When you deal with chronic illness, it isn’t easy to always stay upbeat or hopeful.

You feel as if God can not use you because you struggle to even leave your house, let alone go out into the world and preach the gospel.

Bettie Gilbert and her husband Barry learned over the years that not even chronic illness, various attacks on their joy, and heartache could stop God from using them to further his kingdom.

That’s the story that is written in Bettie and Barry’s new book Abiding in Him: A Life Together in Ministry.

This beautiful book which can also be used as a devotional was written in the past year by Bettie and Barry and is published by Chronic Joy, a wonderful organization that Bettie is a part of. The organization helps support those who struggle with chronic illnesses.

The book is full of inspiring stories, poems, Bible verses, and reflective questions to help bring you through your own trials, questions, and journey, whether you are in ministry or not. Each chapter ends with a beautiful prayer and three questions to help you focus on your own life.

This is a book for those of you in ministry, yes, but for any of us who face trials no matter what we do in life.

This is a book full of hope in a hurting world, a reminder though how God worked through Bettie and Barry’s life that he can and will do the same for us — maybe not in the way we want or expect but in a way that we need and will, many times, blow us away.

You can learn more about Bettie and Barry’s beautiful book on the Chronic Joy webpage. (https://chronic-joy.org/abiding-in-him/) or you can order it right from Amazon.

Just a closing, thought, Bettie Gilbert’s writing changed the way I think about chronic illness, especially the one I deal with. Her writing reminded me that we are called to worship God in all things, even the hard things. She made me think about how for those of us with a chronic illness will rejoice that much more in heaven because we will know what it is to not have full health on earth and then realize it in our heavenly bodies.

Thank you, Bettie, for your inspiration, your words, and your faithfulness.

To read Bettie’s past words about her journey through ministry and life check out her archived posts on her blog (as she’s currently in retirement from blogging).