To all those fighting health battles this song is for you.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—John 10:14

As I watch family and friends fighting their own health battles, I'm reminded of the Rocky movie. Why? Perhaps it is because when we say we have a disease we refer to it as a battle, a seemingly impossible one at that. Yet, like the character Rocky Balboa, a man who became a winner against impossible odds and a character who inspired the rest of us to work hard to overcome our own impossible battles. 

 We are weak, but He is strong is a reminder that our Lord is right there fighting our battles with us.  Every now and then a doctor upon examining his long-suffering patient finds no evidence of disease in his or her system will refer to it as a miracle. He calls it such because there is no other label to put on it. The doctor isn't able to look into the person's heart and see the battle that the Lord has been fighting for him.  

There is a more important analogy- the analogy of Jesus as the good shepherd walking beside each one of us that know Him. Please picture in your mind the image of Jesus walking aside you through all of life's precious moments when he encourages you with promises found in His Bible. When we're young, healthy and vibrant he lets us run out ahead while he watches you, ready to come to your side at the slightest call. He is your biggest cheerleader as you accomplish your life's work. As life becomes a little more difficult, Jesus walks closer to you, sometimes picking you up and carrying you when the burdens become too great for you to carry them alone. 

A simple prayer asking Jesus to come into your heart is all you need to do to assure his presence and the very real holy spirit to whisper encouragement and hope for your longing soul. Jesus is the good shepherd who wants to walk with your through all of life's moments- good and bad. 

Happier in 5 Minutes | Ida Abdalkhani | TEDxOhioStateUniversity

22 A cheerful heart is good medicine,but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+17%3A22&version=NIV

We live in a society that has forgotten what it is like to have fun and laugh. Since September 11, 2001, far more people have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety than at any time in the history of mankind. The infiltration of 24-hour cable news with all of its real-time reporting of battleground scenes brings PTSD closer than ever before.

  Research indicates that children laugh far more often than adults. Some suggest that on average children laugh 300 times a day versus 17 for adults. Norman Cousins famously chronicled the effects of his self-prescribed "laughing cure" in his book Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient (W.W. Norton, 1979, 2001, 2005). 

Cousins, who suffered from inflammatory arthritis, claimed that 10 minutes of hearty guffawing while watching Marx Brothers movies brought him two hours of pain-free sleep—and that both inflammation and pain were significantly reduced. 

Research since then has shown that laughter reduces levels of stress hormones such as cortisol, epinephrine, and dopamine; increases health-enhancing hormones (such as endorphins), neurotransmitters, and infection-fighting antibodies; and improves blood flow to the heart—all resulting in greater relaxation and resistance to disease, as well as improved mood and positive outlook. 

At the U of M Cancer Institute, we were told this same information- that contagious laughter does more to fighting disease and is something that everyone has control over. 

 Unfortunately, one of the first things that go after a traumatic loss occurs is laughter. We forget to laugh when we fixate on the anger and depression phase of our grief or when we play the martyr and believe it is bad to be happy when my loved one is dead. 

If research reminds us that we are more prone to sickness and disease if we do not laugh, then I think we have no choice to learn to laugh again. Joe Lovitt is a good friend and a very good standup comedian, as well as writer and director of plays who taught me how to laugh again after the loss of my daughter. He truly has a flair for comedy and writing.

 If you get a chance I encourage you to find out where he is appearing because I know his gift will get you laughing to good health.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIbvZiJsM9I

So, as the verse from Proverbs 17:22 reminds us, laughter really is good medicine!

So often in life we have feelings of being abandoned and forgotten by God. As you lean into God through your bible reading and prayer you will discover that He has not forsaken you.

Matthew 27:46 New International Version (NIV)

46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a]lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).[b]

We oftentimes feel the sting of Jesus's words in our own lives when things we least expect to happen do happen to us.  That untold diagnosis, the call we received at 2:30 in the morning, or being told you have a progressive disability bring that momentary reflection that God forgot about you. The moment Jesus uttered those words from high up on that cross where he hung there with beads of blood and sweat dripping below, it reminded me that God understood the pain of being human.  

Just for a moment, pretend that you are on the ground looking up at Jesus. You are witness to the cruel and heartless Roman soldiers mocking Jesus with there taunts. Imagine the tears in your eyes when you recalled being among witnesses when this man healed the man who was born blind, or you were there when he bought Lazarus back to life after he had been dead for 3 days. In your heart, you knew that Jesus was the savior, but you were too timid to admit you were one of his followers because of your fear of retribution, or worse you might wind up on a cross at this very site and punished for your misguided belief.

Yet, the story doesn't end there. Yes, he died on that cross. Yes, he was placed in a tomb and a stone was rolled into place preventing anyone from entering. Yet, when one of his disciples went to the tomb the next morning his body wasn't there.  Jesus appeared back to life and forever conquered the sting of death. Furthermore, through the power of God's holy spirit, you have a helper to conquer any of life's problems. 

In hindsight, God hasn't forsaken you.  He is simply a prayer call away. Cry out to Jesus the next time you feel forsaken and watch him do a mighty work in you- after all, God truly loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life!

No matter what happens to you in this life always remember that your deliverer is coming!

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;break forth into joyous song and sing praises!5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,with the lyre and the sound of melody!6 With trumpets and the sound of the hornmake a joyful noise before the King, the Lord! Psalm 98: 4-6

Rich Mullins was killed in a traffic accident on Interstate 39 in north central Illinois. They were driving a Jeep with both men being ejected. Rich Mullin was immediately struck by a tractor-trailer and was killed instantly.

 He was a graduate of Friends University with a strong but humble Christian faith. The music industry considered him a premier musical artist, but Rich preferred anonymity over accolades.

 By the end of his life Mullins had recorded nine albums and had more than 50 hit records in his career, which began in the early 1980s. Rich Mullins wrote the song 'Praise to the Lord,' became one of Amy Grant's biggest hits. Between writing, recording and touring, Mullins completed a degree in 1995 from Friends University in music education. After graduating, he moved to the Navajo reservation near Window Rock, Ariz., teaching music to children on the reservation. In honor of this talented musician who loved Jesus with all of his heart, I wanted to pay tribute by posting this song and lyrics.

Joseph took his wife and her child and they went to Africa 

To escape the rage of a deadly king 

There along the banks of the Nile, Jesus listened to the song 

That the captive children used to sing 

They were singin' 

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by 

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by 

Through a dry and thirsty land, water from the Kenyon heights 

Pours itself out of Lake Sangra's broken heart 

There in the Sahara winds, Jesus heard the whole world cry 

For the healing that would flow from His own scars 

The world was singing 

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by 

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by 

He will never break His promise, He has written it upon the sky 

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by 

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by 

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by 

I will never doubt His promise though I doubt my heart, I doubt my eyes 

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by 

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by 

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by 

He will never break His promise though the stars should break faith with the sky 

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by 

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by 

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by 

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by 

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by 

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by 

My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by 

My Deliverer is coming

Songwriters: Chad Robert Cates / Jason Walker / Tony W. Wood

My Deliverer lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group

Always remember that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and he promises to walk with you through all of the rough terrain called life.

John 10 New International Version (NIV)

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Life, it seems, doesn't always go at a predictable pace, nor always in the direction, you think it should go. Those roads you thought were so easy to navigate when you were younger become more burdensome with increasing age and the medical diagnosis's you thought you would never hear.

Many people will point fingers at God and blame him for their pain.  For others, suffering will cause them to stop believing. 

After all, they say if there is a God then God would not allow pain and suffering in this world. They forget we live in a fallen world caused by man's rebellion. Still, they would rather point fingers at God and blame him for all of the pain and suffering that comes upon them- worst still, they may decide to jump on the bandwagon of political opinion and tell others how destructive God and the Church can be.  Anger, it seems, is the Devil's tool to destroy.

As for me and my household, I will continue to believe in my Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, I will choose to believe that Jesus Christ will walk with me through whatever pain I may encounter in this journey called life, no matter what medical diagnosis comes my way.  I will choose to believe that the salvation decision I made in the Spring of 1974 was the right one and that no matter what happens to me on this uncertain road Jesus will always be there at my side encouraging me with words of comfort and solace- to help me through the pain and suffering that is ever so present in life which in the end make me a stronger more resilient person. 

The moral of this post is this: never stop believing, never stop trusting Jesus because He truly knows how to walk with you through the pain.  In addition, never stop attending a Church somewhere because while people are imperfect you still need others in your life to walk with you on this journey called life. Watching a Church service on social media instead of attending your local church is not same.  We need people in our lives to rub shoulders with, to encourage each other, and to share our burdens with.

As the verse above illustrates, you have a good shepherd who knows you and lays down his life for you. Learn to trust and for some open up the door to your heart and let Jesus Christ come in. You will be glad you did.