"Difficult Patients" - Are You Hindering Your Own Progress?

As many of you all know, professionally, I work in the field of Radiology. On average, I see 15-20

patients/day. I see a variety of types of patients: men, women, young, elderly, rich, poor, healthy, ill, and the list goes on. I truly enjoy the work that I do. I am blessed to have the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives. I enjoy meeting so many different people everyday. I enjoy the moments we share and many times I am blessed by the brief conversations we have. I get to meet amazing people and so often they share little snippets of their lives with me. We smile, we laugh, sometimes (believe it or not) we are even moved to tears. While many of my patients fall in to the aforementioned pleasant category, unfortunately that is not always the case.

In the medical field, we often see patients who fall into a different category – one we tend to refer to as “difficult patients”. Now a patient may be labeled a “difficult patient” for a variety of reasons. For the most part, a patient who is described as “difficult” is labeled as such because they exhibit some type of behavior (intentionally or unintentionally) that impedes, complicates, or hinders the medical treatment being offered. This is exhibited in a variety of ways. For example, there are some patients who are angry and unpleasant from the moment they walk in the door. They are short with the staff, they are confrontational, and make it very difficult to treat them. They are unwilling to provide or make it difficult for you to obtain information necessary to provide them with the best possible care. Some patients are difficult to treat, or more challenging to treat because they do not trust that you have their best interests at heart. These people are suspicious of you and question everything. Some are difficult to treat because they uncooperative and do not follow instructions well. They do not take their medication as prescribed, don’t show up for appointments, or do not cooperate during an exam. These are just a few examples.

As medical professionals and doctors, the goal is (or should be) optimal health and healing. Speaking for myself personally, I am here to help. With this in mind, it perplexes me when I attempt to help someone, and instead of assisting in their own treatment and progress, they impede progress. As I began to contemplate this, I began to consider the ultimate Healer. Jehovah Rapha – the God who heals. I sat and thought, “Wow. How often are WE difficult patients?” Boom. It hit me hard. God loves us so much. He has so much for us. He wants the best for us. How often do we impede and or hinder His blessing and healing in our lives, because we are
“difficult patients”. Thank God, He is not like man. No matter how DIFFICULT we are (and we are difficult), yet HE loves us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Yet some of us are allowing the Difficult Patient in us, to separate us from His love. We allow anger to separate us from Him, we allow the enemy to get us so “upset” and skew our perceptions to the point that we become “mad” at God, not realizing He is the source of the healing we so desperately need. 2 Chronicles 7:14-15 says, “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Our Father desires to heal our broken hearts. If only we would soften our hearts… humble ourselves, and pray. How often do we impede our own progress because we are stubborn and angry? We cannot give the enemy our joy. He has come to steal, kill, and destroy and we have to recognize him for who he is.

Perhaps you aren’t angry, but maybe you are that difficult patient who doesn’t completely trust God. You go to Him for healing. You seek Him in prayer. But when He directs you, when He prescribes His word to you for healing, you don’t take it… or you skip doses. Or perhaps, when He initially prescribes His word to you, you take it earnestly. But after a few days, when you begin to “feel” better… you stop. You fall back into old habits. God’s word instructs us in Joshua 1:8, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

It is up to us to keep His commands. When we choose not to follow Him, we are only hurting ourselves, impeding our progress, and causing complications in our lives and spiritual health. In order to receive His promises, we must follow His instructions. We have to get to a point where we TRUST God and understand that He has our best interests in mind. The best thing is, what God prescribes for us NEVER has harmful side affects!! How much more should we trust in the Lord! His plan is to prosper us and to give us a hope and a future! 

My sisters, let us not become difficult patients. God has made Himself available to us all. He came that we would have LIFE and that more abundantly - salvation, healing, peace, joy, love, forgiveness, mercy... All we have to do is RECEIVE it. Believe in Him and receive it. Write His word on our hearts - and receive it. Accept Him as our Lord & Savior - and receive it. Profess His goodness - and receive it. Let us not be like those who He "came to" and "did not receive Him". 

1 John 1:11-13 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. ¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ¹³ who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

I have included a few comics here to put a smile on your face AND to give us something to think about. At some point in our lives we all fall under one of these categories or perhaps one or more that aren't listed. This is why we must be very intentional in our walk with Christ. We have to search our hearts and renew our minds to Christ daily. We have to make the conscious decision NOT to be a difficult patient, to receive the salvation Christ has made available to us, and to live the abundant life He has for us. If you feel in your heart that you fall under one of the "Difficult Patient" categories mentioned above:

1) Angry 

2) Unbelieving/doubtful/distrusting

3) Self-sabotage/not caring for yourself

4) Uncooperative

 I want to take a moment and pray for/with you. Let us pray.

"Lord, thank you so much for the sacrifice you made for us on Calvary.
Thank you for sending your Son, that we would have everlasting LIFE. You are so much more than amazing. Your love transforms. I pray that everyone reading this today would receive your love in their hearts. I pray that they would receive your loving sacrifice and come to know you as I do - as Savior, Healer, Peace, Joy, Life, and that more abundantly! Lord, touch each reader and soften their hearts today. Help them to let go of the anger that has been building up on the inside. Replace it with your love. Lord, help those who have been wavering in their faith. Help them to believe. Speak to their hearts. Reveal yourself to them in a special way. Father, touch my brothers and sisters who are finding it difficult to treat themselves well. Lord, I speak against every lie of the enemy seeking to convince them that they don't "deserve" your love, in the name of Jesus. For God, we know that YOU ARE LOVE. Help us all to receive it. Help us to write your word on our hearts, that we might not sin against you. Help us to understand that your plans are to prosper us and that as we acknowledge you, you will direct our paths. In your presence is the fullness of joy. Help us to get in and to stay in your presence. Thank you, Lord. We love you with our whole hearts. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen."

Love you all dearly,

LaCrea Bucknell