During this time of physical pain that has brought me back to the U.S. for a time, God has been showing me in Scripture about "greater things" (John 14:12-14) that He is doing, which I believe are eternal things. Physical healing is truly great, but God is also doing eternal things, in and through us, that are even greater.
Bruce and Mabel Callender, who started the OMS (One Mission Society) work in Mozambique, sent me a book about two of the founders of OMS, Charles and Lettie Cowman, The Story Behind Streams in the Desert, which is Lettie Cowman's journal during the last year of her husband Charles' life.
What God continues to show me is that His higher thoughts and ways are for greater things, whether or not they include physical healing. We praise God for healing when it comes, in life or death, but we can know that He is doing eternal things. As I read the book, I was encouraged to see that Lettie had come to the same realization.
"There came to me today the thought which I believe was given me of God that there is something greater than healing for us. God may have a far deeper thought than just healing. We shall yet see it...God is using this affliction to teach us of Himself and when it is complete we shall find that we have more than healing."
(L. Cowman)
I do believe that God will heal me in this life. It's hard to wait on Him, feel pain, and trust in His will, but I know that He is doing greater eternal things.
Charles and Lettie were living in Los Angeles at the time of Charles' death, where the OMS offices were. I visited the cemetery where they are buried here to reflect and thank God for the extraordinary things He did through their lives, their suffering, and their faithfulness.
