Visit the Sick

If you’ve ever been ill for any length of time, you know it can be isolating. There’s a sense of loss, even if it is temporary. Whether it’s the flu or early pregnancy, an injury or some other illness, days or weeks may be lost. If it’s something that lasts longer, like cancer, it can be hard to reach out. A visit might offer hope. So, visit the sick.

Not for You

You might not know what to say or how to act. Do you bring flowers? Do you bring food? How long do you stay? Do you call or text? Maybe they’d like a book or some music to extend your impact. Ask them. Inquire about what they want. Ask them what the need most. Prompt them to tell you how you can help.

It is so easy to forget about the people in your life who are not right in front of you. Coworkers and associates, family members, and neighbors tend to come and go. We get busy. Our modern lives are very demanding. If you work in pro-life, you know we are always being accused of only caring for the baby in the womb and disregarding the woman’s needs. She could be too sick to work. Supporting her could mean the difference between life and death. A visit might be just the thing to help the process of healing.

What if you’re sick?

If you have some long term illness that leaves you incapacitated or suffer some trauma with a long-term rehabilitation, you might still do the visiting.

I have been very ill for 15 months. So sick, I don’t drive much. I don’t even walk some days. On my worst days, it is really hard to reach out to others, but I remember the words of Jesus. Matthew 25:36 notes that Jesus recognizes our efforts to care for people as efforts to honor Him. When everything seems darkest, we can be a bright spot for someone.

Social media is a great place to find people to encourage. When people are home sick, they might be online. If you are too sick to physically go visit, you can still make a difference. You can still make someone smile or lift their spirits. It could be that you remind someone who is able to go visit and bring tangible help to that person.

When we are sick we feel alone. I think that it is important to remember that we are never really alone. We need each other. Others are in similar circumstances too. Isolation tends to make us vulnerable. I think of the way the lion hunts. She picks off the vulnerable, the weak, the young, or the straggler. When the herd stays together in tight formation, it is harder for a lion attack.

Our adversary, the devil, roams around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, according to 1 Peter 5:8. He comes to steal, kill, and destroy, according to John 10:10.

So, let’s keep our eyes open to those vulnerable within our sphere of influence. The pregnant teen, the elderly widower, the arthritic aunt, the drug addicted cousin, that missing coworker or the family from church. Anyone who seems to have suddenly dropped off the face of the earth might be in need of a visit and you might be he only one who can fill that need.

Have a great day. Visit the sick. Make it count.