So, how does one benefit from being loyal to God? God has said in Hebrews 13:5: “Not at all will I leave you, not at all will I forsake you, never!” and again in 1 Peter 5:7: “casting all your anxiety onto Him, for He cares for you.” God cares about those who are His children and if you will be faithful to Him, He will be faithful to you.

He is ever watching over His children and although this does not mean bad things won’t ever happen, it does mean we are able to turn to Him when the hard times come and He will comfort and help us when we are distressed by the things that happen in this life.

It also means we have the hope that if we are faithful till death we will receive eternal life with Him in heaven (Revelations 2:10). So, whatever happens in this life, it will all be made up for in the life to come. We can endure knowing that this life is but a short time (James 4:14) compared to an eternity in the life to come.

Note: I am using bible verses to back up my statements and if you do not have a bible you should get one. You can download a bible program that contains several versions and commentary using the link above.

So, how has God helped me personally? Let me tell you, I was in bad shape when I learned to turn my life around and return to faithfully serving God. This has helped me in ways I can’t even explain, but I will try to tell some of it. As you read in the introduction (hoping you read it), I am  a disabled veteran and have been disabled since 1984 receiving  disability checks from both social security and the veterans administration that pay the bills.

I live modestly, but have plenty (as God has promised His children). At the age of 24 I had a psychotic episode that resulted in my being admitted to the base hospital and was subsequently diagnosed with schizophrenia and told that I probably would not be able to work for the rest of my life.

I was shocked. How could I not work. I was raised with a very strong work ethic and in the church of Christ, although I had fallen away since leaving home and joining the Navy at age 18. Still, I could not imagine not working and when I was discharged from the Navy I went home thinking those military doctors were nuts and that I was fine.

Consequently I didn’t take my medication and went to work at a manual labor job that was really quite dirty and a horrible job, but I thought it would do until I could continue my college education in the future. Meanwhile I started attending services again at the local church, but was not too enthusiastic, although I needed God desperately with what I had been through.

About a year and a half later, I found out that the military doctors were right on and I began to hallucinate again and had some very bad episodes. To make a long story short I went back on my meds after a stay in the VA hospital and now many years later am much improved although I still hate being in crowds of people I don’t know and can’t handle too much stress in my life.

I renewed my faith in Jesus and in God after my Va hospital stay and am certain that God has been very instrumental in restoring me to good health and has continued to help me on a daily basis. I do not claim that this was miraculously done and it defiantly took years, but just keeping the faith and serving Him went a long way toward restoring my sanity and there may have been some healing involved as God may heal any physical ailment as he sees fit.

May God bless you and keep you till next time.