8 O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!
2 For Your arrows pierce me deeply, and Your hand presses me down.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin.
As an American physician, I had never encountered typhoid until I came to rural Ghana. Sure, I learned about Salmonella typhi in Microbiology classes; however, I really had no idea how thoroughly this disease could mess with someone’s body. Decades later, I have more knowledge of typhoid than I ever wanted.
I have seen people with holes in their intestines due to typhoid. I have seen people with typhoid pleuritis, an inflammation of the lining of the chest cavity. I personally suffer from fibromyalgia and arthritis-a gift from a bout of typhoid in July 2003 that has left every bit of my body aching. I have witnessed typhoid pneumonia, typhoid meningitis, and patients with jaundice from liver involvement. I have cared for patients with enlarged tender spleens due to typhoid. Ten per cent of all typhoid patients present with typhoid psychosis, and we just discharged a young man last week after he recovered from acute psychosis due to typhoid. These first verses from Psalm 38 graphically describe how many typhoid patients feel. I have included fibromyalgia in the title because typhoid has left me with that problem, and I know my experiences are typical for many others. As we go through this Bible study, you can fill in the blanks for whatever chronic problem plagues you, for most of the comments will still apply.
4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness.
6 I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.
7 For my loins are full of inflammation, and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.
9 Lord, all my desire is before You; and my sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart pants, my strength fails me; as for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.
Chronic typhoid can present as gradually increasing depression. Missionaries have called me, concerned that they have become emotionally drained and weak. Rather than prescribing antidepressants, I have advised them to undergo thorough treatment for typhoid. Weeks later, these same people have replied, thrilled that they now feel healthy and energetic. One missionary kid of our acquaintance contracted typhoid in 1991 just before leaving Ghana to attend school in the U.S. She remained undiagnosed until she returned to Ghana four years later and complained to experienced physicians here. They immediately diagnosed typhoid, treated her, and ended four years of misdiagnosis and suffering.
11 My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague, and my relatives stand afar off.
12 Those also who seek my life lay snares for me; those who seek my hurt speak of destruction, and plan deception all the day long.
One of the ways I can tell a patient has typhoid is that they repeatedly describe all their symptoms in great detail, as if they fear that I won’t believe them without these repetitions. Typhoid affects every part of the body, and when a patient begins complaining of pain from their head to their toes, I start considering which typhoid treatment will be appropriate. (Parents of children with typhoid will do the same thing, emphatically describing all the symptoms as if they feel I might be deaf or indifferent.) At the same time, many family members of patients with chronic typhoid become fed up with their complaints and begin “standing afar off.”
13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; and I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.
14 Thus I am like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth is no response.
One of the ways I can tell I am coming down with typhoid is the sudden onset of severe weakness. When I am in the throes of typhoid, I don’t care about anything; I simply want to lie down and rest as much as possible. Even speaking seems to be too much effort.
15 For in You, O Lord, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me, lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.”
17 For I am ready to fall, and my sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I will declare my iniquity; I will be in anguish over my sin.
19 But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong; and those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.
20 Those also who render evil for good, they are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord; O my God, be not far from me!
22 Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!
Many Christians who have contracted typhoid, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, or other similar problems, find they are accusing themselves of spiritual failure, whether or not this is accurate. At such times, it is far better to suspend judging oneself and wait for God to handle things.
At the end of the day, those of us enduring chronic health problems and say with the psalmist, “Do not forsake me, O Lord; O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!” The good news is that God WILL help us. I have continued to work as a missionary surgeon with fibromyalgia for twenty-three years because of the grace of God. Are there times when things hurt? Yes. But God has been merciful, and each time I have begged Him for strength and courage, He has been faithful to give me what I need to help my patients.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, many who are reading these words are struggling with chronic pain and other problems. Please speak to their hearts and help them to know that YOU ARE SUFFICIENT. You have said in Philippians 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Help these beloved people to call on You, knowing that You will surely help them. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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