Bronchitis & Listening to God

I've been uncharacteristically absent from the virtual world for an author who just released a new novel, and I'd like to explain why. During most of September, I have been battling and recovering from bronchitis (and maybe some other infections). I don't think I have ever been this sick in my entire thirty-three years of life. And when I was at my lowest point, feeling utterly incompetent and useless, unable to care for myself and my kids, God met me in a surprisingly profound way.

A little background for you—I am a typical Martha. Always bustling around trying to cross things off the to-do list. Forever fearing idleness, I keep myself busy, busy, busy. I think I find my worth in the tangible results I can accomplish. So when I started to get sick, I immediately got to work diagnosing and treating the condition. I thought I was suffering from pertussis, and I started to throw myself whole-heartedly into the pertussis home remedy protocol, which I have successfully used on multiple occasions over the past few years for multiple members of our family.

But this time, it wasn't working. I was getting worse. And I was starting to get scared.

I tried alternating different remedies, but nothing seemed to work. Looking up my symptoms and suggested courses of action filled me with dread. There were days when all I could do was lie in bed with my eyes closed. And in those moments, all I had was Jesus. I weakly cried out to Him. I acknowledged my dependency on Him, despite my habit of living like life depends on me and what I accomplish. I decided I would stop all of my striving and only use a treatment if He clearly gave me the green light.

And for a while, He was quiet. So I did nothing. Except pray. And this time, instead of just praying, "God, please heal me. Please help me find a remedy that will work." I actually asked God a specific question and waited for a response.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

I think, in our American Christian culture, we often treat God like a genie. We pray, but our prayers mostly consist of requests. We try to live lives that honor God, but we forget about the personal, human nature of Jesus, and we think of Him as this untouchable King in a far-off land, who might never grace us with an answer. So we're stuck trying to do life on our own, making our best guesses and moving forward without peace because we feel that we have to do something. And we just talk at God. We don't take the time to sit and listen.

Imagine you do this with a person in your life. Every time you see them, you talk to them, but you never ask questions or listen. A relationship would be impossible. The communication would be totally one-sided. You can hardly call that person a friend. This hypothetical scenario is ridiculous, and yet we often treat God this way.

Now, I'm not suggesting you should wait for God to audibly speak to you. He certainly can, and did, in ancient times, as recorded in Scripture. But He speaks to different people in different ways. And there are important habits to embrace to train yourself to be able to recognize His voice (regular prayer, Scripture study, and Christian community). If you constantly fill your head with the voices of the world that contradict what is holy (through mainstream media and/or relationships that do not honor God), you will be training yourself to listen for the wrong voices. And they will drown out God's still small voice.

Okay, back to my bronchitis story. When I finally slowed down and realized that I was doing too much, God began to answer my questions. This may sound strange, but I asked about specific remedies. At one point, I asked if I should treat the condition as if it were pneumonia. A physical shiver through my entire body accompanied by a powerful sense of peace confirmed that God wanted me to go the pneumonia treatment route. (This may not be the way God speaks to you; but in this situation, He repeatedly answered my questions this way.) I asked my husband to pray about what I should do, and God told both of us that I should start steam inhalation. That was the turning point, when some of my symptoms began to improve. Still, I was very sick.

Due to our health insurance situation, finances, personal values, and a negative history with synthetic drugs, we are always hesitant to go to the doctor. But friends and family were encouraging me to seek treatment, and with trembling, I asked, "Is it time to go to urgent care?" He said yes. There was another turning point in my healing.

The point is not to debate natural home remedies vs. institutionalized Western medicine—but that we should seek God's direction in everything. Yes, everything. The Bible says it, but we don't seem to take it seriously. We think some decisions must not be important enough to bring before God. And yet, He is the only One who knows everything. He knows the future, He knows the hearts of others, He knows unexpected consequences of decisions, and He knows us better than we know ourselves. He is the only One qualified to make decisions for us!

If you take anything away from this post, let it be this: Listen to God. Make it a regular part of your prayer routine to simply sit at the feet of your Savior and listen for what He has for you. He wants you more than what you can do for Him.

Photo by Yuri Fu on Unsplash

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5–6 (NIV; emphasis mine)

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6–7 (NLT; emphasis mine)

Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”

James 4:13–15 (NLT)

“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

1 Kings 19:11–13 (NLT; emphasis mine)

Photo by Aleksey Oryshchenko on Unsplash