It is important to find a physician who understands this, and seeks your active participation in decisions related to treatment. Therefore, choose life. We believe in a God of life, as shown to us in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many people with HIV have gone back to school to earn or finish a degree. Some have stayed alive with the hope created by an exciting project that they always wanted to do.
Longterm survivors find meaning and purpose in life and even in the disease itself.
The Psalms are full of laments of people who keep asking where God is, or why God is allowing this to happen. Through much of the book of Job, Job rails against God, demanding an explanation from God for the seemingly pointless sufferings of his life. Longterm survivors have usually had a previous experience with beating a life threatening illness, or overcoming difficult situations and events. We rejoice in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. For those of us with HIV who are Gay or Lesbian, coming out may be the difficult passage that taught us we have the strength and faith to face life's challenges, including physical and spiritual challenges like HIV infection.