She was weak and lethargic and couldn’t shake it, so she went to the doctor. He told her to go home, get plenty of rest, and drink plenty of water.
It got so bad for her, taking care of her husband, her house, her young girls and son, that to get to bed for a rest during the day she had to climb the stairs on her hands and knees. It took months with tears and many conversations with God, but she recovered.
Fifteen years later, she asked the doctor what she had had. He said, “You had the polio virus.” This was before the Salk and other vaccines. It was in the days when polio victims were sent to hospitals where rows of big machines called iron lungs helped people in them to breathe when the disease got so bad their chest muscles couldn’t expand their lungs well enough.
Mom asked him why he hadn’t sent her to the hospital. He said, “Because I knew you had faith.”
Jesus helped mom through that hard time. She didn’t know what was going on, but she did know Jesus would do what he promised. She taught her son and three daughters the same things. She and dad both trusted Jesus to keep his promises, and they both lived healthy lives—not without other serious problems—into their eighties.
Anyone who has a relationship with Jesus is guaranteed both health and troubles—which may include health troubles.
That is a paradox, yes, but life is full of them. And the closer I look, the more I see that paradox is a prime part of reality like the old Fairy Tales where there's always a catch: You can go to the Ball but must leave before midnight; You can marry the Princess but must first slay the dragon; Your healing is paid for but you must trust Jesus. Personally, this son thanks our God for a wise doctor who himself had the faith and courage to give his patient that advice.
Lewis Jenkins