Natethoughts

    No way! God only gives us what is good for us, right? This would have been my answer, until a few weeks ago that is. I was recently engaged in a conversation with a Pastor that made the claim that God doesn’t make people sick and that He only gives us what is good for us, and if Christians accept this reality that God gives sickness, they are living an inferior life. I will admit, this does sound like a correct assumption, especially since it is the view point of many popular Pastors and TV evangelists. You may hear them say that it is the devil that has made us sick and we should rebuke him. They will also tell us that it is God’s will that we should always be in good health and that  if we have enough faith, we can and should be healed. They will even go so far as to say if you give a large amount of money to their ministry, you can expect healing. But, is it possible that God not only allows sickness, but can be the afflictor of sickness? Can He be glorified by our suffering?

     We have several stories that clearly illustrate that God will allow sickness to fall on those who hate God as well as those who love God: 

 (Job 2) Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

 ³ 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.”

 ⁴ “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. ⁵ But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

 ⁶ The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”

 ⁷ 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. ⁸ Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.

Also this story of Paul:

(2 Corinthinians 12:7-10) Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

But does God ever give the sickness? 

 2 Samuel 2:6  

 ⁶ “The LORD brings death and makes alive; 
   he brings down to the grave and raises up. 
⁷ The LORD sends poverty and wealth; 
   he humbles and he exalts. 
⁸ He raises the poor from the dust 
   and lifts the needy from the ash heap; 
he seats them with princes 
   and has them inherit a throne of honor.

But isn’t all sin a direct result of sin? 

 (John 9) ¹ As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

   ³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

   It seems in this story that Jesus accredits this man’s ailments not to sin, but to the display of God’s work. 

   Now, I am in now way saying that we should not pray for healing if we or someone we love is sick, we should, but if they are not healed, who’s fault is it? The devil? Is it my fault? Do I not have enough faith? What if it is God’s will? What if we are giving the devil the credit while stealing the glory from God? 

  Im writing this while listening to a podcast from a pastor named Justin Peters, he has cerebral palsy. He has been faithfully preaching God’s word for years and praying for his healing even longer. I dare not take any joy away from him as he preaches by the grace of God, and I dare not take any glory away from God as He is strong in our weakness.