Bible Reading: Psalm 34:1-15; 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

Thea inhaled the mist from her nebulizer. She felt her chest muscles relax as air rushed in. Just a few minutes before, an asthma attack had robbed her of her breath. "How do you feel now?" Mom asked as Thea let out a breath.

"Better," Thea said. "I wish I didn't have asthma."

"I know," Mom said. "But thank God we have this medicine when you do have an attack."

"Mom, why doesn't God just heal my asthma like I've asked Him to?" asked Thea. "Doesn't He like me?"

"I don't know why God heals some people and not others. Even when Jesus lived on earth, some sick people weren't healed. But we know that Jesus loved them and that He loves you because He died so we could have our sins forgiven."

"Then why pray about it if God isn't going to heal me?" Thea asked. "I still have the medicine to make me feel better when I need it."

"Remember when we took you to the emergency room during your first asthma attack?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, that was scary," Thea said. "I could hardly breathe at all! Then Dr. Singh came. He knew what medicines I needed."

"Maybe since you have your medicine, we don't need Dr. Singh anymore," Mom suggested.

"But Mom, he's in charge of my treatment plan!" Thea protested.

"You're right, Thea. We still need Dr. Singh--and we also need God. When we pray, we're asking God to take charge of our lives. God loves you and is working for your good. In fact, God gave the knowledge to treat asthma to doctors like Dr. Singh. Your medicines came from the earth He created. Your doctor isn't here for every attack, but we trust and follow his treatment plan. We don't know all the ways God is working in our lives, but we know He loves us and is always with us, even when doctors can't be. We can trust that God knows just what we need and is bringing about good, even when He doesn't answer our prayers the way we ask."

Thea sighed. "Then I guess the best treatment plan for my asthma is to keep praying and let God be in charge."

– Heidi Schmidt