely changed my life through pain. I ended up finding true freedom which is not being bound by the world’s circumstances… God doesn’t waste pain, but we have to give it to him.” On the podcast, Crystal is talking with inspiring speaker and author Tera Bradham DeNeui about how God completely changed her life through pain, shifting her perspective from fighting pain as an enemy to seeing it as a gift…
Making Sense of Suffering
Bring hope and comfort to those who are going through personal difficulties! This will be a great help to groups dealing with grief, disabilities, emotional and physical trauma, divorce, and more.
Thriving with Invisible Chronic Illness
Kimberli West was young and always on the go until an unexpected illness completely changed her life. Listen to her powerful story and how she’s using her health challenges to bring attention to God’s sustaining power and provision in the midst of health battles and life-altering hidden disability.
God’s Hand in Our Hardship
Find honest, biblical answers to tough questions about God’s sovereignty. Look at how a gracious and loving God can allow you to suffer, why “good” people have to suffer and how good can come from it.
God’s Grace in Chronic Illness
At just 18 years old, Mireille Blanchard developed a severe blood clotting disorder. When ER doctors discovered more than 36 blood clots lighting up the scan of her lungs, Mireille wasn’t sure if she would live to see the next morning. Listen as she shares about her battle with chronic illness and the emotional repercussions she’s faced over the past decade.
A Place of Healing
By: Joni Eareckson Tada
“If God can heal me, why won’t He?” How do we navigate that agonizing distance between such a magnificent yes and such a heartbreaking no? Here, Joni takes you with her on an intimate journey through foundational questions about healing, suffering, pain, and hope.
How God Meets Us in Suffering
“I don’t understand why all these hard things keep happening, and sometimes I wonder why God doesn’t just fix it. But I have to trust that he is doing something bigger… and one day we’ll see it.” When Vaneetha Risner’s infant son died due to a doctor’s error, she felt devoid of purpose and feeling.…
