6. Ask for help.
You should do as much as you can—as long as you can—before you ask for help. You’ll maintain a healthier frame of mind if you do.
The flip side to this is to be smart enough to recognize when you DO need to ask for help. Maybe you can still cook, but it completely wears you out. Errands leave you useless for anything else.
Don’t be stubborn about this. Be wise and prioritize, conserving your strength so you can keep your physical therapy appointment or enjoy sweet moments with the kids. Ask for help.
7. Don’t live in denial.
Denial is not faith. Denial is a paralyzer. It keeps you from taking action. Faith, however, looks at the facts and believes that God can intervene and do the miraculous.
If you’ve been given a bad report or symptoms seem to be worsening, these are the times to own the little phrase: “but God.” The report looks bad, but God is my healer … I’m feeling horrible, but God is the keeper of my soul.
Don’t live in denial. Take action with your words and live in faith.
8. Never lose hope.
The situation is dire. Perhaps a timeline has even been determined of how many days or weeks or hours you have to live. Now is not the time to give up hope. Hope is what will help you live out those last breaths to the fullest.
With God, nothing is over until the body’s dead and in the grave … but even then your spirit lives on! For those who have a relationship with the living God, death has lost its sting. It’s not the grim reaper so many make it out to be! Life continues beyond the grave as your spirit soars into eternity with God.
Don’t give up hope! Yes, you may have to make funeral plans, write your will, say your goodbyes and be prepared for the worst… but you must hope for the best. Hope for the 11th-hour miracle.
Otherwise it’s going to be obvious who has won this battle—and it won’t be you. Never lose hope.
In closing …
Pain and sickness is part of this life we live. It doesn’t come from God; it comes from the evil that is at work here in the earth. If you’re grappling with sickness and disease, live life as fully as you can. Keep your perspective hopeful and fight for your healing. God’s purpose for your life hasn’t ended. There is still life to be lived.
Laura Woodworth is a screenwriter and producer with Source Entertainment and director for Steve Gray Ministries, a ministry focused on touching Israel and the Jewish people.
