“If you could say anything to Jesus right now, what would it be?” asked one of Sherrie’s prayer sister after a group luncheon. Without hesitation, my friend replied, “Lord, Your will be done.” Her heart soared with the truth of her words. She could finally trust God, regardless of the outcome.

Three years earlier, Sherrie was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease that makes people struggle to breathe. It produces scar tissue that steadily decreases airflow. Her doctor explained that the average life expectancy for people with this condition was three to five years.

At first, Sherrie lapsed into denial and unbelief. Could there be a mistake? This can’t be true! Maybe I should get a second opinion. Her desperate thoughts and emotions took roller-coaster turns. She wasn’t ready to depart from her family. For a while, Sherrie shouldered the burden alone, only sharing her heartbreaking news with immediate family. She withdrew from everyday activities. Finally, unable to bear her struggles alone, Sherrie spoke to a pastor at her church.

After a few meetings together, he told her with tender sensitivity, “You have two choices, Sherrie. You can either hold a pity party, bringing all the attention to yourself. Or you can accept your condition and surrender it to the Lord, letting the attention go to Him. This illness is an opportunity for you to bring glory to God. You can grab that opportunity or let it slide by.”

His advice was a major turning point for Sherrie. When she chose to focus on God’s promises instead of her circumstances, He lifted her over the huge hurdle of acceptance. Sherrie decided to live for God’s glory and entrust her health battle into His hands. Ultimately, as David declared to the Philistine giant, “the battle is the Lord’s” (1 Sam. 17:47).

The Captain of Sherrie’s ship guided her through the raging sea into still waters – extending her time with family and friends. Even while she battled the storms of adversity, she found purpose and contentment.

This passing world is filled with health and pain issues. If such things have come your way, why not surrender them to Almighty God, treating them as opportunities to bring Him glory? If you embrace this truth for yourself, you will experience peace and fulfilment now, as well as God’s richest blessings forever (2 Cor. 4:17). You will – as Anne Graham Lotz puts it – “live a life of eternal significance, intentionally.”

Our light affliction, which is but for a moment [a brief time of trouble and suffering] is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (2 Cor. 4:17)