We often look at our lives and the lives at others and ask our selves, how come bad things happen to good people, how come good people suffer while those who are notorious seem prosperous? Why is there so much sickness and suffering of the innocent.?
These are all valid questions, and in our human sense of fairness can seem quite justified. These very questions can lead the strongest skeptic down the road of questioning God, or the hard hearted to be wrought with anger. What is the answer? Is there an answer? There Is!
First of all let me assure you there is a God that loves you, and always has your best interests at heart; even when you are suffering.
There are different ways in which we suffer; I want to look at 1 of them.
Sickness
Sickness: The bible describes three reasons we get sick:
Sickness Unto Death:
Hebrews 9:27 --- Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment
Ecclesiastes 8:8 --- as no one has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has power over the time of their death.
Psalm 90:10 --- Our days may come to seventy years,
or eighty, if our strength endures;
Sickness Unto Chastisement
John 5:14 “Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you”
Leviticus 26:15,16 “and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, 16 then I will do this to you: I will bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and sap your strength.”
Leviticus 26: 27,28 “If in spite of this you still do not listen to me but continue to be hostile toward me, 28 then in my anger I will be hostile toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over.”
2nd Chronicles 21:18, 19 “After all this, the LORD afflicted Jehoram with an incurable disease of the bowels. 19 In the course of time, at the end of the second year, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great pain
Sickness Unto the Glory of God
John 9:1-3 “As Jesus went along; Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
John 11:4 “When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”
Job 2:1-7 “On another day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.” “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.-------Job 42:12 “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first part…”
I have used quite a few scripture references to show that there are three strong cause and effect relationships why God allows sickness throughout history. (Please take note that I stress the word allows and not causes). Let’s now examine them more closely.
First let’s look at sickness unto death:
We all must die. That is a direct effect of Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden. He gave up everlasting life on Earth and therefore all generations face the grave. I know many like to argue that in early history in Genesis life spans were much longer but that’s a topic for another day. Therefore unless we die in a tragic accident sickness is part of this world and many of us get sick to die.
Next let’s look at Sickness as a form of punishment from God.
This is not a topic people like to examine generally; Christian or non-Christian. None of us are perfect, we all make mistakes and we all make God angry from time to time. As a loving Father, God disciplines us to help build us not to break us; we will find our selves being broken if we don’t heed God’s discipline when he has decided it is our time to learn something and we resist, and resist. God will discipline those that have promise to Him, but someone who is constantly refusing to open the door to Him rarely sees the discipline of God in their lives. God will try to get their attention from time to time, a wake up call, but constructive discipline requires a contrite heart. Sickness can come in all forms, a small nudge from God, to a major wake up call to the unbeliever.
Lastly Sickness unto the Glory of God:
If you are not a believing Christian it is almost impossible to wrap your mind around this one. The bible says that the things of God seem like foolishness to the natural man, this is usually one of them. Why because we usually like to “ONLY” think of God as all Loving and never with a strong hand. We need to remember that His ways are not our ways. There is a war in the heavenlies between the demonic forces of Satan and the Angelic Army of God! When we here on Earth see God’s glory, our faith grows, people get saved, and revival comes. When the angels in heaven behold God’s glory hundreds of thousands of angles rejoice and God’s forces receive power! So to understand that sickness is there so there healing, loving, compassionate power of Jesus Christ can be witnessed is a vital thing to understand.
How do you know the difference?
Look at your life and look at each area of sickness…
Punishment: Is your life right with God? Is your heart right? Is your conscious clear? Are you practicing the Word of God daily, are you praying? Is there any area God might be trying to get your attention in? Maybe you never asked Jesus to be your personal savior?
Glory of God: Are you praying for healing, are you asking those you know and who care about you, to pray for you, have you called on the elders off your church to pray over you and anoint you with oil? Are you keeping the faith like Job, or are you cursing God and giving up?
Sickness unto death: we should never give up prayer, we should always be thankful and reverent in our conversations with God, if its our time for Him to call us home then that’s His decision and its our responsibility to be ready (spiritually).
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