“When You’re Sick or Discouraged, Where Should You Turn First?” November 24
What do you do first when you’re sick, discouraged, or simply worn down by life?
Try to push through?
Search for answers?
Call the doctor?
Keep it to yourself because you don’t want to bother anyone?
James gives us a different starting point.
He tells the suffering to pray and the sick to call for the elders of the church.
That doesn’t mean Christians should reject doctors, medicine, or other practical help.
But it does raise an important question:
When trouble comes, how quickly do we turn our hearts toward God?
And what about those times when we’re so weak or discouraged that praying alone seems difficult?
James reminds us that God never intended believers to carry every burden by themselves.
But his words about sickness, anointing with oil, confession, and “the prayer of faith” also raise some important questions.
Does this passage promise that every sick Christian who prays will be physically healed?
Is sickness always connected to personal sin?
And why does James tell us to involve church leaders and other believers?
Today we’ll look at what James says about suffering, sickness, discouragement, prayer, confession, and the kind of steadfast faith that keeps an eternal perspective when life is hard.
