Morning Meditation: The Road to Recovery
by Minister Denise N. Fyffe
It has been a long journey. This past year has taken a lot from me and given me peace and rest also. I have struggled, cried, sunk and am still rising. Sickness is no respecter of person or faith. That I will tell you for sure.
There are seasons in life when we are moving forward with strength, purpose and determination, and then there are seasons when God seems to call us aside and say, “Be still. Rest. Let Me take care of you.” Sometimes we understand why He is doing it, and sometimes we do not. Recovery can be humbling because it forces us to acknowledge that we are not as strong as we sometimes believe ourselves to be.
Related reading: The Devil’s Noose (Moving On).
For those who have read my books, including Fibroids: The Alien Assassins in My Body, Fibroids: The Fight Within, The Quiet Battle: Fibroids, Fertility & the Fight Within the Female Body, and Beneath the Belly: Fertility, Hormones & the Fight to Conceive, you will know that I have dealt with these issues for many years and share my experiences to help other women.
The Women’s Health series is available on Amazon.
I have spent years writing about the physical, emotional and sometimes deeply personal realities of living with these conditions. I have written because I know I am not the only woman who has sat quietly with pain, uncertainty, exhaustion and questions about what tomorrow will bring. Sometimes sharing our experiences becomes part of our ministry. We discover that the thing we thought was simply our personal battle can become a testimony that helps someone else survive theirs.
Dealing with tumors, pain, medication for so long, can drain you of your energy and motivation. That is why I have taken a sabbatical, just to rest and recover.
There is a difference between giving up and resting. I have had to learn that.
Rest is not surrender. Rest is sometimes obedience.
Even Jesus understood the necessity of withdrawing from the demands of ministry. Mark 6:31 records Jesus saying to His disciples, “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while.” They had been ministering, serving and responding to the needs of people, and Jesus recognized that they needed to step away for a moment.
That scripture has become increasingly meaningful to me. There are times when we want to continue because there is still work to be done, people to help, prayers to pray and responsibilities waiting for us. But the body has its limits. The mind has its limits. The emotions have their limits. Even those who love God, serve God and are called by God must sometimes stop and rest.
Elijah discovered this after one of the greatest spiritual victories of his life. In 1 Kings 18, he confronted the prophets of Baal and witnessed the fire of God fall from heaven. Yet immediately afterward, Elijah became exhausted, afraid and discouraged. He ran into the wilderness and eventually sat beneath a broom tree and asked God to take his life.
God did not respond by condemning Elijah for his exhaustion.
Instead, an angel brought him food and water.
Then Elijah slept.
He ate again.
And he rested.
Only afterward did he continue his journey.
There is something deeply comforting about that story. Elijah was still a prophet. His calling had not disappeared because he became exhausted. His relationship with God had not been cancelled because his body and mind needed rest. God understood what Elijah needed.
Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is sleep.
Sometimes the prayer is not another hour of warfare but allowing God to restore the body He gave us.
Sometimes faith looks like saying, “Lord, I cannot do this today. I need You to carry me.”
I have taken this time to totally rely on God as He restores my strength and gives me all-round peace and comfort. There are no words that would do justice to His manifold blessings in my life.
Psalm 23 has always reminded me that God does not merely lead us through the difficult places; He also leads us beside still waters. David wrote, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul” (Psalm 23:2–3, KJV).
Notice the language: He restores my soul.
There are things that only God can restore.
People can encourage you. Doctors can treat you. Medication can help. Family and friends can support you. But there is a dimension of restoration that belongs to God alone. He knows how to reach the places inside us that nobody else can see.
And sometimes restoration is gradual.
We live in a world that celebrates immediate results. We want the instant healing, the immediate breakthrough, the overnight transformation. But God often works through processes. A seed does not become a tree overnight. A wound does not necessarily disappear the moment it is bandaged. Recovery can take time.
So I am learning to give myself permission to recover.
I am learning that I do not have to prove my strength by ignoring my weakness. I do not have to pretend that everything is fine when it is not. I do not have to apologize for needing rest.
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” That scripture changes the way we look at weakness. Weakness does not mean God has abandoned us. Sometimes it is precisely in our weakness that we become more aware of His strength.
There have been moments when I wondered how much more my body could endure. There have been moments when I wanted to accomplish something and simply did not have the physical energy to do it. There have been days when my mind was willing, but my body said otherwise.
And I have had to learn to listen.
There is humility in recovery.
You have to accept that today may not look like yesterday. You may have been able to do ten things before, and now you can only do three. You may have once moved at full speed, and now you need to slow down. You may have been the person everyone depended upon, and now you need someone else to help you.
That is not failure.
It is humanity.
Psalm 46:10 tells us, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Sometimes we read that scripture as an instruction to stop worrying, but there is another beautiful dimension to it. God is reminding us that He remains God even when we stop moving.
The world does not fall apart because we rest.
The ministry does not cease because we take a breath.
The people we love will survive if we step away for a moment.
God is still God.
That has been one of the greatest lessons of this season.
I have had to place my health, my plans, my responsibilities and even my desire to accomplish things into God’s hands. And perhaps that is where they should have been all along.
Isaiah 40:29 says, “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.” Then Isaiah 40:31 gives us one of those promises that we can hold onto during recovery: “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength.”
The scripture does not say that those who rush will renew their strength.
It says those who wait.
There is something powerful about waiting on God.
Waiting does not mean doing nothing. It means trusting God while He works. It means allowing Him to determine the pace. It means believing that our lives do not have to be forced into existence by our own strength.
This season has also reminded me to be grateful for small things.
A peaceful morning.
A good night’s sleep.
The ability to get out of bed.
The ability to pray.
The ability to read Scripture.
The ability to write.
The ability to encourage someone else.
The ability to breathe without having to think about it.
When you have lived with pain or physical limitations for long enough, ordinary things stop being ordinary. They become gifts.
And I am learning to see them as gifts from God.
Lamentations 3:22–23 says, “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”
Every morning is another opportunity to experience His mercy.
Not necessarily another opportunity to accomplish everything on our list.
Another opportunity to live.
Another opportunity to trust.
Another opportunity to heal.
Another opportunity to discover that God is still with us.
So if you are reading this and you are also on a road to recovery, I want you to know that you are not alone.
Perhaps your recovery is physical. Perhaps it is emotional. Perhaps you are recovering from grief, disappointment, financial hardship, betrayal, exhaustion or a season that took more out of you than you expected.
Do not despise the recovery season.
Let God work.
Let Him restore you.
Let Him teach you.
Let Him strengthen you.
And do not be ashamed to rest.
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” That invitation is still available. We do not have to carry every burden ourselves.
I am still rising.
That is the important part.
I may not rise at the speed I once did. I may not have the same energy I once had. I may have to take a different road, slow down, stop occasionally and allow my body and mind to catch up with my spirit.
But I am still rising.
And I believe that God is not finished with me.
Philippians 1:6 reminds us that “he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” The God who began the work knows how to complete it.
Therefore, I am not afraid of this season.
I am learning from it.
I am resting in it.
I am praying through it.
And I am trusting God through it.
There are no words that would do justice to His manifold blessings in my life. Even in sickness, He has been good. Even in exhaustion, He has been faithful. Even when I could not understand what my body was doing, I could still trust the God who created it.
Keep me in your prayers, as I keep all of you in mine.
If you are struggling today, may God strengthen you. If you are sick, may He comfort you. If you are exhausted, may He give you permission to rest. If you are discouraged, may He remind you that your story is not over.
And if you are recovering, remember this: recovery is still progress.
You do not have to run today.
Just keep walking.
And if you cannot walk today, rest.
God knows where you are.
He knows what you need.
He knows how to restore.
Be blessed and be encouraged.
The Invitation
I invite you today to take a deep look and think about your life. Is God calling you to be baptized and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Have you been ignoring him? Have you been facing immense hardships and challenges? What can you do to take the first step? How can you trust that he will help you to take the next step?
Be encouraged.
Be bold. Answer the Call.
In Jesus mighty name, Amen.
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And remember, be encouraged.
About the writer:
Minister Denise N. Fyffe is a devoted Christian, author, and servant of God, whose life is guided by her faith and values. Since accepting Jesus Christ at a young age, she has made it her mission. She shares her journey and knowledge of the Bible with others. Besides her passion for writing, Minister Fyffe is actively involved in ministry outreach. She also engages in Christian mentorship and ministering the Word of God.
