Maybe you’ve wondered where God is when you or someone you love is sick. If that’s you, you’re not alone! It’s a natural question, whether you’re suffering from a long-term illness or a simple cold! One thing is for sure, it doesn’t cost anything to believe God for your miracle! Joyce and Ginger discuss the answers to these questions and more in this powerful episode of Candid Conversations with Joyce.

Joyce. There are so many people who are experiencing long term difficult sickness and illness in their life. And so today in our conversation, we want to talk about things that might encourage them and any suggestions that we can have as they walk through that really difficult time, you’ve had different things. You’ve dealt with cancer. You’ve dealt with the long term time of forced rest because of severe illness. So what are some of the things that you learned through those times? Well, first of all, it’s not easy two be sick and feel bad because nobody else really knows how you feel. So sometimes you feel very alone. You never considered that even people that love you. Now, of course if somebody has experienced a lot or enough sickness in their own life, then they’re able to have a little more empathy. But I found that a lot of times I felt alone, you know that nobody but God really understood and it is difficult to not give up or get depressed and discouraged because uh I mean sickness is difficult if it’s three days or if it’s three years when you, when you feel bad, I mean even if you have a headache, it’s like You just kind of feel bad all over our body is put together in such a way if your little finger hurts, your whole body hurts and your attention is drawn to the part that hurts. And so for example, for 10 years I had migraine headaches. Now I only had them once a month because it was related to my cycle. But man they hurt and I would I would work and preach while I had them, but I was very prone to having headaches and and that was hard. You know, you say to somebody I’ve got a headache and it’s like, oh that’s too bad and going about their business and you know, of course when I had cancer, I had breast cancer and had to have a mastectomy and that was hard. But the prognosis was good. So that made it easier. They got it all and I didn’t have to take any chemo. I didn’t have to take any radiation because it had not gotten to my lymph nodes. But I still had to deal with all the trauma of losing the breast and you know, dealing with that. I did have a replacement surgery and even that was challenging. And of course, once you’ve had cancer, there’s always that thing in the back of your mind, is it going to come back somewhere else? Now? I’ve had, I think over 30 years now of getting clear mammograms every year. And so I’m not afraid of that. But in addition to that, I’ve had two hip replacements and uh it’s amazing what all God can enable you to do if you just won’t give up. I mean it really amazes me that I’ve continued to work through everything. I haven’t, I mean, I think I’ve only missed like one conference in all the years That I’ve been doing this, which is 45 years, which which in itself is a miracle, that’s a God thing. Yeah, you have to really know that God loves you because when you, when you keep having issues over and over and that’s kind of been my achilles heel, you know, it’s like for some people, it’s finances for so much trouble in their marriage. But when you go into ministry, the devil is not going to leave you alone. I mean, you become a target and you know, we reach a lot of people with the word because of the big broad tv ministry we have and so that’s kind of the thing that the enemy will come at me with. And three years ago I got pretty serious adrenal fatigue just from working too hard and not using wisdom and that was really hard on me because it affected my voice, I got my I don’t know why, but my mouth got extremely dry and I had some silly thing called burning tongue syndrome, which most doctors have never even heard of. And you know, sometimes when you have things that nobody can find, then they start thinking they start thinking it’s all in your head and but the but the key is is to never give up. And one of the things that I say I’ve learned to say is this, there will be an end to this and in each thing that I’ve had, you know, there always is an end, you know, this, this won’t last forever, there will be an end to this and I say it out loud, you know, because that’s one of the things the enemy wants to tell you’re frightening. But what if I’m like this forever always be this way? What if this never goes away, I can’t stand this if this never goes away and I know when you’re sick the inclination is to huddle up in a corner somewhere by yourself and do nothing. But really, unless you have something that just totally keeps you from doing anything, you’re so much better off if you do things if you go ahead and do things because number one as busy as you can. Well within reason based on what’s wrong with you, you know? But it’s getting your mind off of it. Let’s just say for example, this is kind of a simple example, but have you ever felt really bad and gone shopping and noticed while you were out shopping that all of a sudden you didn’t feel bad anymore. Oh yeah. Or anything that distracts you for a while, stay faithful to God, you know, keep going to church, keep you know, continue to continue to read your bible. Try to try to do as many normal things as you possibly can do and don’t give up and think that you’re never gonna be healed, I want to ask you to unpack a little bit what you said about knowing that God loves you because I think that’s really important when I’ve had some physical things going on, sometimes the first thing that pops into your head which is definitely the enemy is saying, well God could fix this if you wanted to and instead having that awareness that God still loves me even in this situation. Yeah, I think it’s just something that you have to get so deeply rooted in the love of God and know that God’s not the one making you sick and yes, he could heal you if he’s gonna do it 10 years from now. Why not now? And to be honest, I don’t know the answers to all those things and I don’t think anybody else does. But romans eight tells us that nothing should separate us from the love of God, which is found in christ jesus and that’s exactly what the devil is trying to do. He’s trying to get you to think that God is not good and that you know, and and also like well why did this happen to me? You know, I hear I am preaching the word and trying to help people all the time and you know, I’m generous and why did this happen to me? And you have to really be careful about that too. But it’s it gets into the area of indignation. And I remember one man told me this is so powerful when you think about it, his son got cancer. And of course everybody was praying for him to live and he didn’t, he died. And the man said to God, where were you when my son died? And the thing that came back to him was the same place I was when mine died. And so We have to stop trying to figure out things that are beyond our ability to understand. We just don’t understand. But God does restore things. He does take what satan meant for harm and works it out for good. And I believe for example, like the the fact that I had migraine headaches for 10 years and got over him, don’t have him anymore. That’s that’s encouraging to people that have headaches. The fact that I had cancer and got through it and it’s never come back. You know, that’s encouraging to people. And hopefully the fact that I worked myself almost to death is teaching people, you know that you have to obey God’s laws of health and that you can’t just push, push, push, push. You’ve got to use common sense, we have to take care of ourselves. I mean, God, God gives us wisdom to take care of ourselves. And yet let’s flip it over. And this while we’re being candid. Um at the same time, things happen like you said that we don’t understand that we can’t explain. It doesn’t mean that your faith was weak. I mean there are so many things that that can come up in the christian world, there’s so many reasons, I mean sure sometimes you get sick because you weren’t taking care of yourself. There may be a time when there is sin in your life and the enemy gets in through that door, but that’s not always the case. You know, there was a little boy in the bible that was blind and everybody wanted to know why, why, why why? And and God said you know this is not unto death, it’s that God would get glory. And I think that God gets glory out of the fact now that he’s healed me from so many things and I really, you know right now, you know, I’m doing some teaching on the gifts of the spirit, one of them being healing, one of them being miracles and it has charged my faith up again to just really believe God for miracles. You know, it doesn’t cost anything to believe. I want people to remember that, it doesn’t cost anything to believe. And you say, well what if I believe and nothing happens? Well what if you believe in something does happen? And I’ve come to believe that, you know, first of all believing makes you happy joy and peace are found in believing the bible says and so even if I believed my whole life and I turn out to never get what I believe for at least I’m gonna be happy, I’m not gonna be miserable and down in the dumps another thing that I recommend is take life one day at a time and expect God to do something great in your life. Now get the medical help you need, but be wise about that, pray first go to God for healing and make sure that you go where you feel like he’s sending you and not just anywhere and everywhere and taking everybody’s advice and this too will pass what satan meant for harm God will work out for good. All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. God always gives us the victory in christ jesus. You have to meditate on the scriptures that are gonna keep you strong. Yeah, well, thank you. Um it’s such a difficult thing and there are many people who are really suffering right now and to know that God is in the midst of even that suffering and loving them and that healing is always a possibility makes such a difference and in case anybody wonders today, I’m good. Thank you very much