When Chronic Illness Enters Your Life

When chronic illness enters your life you may encounter some of those big questions about 'Why would God cause good people to suffer?' but more importantly, you may be wondering, 'Where do I go from here?' This is a 5-lesson Bible study on the topic of chronic illness written for the use of individual or groups. This is the book that most HopeKeepers (R) groups begin with (a program of Rest Ministries, the publisher of this study).

The lessons are the perfect size to have the group do at home and then discuss the next week. It is recommended to consider using just one lesson for 2 meetings, since discussion is so important and you may not get through the entire lesson.

Chronic illness is difficult. There is no question that whether you have a deep relationship with God or are just beginning to search for answers from Him, chronic illness can send you reeling into asking 'Where is God when it hurts?' and 'Why do I have this illness?'; Are you wondering, why God allows good people to suffer? Or why God causes pain? You aren't alone. This Bible study is equipped to apply those big questions to the day-to-day emotions that you may be experiencing while you learn to live with this 'new normal' of daily chronic pain, loneliness, wondering what happened to all of your friends, and just learning to cope with exhaustion and fatigue. Through Scripture, personal inventory of some of your emotions, and study questions, you will soon have a better grasp on how you can move forward with a new outlook on your disease. Chapters include:

1. Where is God When it Hurts? - Dive into the emotions of coping with chronic illness. How does one cope with the loneliness and isolation of illness? How can one feel God's presence more intimately during times of suffering?

2. Lord, I Don't Understand! - We all wonder why God has allowed illness to be a part of our lives. Is it forever or temporary? What lesson should we learn from it? How can we grow closer to God despite the fact that He may not provide all the answers we may ask Him, especially when we want them?

3. The Exhaustion is Taking Over - When these feeling of exhaustion occur, we feel frustrated, unproductive and useless. Can God really use us when we can barely get out of bed and if so, how? 4. I Am So Scared About the Future - You may hear, 'The Bible tells us to never worry about anything' or 'Real Christians always trust the Lord knows best so you need to pray harder' But when your health is falling apart around you, how do you trust God? Discover what your true fears are and how exactly to turn them over to God.

5. My Friends Just Don t Understand - 'You look so good!' Surely you've heard this on more than one occasion and you may not know if you should take is as a compliment or as someone misunderstanding the seriousness of your chronic illness. How do you get passed friends who just don't seem to get how much your life has changed since becoming ill.