Learning Total Reliance on God

Here's another story from a reader. We hope it encourages you.

I am 22-years-old and have suffered from severe, chronic classic migraine headaches since I was 13. Recently, they have become increasingly worse and more frequent. About two years ago, I was hit with an intense migraine during a winter retreat that I was attending with my fellowship group at college. The study was on Ruth and specifically on God's sovereignty over her entire life. The speaker asked us to think about the areas in our lives where we have difficulty accepting God's sovereignty and immediately I thought about my migraines. Within hours, I was bedridden and in serious pain, in a cabin in the middle of the woods with no medication and no one who could possiby understand how I was feeling.

Laying there, I felt totally helpless, weak, and without any control in the situation. I knew that the only person I could call upon to take over and ease my pain was Jesus Christ himself. I called, and he answered! In his mercy he was my only source of comfort and strength in those long hours. I thought about his sovereignty and the way that he used my migraine to put me in a situation where I was solely reliant on him and I was suddenly in awe of his mercy. He drew me to himself, and despite my crying out against him, he comforted me in his love. I realized that God is sovereign. I cannot deny that. And if it is in his will to allow me to suffer from migraines for the rest of my life, then so be it. He is in control which means that the migraines are a gift from him. He is using them to do his work in me. After that, I had almost an entire year's span where I was miraculously migraine free!

Since then, I have still had terrible bouts with migraines, but I do not doubt that they are in God' control. In fact, he has been using them to teach me again and again that he really is in control and that he really is all I need. I have had the wonderful prayer support of family and friends throughout this struggle to intercede on my behalf, but I trust Jesus even more with his great intercessions. And if he continues to allow me to go through the pain and suffering of migraine headaches, then I have learned to willingly and humbly accept them as a work with a greater purpose in my life.

Please take the time to share the spiritual lessons God has taught you. We'd love to share your story here.

Review: Suffering and the Sovereignty of God

If you suffer from migraines Suffering and the Sovereignty of God is a book you should read. Here's a portion of a review by Tim Challies:

This is not a book that deals with suffering as an abstract principle. In the introduction Justin Taylor writes, “The authors do not write as mere theoreticians, waxing eloquent about abstract themes. No, this is a book of applied theology. Its theology has been forged in the furnace of affliction.” Of the contributors, two are paralyzed, two lost parents when they were only young, two have recently suffered the death of a child and two are even now battling prostate cancer. “The point of mentioning this is not to portray them as victims or to elicit your sympathy, but rather to reiterate that they are fellow soldiers in the battle, fellow pilgrims on the journey.” They are equipped to speak about suffering because they have suffered.

Suffering and the Sovereignty of God continues the tradition of fine books based on keynote addresses at the Desiring God National Conference. It is a compassionately biblical and pastoral examination of a difficult subject. Suffering is an experience common to all human beings and is an issue we all wrestle with at one time or another. This book provides encouragement that God is sovereign, that His purposes are being worked out in suffering, and that even through the darkest trials there is hope. I am confident that this book will be used by God to encourage many of His people, both those who have already suffered greatly and those who have not, but are seeking to equip themselves for the trials that are sure to come in this fallen world.

If you've read the book, please leave a comment with your thoughts. And feel free to share any other books that you've found helpful.

Migraine Free: A Story

A reader posted the following comment here on the site. We thought it was so encouraging we want to share it here so no one missed it. A woman named Ruth writes:

I come from a family of migraine sufferers. For at least four generations, the women of my mothers family have struggled against the painful condition. I got my first migraine in the 5th grade, and was terrified.

I am now 33 and, by the grace of God, I don't have migraines anymore. The last one I had was in May of 2006, and it was the first I had had in a very long time, and was brought on by a very specific set of circumstances.

For me, getting rid of migraines consisted of changing my diet (I am a vegan, and have experienced myriad health benefits from it, and don't feel the least bit deprived), managing my stress (spirituality played a large role here - learning how to turn to Christ in my struggles, instead of internalizing them), getting enough sleep, and eliminating certain "trigger foods" (particularly caffeine - none at all, ever, and chocolate only on rare occasions). These, along with a few other things, completely "cured" me of migraine headaches. I was the only member of my family to beat them, until I convinced my Mom to apply the same principles. Now, as long as we stick to the program, we are migraine free.

Thanks for sharing your story, Ruth. And for others reading, please tell us about your current experience with headaches. Your story could encourage others.

The Story of Charlotte Elliot

Mark Driscoll's church is doing a series in the book of Philippians called the Rebel's Guide to Joy. In one of the sermons they featured the following video about the famous hymn-writer Charlotte Elliot. Her serious health problems remind me of many of my friends who face chronic headaches. I hope this encourages you to put your trust in God in the midst of suffering. We can glorify God and be used by him in our weakness.