I’ve never had any major physical or mental health issues, but like most people, I have had minor issues. And that all helps me to grow and to empathize with people. In some ways, I’d rather not have had health issues, but perhaps I would be immature. I dunno 😀.
Back in 1979, I remember someone at work asking me what the most important thing in life is. This was about a year before I had committed my life to Christ. I replied “religion”. It was an unusual thing for a teenager to say because most people in Ireland are quite shy about religion. No-one wants to be seen as a “holy Joe”. Perhaps the fact that I was brave enough to say it caused it to stick in my mind. But something else that sticks in my mind was his reply. He said “your health”. And he went on to talk about his sore arm. I understood him in later years more than I did at the time. And hardly anyone is immune to health issues. I remember a documentary about a girl who was unable to feel pain. I thought that would be great to not feel pain, but it had devastating consequences for her.
Maybe if you have enough money, you get better care, but you might end up with bigger issues. I think of Michael Jackson. He was such a hero to everyone back in the 1980s. Even apart from the scandals and allegations, he had all sorts of issues. And in the end, it was probably his wealth that resulted in his death. When I look at old videos of the Jackson Five, it’s so sad to think of what became of him.
His brother Tito, who was five years older, passed away a few years ago. He wasn’t as famous as Michael, but it’s nice to have had “Love One Another” as your final single. These are the very words of Jesus, a key theme of His conversation with his disciples on the night before He died.
Here are a few verses that speak of growth through trials:
James 1:2–4
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Romans 5:3–5
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
1 Peter 1:6–7
“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor…”
And here are a few hymns about suffering and about how God can use it for our good:
Hibernia Gospel 