There are many people who live with the persuasion that
God intends for His Saints to live in perfect health. The first objection to
this theory is Paul's thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7).
Paul begged God to heal this physical infirmity. God had
other plans, and reminded Paul that His grace was sufficient to help Paul live
with this issue (2 Corinthians 12:9).
God often heals, but He also uses our affliction to teach
us patience, to remind us to trust Him and to bring glory to His name (John 9:3).
God is not sadistic or unfeeling. He does not want to punish
or afflict His people with suffering; however, God uses our attitude in our
adverse physical conditions as a witness of His goodness and grace.
When we smile in our pain, continue serving Him in spite
of our misery, maintain a positive outlook regardless of how much we are
suffering, God gets the glory.
People are amazed that we keep going, when life smacks us
down. They want to know how we can deal with this trial with such a confident stance.
People bemoan their misfortune, but authentic Believers trust God always.
God will heal some illnesses; yet, allow others to get
worse instead of better. Every person must succumb to death in one way or
another. God knows the day and hour of our homecoming to heaven (Job 14:5).
A peaceful passing in our sleep, the result of a
prolonged illness, a traffic accident or a natural disaster may claim our life.
However, the end result is the same - we enter our eternal glory with the Lord.
We can thank God for our thorn in the flesh and live with
it with patience as Paul did His. When God is through using the infirmity to
work out His will in our life for His glory, He will heal us in this life or
the next.
Prayer:
Father God, death is the ultimate healer. Some people
look at death as defeat; but Jesus took the sting out of death (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).
We no longer dread passing from this life to the next, because the end result
is an eternity in Your presence.
We cannot thank You enough for sending Jesus to reverse
the curse on this earth, which came as a result of Adam and Eve's disobedience.
Although we may experience physical illness during our lifetime, we promise to
trust in Your goodness as You use it for Your glory.
Thought for the Day:
Through suffering, our soul is strengthened, our witness
pronounced, and our trust in God enhanced, as we realize that God's love is
greater than our affliction.
