Finding Glory Through Pain and Illness

In Kenya, our partners are reporting on the operations of KenSud Medical Mission’s experiences during Covid-19. Like so many hospitals around the world, KenSud is attempting to care for its patients while also remaining compliant with the pandemic protocols. Workers have found ways to treat and share the word of God to patients even while social distancing through applications like Facebook and WhatsApp. A strong spiritual practice in tandem with treatment has proven to be a beacon of hope and healing for the staff and patients.

In one case, an eleven-year-old named Kiprono had suffered an injury while playing with his siblings. Due to the current crisis, his parents avoided the hospital until he was nearly blinded by the severity of his eye injury. During his stay at KenSud Medical Mission, the word of God was shared with him as he recovered. In a time when the emotional toll of being hospitalized is often as high as the physical toll, the comfort of the Gospel has never been more essential.

Kiprono has now fully regained function and credits his sight to God. He talks about regularly attending Sunday school and thanking Him for protection during his crucial time of healing.

The Power of Fear

Perhaps never more than in 2020, we’re seeing the devastating impact of fear. While the virus challenges our health, the constant state of panic is damaging the souls of people all over the world. Whether it is making them resistant to seeking medical help or it is deteriorating their mental well-being, a pervasive tension has spread across the globe. With the restricted movement in our communities, missed interactions with loved ones and constant messages of a looming threat, God is needed now more than ever.

While our westernized mindset may not be able to fully embrace an overlapping of spirituality and science, as Christians, we know the healing power of prayer and worship.

KenSud Medical Mission’s ability to overlap their faith with their treatment is a testament to the value in interweaving the two.

We know that kindness, hope, faith, trust and peace have therapeutic power. They also serve as a shield for some of today’s modern problems.

Prayer as Preventative Medicine

As we combat Covid-19 and the adjacent side effects being brought on by lockdowns, it’s important to remember that prayer isn’t only there for times of crisis. It isn’t only a tool for God’s healing touch after someone is already sick. It is a regular practice that can keep our hearts and minds, and yes, bodies in peak performance during times of stress and chaos.

Of course we should pray if a loved one falls ill or if we are suffering ourselves, but it can also serve as a means for staying well. Asking for God to grant you calm reduces cortisol, the stress hormone, and keeps our body in a healthier, more natural state. Engaging in prayer instead of opening a social media app can help with anxiety and depression. Teaching ourselves and our children to care for and be grateful for the perfect creation that is our bodies, made in God’s image, and trusting that resource as a means of healing and wellness can provide strength.

We can’t look at God’s love as a prescription. It is prevention, treatment and a cure all in one. As Kiprono rejoiced in the return of his sight, we too must rejoice when a loved one heals from Covid or any other injury or ailment. We also have to engage in God’s glory even as we are experiencing suffering. The acknowledgement that this world isn’t perfect, only His is, can help us avoid the expectation that we must create a risk-free, flawless environment in order to feel joy and comfort. He can offer us that even in the most trying times. And embracing it can bring about the healing we seek.