Chronic Illness: Suffering Faithfully Does Not Mean Living in Denial

27 Wednesday May 2026

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bible, biblical counseling, Christian Suffering, christianity, chronic illness, denial, devotional, faith, god, grief, hope, perseverance

Autoimmunity, My Old Friend

I was first diagnosed with an autoimmune disease when I was 24. It was triggered by pregnancy and didn’t go away until months after delivery, so in a very practical way, my disease “ruined” my introduction to motherhood.

Shortly after my first son was born and we were still trying to dial in my treatment, I remember my mom commenting about “this horrible disease,” but I couldn’t bring myself to see it that way. Sure, it was annoying. It was painful. But it was just a bunch of itchy skin blisters, bumps, and plaques…that covered nearly my entire body, turned not just itchy but painful, and hindered my ability to hold my newborn baby without either pain or gobs of steroid cream. I didn’t change a single diaper that first week since my fingers were covered in painful blisters. And I cried at my inability.

Somehow, despite my denial that the disease was in fact horrible, my mind was able to recognize the eerie similarity of my condition with that of Job. Sure, I wasn’t to the point of scraping boils with potsherd, but I was staying up at night cleaning popped blisters and ineffectively treating the itch with solarcaine and cold foot baths, so on some level, it was nice to have a bible character I could relate to.

Even so, it was “just” a skin issue. For me to call it a “horrible disease” seemed like somehow giving in to a bad attitude. But my complacence was perhaps a naive protective mechanism more than it was a godly response. My mom knew what it was to enjoy being done with the pains of labor and to enjoy your baby during a normal postpartum experience. I would never know what I’d missed.

Minimizing Brick Walls Doesn’t Work

I apparently have a habit of minimizing my own problems and attempting to plow through them. But let’s be real: minimizing can’t really help us plow through a brick wall. We and our delusions will not get through to the other side, and we’ll likely get hurt in the process.

Ever gone from “I’m fine. It’s ok,” ad nauseum to “I am very not ok, and I don’t know what in the world is wrong with me!!!”??? That might be the brick wall reminding you it’s there.

Eventually the emotional weight of our suffering will break through. When we can’t ignore it any longer, the dam of our denial breaks and the pain and grief come rushing upon us to overwhelm us. We do well to turn to the Lord in these moments. But perhaps some of the overwhelm could be lessened if we would learn to see our suffering for what it is on the front end—and deal with it properly from the start.

Sometimes the right way forward is to get really honest about the brick wall in front of you. To be honest with yourself and with the Lord about the weight you carry so that you can cast your burden on Him.

…To get honest about the hugeness of your need so that you can cry out for help.

…To get honest about the depth of your loss and pain so that you can grieve in the presence of the Divine Comforter.

A bruised reed He will not break; and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish.
Isaiah 42:3

He Himself knows our frame. He is mindful that we are but dust.
Psalm 103:14

We do well to be mindful of it, too.

Denial and Chronic Illness

I have dealt with chronic illness most if not all of my adult life. But I’m only just now starting to say that out loud. What I’ve done instead is to say, “It’s not that bad. Could be a lot worse. I’ve technically been in remission for years.”

While those statements are true, they are not the whole truth. They ignore the toll my disease has taken on me physically and emotionally, the impact it’s had on the course of my life and my family, the daily reality of fatigue and occasional flare ups that force me to reassess what I’m able to take on in a given season.

And, most recently, I’ve got another diagnosis on the table and a third on the horizon if I’m not careful, adding more complexity to the picture than a mere “could be worse–look on the bright side” sentiment.

I’m beginning to learn that I cannot Pollyana my way through every trial of life. Not even Pollyanna could do so.

Biblical rejoicing through trials is not the same as merely grinning and bearing it. It’s not playing a simple “glad game,” useful as that may be at times. It’s not stoicism. It’s not joy by way of denial. It’s joy by way of real tears and pain—offered up in faith to the Man of Sorrows who is acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3).

When the diagnoses begin to pile up, we can’t pretend everything’s ok. We live in a sin-cursed world. Our own bodies bear testimony to this truth.

When our to-do list becomes more than we can physically bear, we can’t go on imagining that we’re somehow infinitely capable.

We’re finite creatures. Those of us with chronic illness are finite even more so (if that’s even possible).

We do well to accept this rather than live in denial.

Just as we must see our sin to fully appreciate our salvation through Jesus Christ, we must see our limitations and human weakness to fully appreciate the strength and and comfort of our God in the midst of trials.

More than a Biblical Bandaid

The Lord can and does give supernatural strength to his people to sustain their joy in truly incredible ways through the darkest trials. But that grace is often for a short season of intense suffering and directed toward a specific opportunity to give testimony to the Lord. When the trial is long and lingering, or the effects of suffering surprise and weigh you down ten or even twenty years later… then the Lord’s grace to you might take a different form. You’re maybe no longer in a season of enduring by ignoring, by simply “setting your minds on things above” (Colossians 3:2).

Hear me: We absolutely must set our minds on things above. Don’t get me wrong. Memorize Scripture. Run to it in moments of pain and fear and doubt. Pray. Gather with God’s people in regular worship and fellowship. The ordinary means of grace–basic spiritual disciplines–are foundational and continually needful. Just know that at some point, your own mental fortitude (even if biblically informed) can only take you so far, and you may find that your body, mind, and spirit need more than a mere change of focus, using spiritual truth to distract you from the pain. There may come a time when every part of you needs to grieve.

And that’s ok.

Some would even list lamentation among the spiritual disciplines. So it’s good to learn to be comfortable with it having a place in your life.

Sometimes I think we can try to apply the scriptures in immature ways, as though a couple spiritual disciplines will prevent our need for lamentation. Like a bandaid to make us feel better or a mantra to help us refocus our minds. A biblical quick-fix may be appropriate in some seasons of life, when our circumstances demand a quick turn-around, when our bodies are younger and more resilient, when we’re early in our walk with Christ. But I think our application ought to grow up as we do and as life and the Lord’s work of sanctification demands a deeper reckoning with our weaknesses (middle age, anyone?).

More than Making the Grade

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about:

I think that I have sometimes attempted to speed through to the other side of suffering by looking for the lesson I can learn from it. Like a school girl who wants to know the answers so that she can ace the test and maybe make the anxiety and pressure go away faster.

If I rush quickly to the moral, can I skip the painful part of the story?

While we should look for ways to grow in wisdom, we must remember that God’s testing isn’t the kind that produces a grade. It produces endurance and hope (see James 1 and Romans 5). That endurance and hope comes not just from how we perform or what we learn, though obedience in the midst of trials is certainly commendable and honors God. The endurance and hope God intends to produce in us are directly tied to our faith: deep abiding trust, not the speed with which we can put on a smile or give a pat answer.

Our trials are not just a test for us to pass, a grade for us to earn, or an unpleasant event to rush through. They’re an opportunity and even an invitation to know our own pain and weakness more deeply and to find God’s grace and love and strength to be more than sufficient for us in those depths. It’s an invitation not to plow through with a forced smile on our face but to grieve deeply, cry out, and find that our loving heavenly Father does indeed hear, does indeed see, does indeed sympathize with our weaknesses. He weeps with us, provides comfort and love, and may even heal some of our deepest wounds when we admit that they’re there. But we don’t feel or see all of that incredible provision if we’re trying to convince ourselves that our problems are “no big deal,” as though we’re strong enough that nothing ever phases us.

We need to choose our medicine: lying to ourselves about our circumstances or telling the truth in our hearts and finding that “God is greater than our heart and knows all things” (1 John 3:20) and that He is a “very present help in time of need” (Psalm 46:1).

No Comparison—No, Really, Don’t

But let’s make sure we’re not going from one form of lying to ourselves about our circumstances straight into the same kind of ditch on the other side of the road.

We don’t want to go from comparing ourselves to others in order to minimize our suffering (which is admittedly a lot of what I tend to do) to comparing ourselves to others in order to maximize our grumbling (can’t say I’ve never been there, either). Acknowledging what’s true and lifting our eyes to Jesus our Savior ought to make those comparisons fall from view. And it shouldn’t lead to grumbling but rather to a release of stuffed emotion and a feeling of being known and cared for by God.

Because you are.

The goal is to speak truth in our hearts (Psalm 15:2) so that we can cry out to the Lord from an honest place of pain, so that we are laying our burdens out before Him instead of hiding them or pretending they don’t exist. And so that we can enjoy fellowship with Him as one who “abides in His tent” and “dwells on His holy hill” (see Psalm 15).

He knows the weight we carry better than we do. Always. So we can bring every bit of it before Him.

Cast all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7

An Invitation to Honest Prayer and Real Joy

Dear sister, what hard providence are you facing? What burdens has the Lord called you to carry? Can you honestly acknowledge them? Can you honestly confess your inability to shoulder them alone? And then cast them all upon the Lord who cares for you?

“I can’t bear this, Lord. I’m not strong enough! O, Lord, be my strength!”

He does not intend for you to find comfort through denial. Nor does He ask you to bear your burdens all alone. He invites your to pour out your heart to Him. To know His tender care for you. To know His nearness. To find comfort and joy in His love.

I will rejoice and be glad in Your steadfast love, Because You have seen my affliction; You have known the distress of my soul.
Psalm 31:7

Word of the Year 2026: Follow-Through (with Bible Verses!)

24 Friday Apr 2026

Posted by Lauren Scott in Living Faith

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bible, bible-verses, christianity, faith, follow-through, perseverance, word of the year

It amazes me that another year has come and gone. In so many ways, I feel like 2025 was a year of rebuilding and ramping up. Lots of projects started, lots of progress made, but this year I want to finish some things–I want to follow through on them.

Follow Through v. Follow-Through

Here’s a quick grammar lesson:

We write follow through (vb. two words, no hyphen) when referring to the action of working to completion or finishing a swing.

We write follow-through (n. with a hyphen) when referring to the task itself, referring to our stage of completion on that project or to the part of the swing that happens after hitting the ball.

(Yes, I had to look that up before writing this article. You’re welcome.)

follow through softball 2026 word of the year goals bible verses — Yes, this is a photo of me. 2003 Texas AAAAA State Championship Game. We won.

I grew up playing fastpitch softball, from rec league through travel ball and from high school into college, even having the opportunity to play against the 2004 US Olympic team, manning third base opposite my childhood hero Lisa Fernandez. So you could say that I know the importance of follow-through, both in the swing itself and in deliberate practice toward a goal.

But adult life provides a greater amount of variability and distractions than did my school-and-sports focused youth. Homemaking and homeschooling in particular are vocations that involve wearing many hats. Add to those hats a few exploits beyond your front door and you’ve got a recipe for burnout if you’re not careful. Or if not burnout, at least a dizzying amount of proverbial plates spinning, balls in the air… you get the idea.

When it comes to a ball in the air, I happen to know that follow-through can make the difference between a solid hit to the outfield or a mere bunt. To balk at the end of a swing is to strip all previous effort of its power. My job isn’t to merely keep endlessly juggling. Getting a ball rolling or up in the air is great. Keeping it moving is even better. But at some point I’d really like to knock one out of the park.

This requires the very thing that I struggle to do at times. It requires decisive follow-through.

Life can go in any number of directions, but it can’t go in all of them. So at some point, I have to choose to focus on something and see it through to the end.

Looking Back, Bringing Forward, Following Through

Last year, my word of the year was Stability. I began 2025 with a knee injury, and it’s taken most of the past year to recover strength and stability in my knees.

I also focused on basic routines, my husband and I revamped our financial management system, and I had to say “no” to at least one amazing opportunity because it would have been the straw that broke this camel’s back (when taking extra time out of your schedule to calculate whether or not you can take on a new responsibility triggers an autoimmune flare-up, you know it’s time to say “no”).

So, what did I have in mind when I chose follow-through as my 2026 word of the year? What balls do I have in the air that I’d like to hit hard rather than freeze up and bunt?

Health – Just as the primary focus in 2025 was health-related (my knee!), the primary application of my 2026 word of the year is my health: particularly to lose weight and reduce inflammation. So far this year, I’m on a 114-day streak of entering what I’m eating in My Fitness Pal (and am about 1/4 of the way to my weight-loss goal), and my husband and I got thorough bloodwork done through Function Health. One result of that testing is that we’re pretty confident I have Celiac disease. (Woo-hoo!) So my gluten-free regimen just got a bit more stringent.
Helping My Husband – This looks like continued faithfulness with the financial plan, managing our home well, and even helping him with some biblical counseling situations.
Connecting with My Kids – This includes practicing piano and taking lessons from my 14-year-old (I’m definitely his worst piano student–follow-through is severely lacking here!), reading the creative works my boys produce, and helping them navigate the exciting and exhausting adventures of their teen years.
Writing – Eliminating excuses, just sit down and write. [Like this article. Finally!]
Big Secret Project – I’m not revealing what this is yet, but suffice it to say, there’s a big undertaking on the table that’s been months in the making. And I’m excited to share with you…soon. Right now’s it’s mid-swing and gaining momentum.

Bible Verses on Follow-Through

The Bible doesn’t exactly use the word “follow-through”, but it does speak directly to motivation, perseverance, and effectiveness, which are all components of a good follow-through. Here are some of the verses that I’ll be meditating on as I seek to follow through on my commitments this year:

In all labor there is profit,
But mere talk leads only to poverty.
Proverbs 14:23

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hebrews 12:1-3

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
2 Timothy 4:7-8

But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.
Luke 8:15

The one who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and the one who is unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much.
Luke 16:10

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:22-25

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Romans 5:1-5

For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
Romans 8:24-26

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 15:4

Fix Your Eyes and Follow Through

Did you catch the connection between perseverance and hope in those passages from Romans?!?

Hoping for something yet to be prompts our perseverance, but perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures also give hope. So, being rooted in the promises of God, I have hope. That hope ought to drive my perseverance–my follow-through–on the good things that God has called me to do. And then that perseverance, along with the testimony of Scripture, will strengthen my hope all the more! God is so good.

My hope and perseverance are rooted ultimately in the work of Christ on my behalf (see that Romans 5 passage above). The hope of the glory of God comes from the gospel. But perseverance in trial produces further hope. Which is still, ultimately, a result of the love of God poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. >squeals of delight< It’s a cycle of greater hope, greater faith, greater perseverance…but the source of it all is the grace of God in Christ. Praise be to God.

This ties back into the name of my blog: Kept and Keeping. I’m kept by God’s grace–I’ve been saved by the work of Jesus. My sins are forgiven due to His sacrifice on the cross, and His righteousness credited to my account through faith. I’m now a child of God and He holds me securely. There’s hope.

But He is also at work in me–I’m keeping the faith by His grace and by the power of His Spirit. There’s perseverance.

This means that I continue to both repent of sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but it also means that I seek to walk out what I believe, producing fruit that brings glory to Jesus Christ.

The Christian life requires follow-through.

The incredible thing I’m seeing in these passages of Scripture is that God gets the glory for the good works He produces in me, but I also get some encouragement from it! Praise the Lord!

So, those practical goals that I have for the year are opportunities to follow through, to fix my eyes and run the race set before me, to persevere through trial, rooted in the grace of God in the gospel of Christ, for the glory of God. My hope set on heaven producing fruit here on earth.

What’s your word for 2026? Do you tie it in with your goals for the year? Or is it just a source of inspiration? I’d love to hear about it!

If you’d like to try Function Health as a new member, you can use my referral link to get $25 off (and I get a $25 credit). My husband and I have been pleased with the sheer amount of tests we’re able to get for a fraction of the cost and the ability to see all of our results in one easy-to-navigate dashboard complete with suggestions for following up on our results. This is a paid referral program, but I wouldn’t share it if it wasn’t something I used and valued.