Serious illness is a real challenge. The physical suffering is made worse by not knowing if you will recover and what will happen to your loved ones if you die. Your every waking moment becomes a prayer for God to spare your life and to help the people who are so worried about you. Suddenly, you have an entirely different viewpoint on what really matters in life.
When you do finally recover, there is no way to describe the gratitude you feel for Him getting you through it. And you feel a special pain when others are seriously ill -- or when they don't get well.
Do you wonder why you recovered when someone else didn't? You know it wasn't because you deserved to live more than they did. We always hear sad stories about children who die of cancer.
You may not learn why God chooses to let good people die until the day you have a chance to ask Him yourself. But you can be very certain about why He let you live.
The Bible says that someone who has suffered physically is finished with sin and lives the rest of his life for the will of God (1 Peter 4:1-2). In one way, that refers to Jesus being so focused on God's will for His life that He was willing even to endure a horrible death.
But the Bible also is challenging you to learn from your illness.
Did it make you realize how fleeting life is? Were you shocked at how quickly you can find yourself at death's door? Did it wake you up and make you realize how much you used to take for granted? Did you realize how precious time is and how important it is to not waste it?
So what are you doing with the gift of life God gave you? Are you taking your life and health for granted again? Are you living your own life and ignoring the fact that God rescued you from death?
Jesus and His followers met a man who had been born blind. The disciples asked if his disability was the result of someone's sin. Jesus replied that God had allowed the man to be born blind so His power could be displayed. He warned them to do God's work while it is day, because "night is coming when no one can work" (John 9:1-4).
Then Jesus healed the man, and everyone knew that God is powerful and that Jesus was His messenger.
God also healed you. Don't you think that was because He still had work for you to do?
Posted on
Mon, February 22, 2010
by D. James Kinnaird