When the time was right for David to take down Goliath, all it took was one smooth stone, in the right slingshot, aimed in faith, at the right target. Boom. Goliath down.

Sometimes when the weight of chronic illness towers over us and taunts us, it can feel like Goliath is always going to win.

Wrong.

Faith in God, who makes the right-sized stone and puts it in the right hand at the right time, can be the shot that takes down the giant of oppression. And that’s what I’m praying that my upcoming books will be for you and for many people with chronic illness.

For a while I talked about my next project as being one book, but it has turned into more than one. Right now I’m focused on three. I envision them being three stones that you can slingshot into the forehead of spiritual oppression, taking down the discouragement that can come with unremitting health challenges. That’s my dream for your experience with the books I’m writing.

As a subscriber to my emails, you’ll be the first to know when a book release date is announced!

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Recommended Reading

I’ve been reading some great books recently when I haven’t been writing (I love to listen to audio books while I cook and drive), and I wanted to recommend a few of them to you!

Fully Alive by Susie Larson – I first listened to this book as an audio book and it was so good I plan to go through it again more slowly and really chew on it some more. Susie Larson Live Facebook events are also very encouraging; I love to tune in and hear her whenever possible.

All Things New by John Eldredge – If you need a perspective shift about the daily grind, especially when life is hard, the unique vision Eldredge shares in this book should certainly do the job.

The Bible and Healing: A Medical and Theological Commentary by John Wilkinson – A.maz.ing. I loved this book so much, I wrote a whole blog post about it. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out at amylu-riley.com.

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Parting Thought

In her memoir Undone, about coming to terms with a life she didn’t plan on, Michelle Cushatt tells the story of getting good medical news and shooting an email back to her doctor saying that God is good and that people had been praying for her, and that their prayers had been answered. Her doctor gave a considerate reply, but basically said she believes God is good even when the news isn’t.

Sometimes it can feel like the only answered prayer is the one to which the answer was exactly what we wanted, or the only heard prayer is the one to which we can see the reason for the answer. But that’s just not true.

Living by faith means we won’t see a lot of what we might wish to see. And living by faith for any extended period of time with an unhealed physical condition means we have to keep putting our hearts where our mouth is when it comes to trusting God.

I’m praying for you for that kind of faith.

AmyLu

P.S. Do you know someone who might be interested in my emails, blog, or upcoming books? Share this email with them! All are welcome to subscribe here.

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AmyLu Riley is the author of Jesus as Healer: Miracles and Meditations in Luke.