1 Peter 2:24, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”
In my pastoral experience, the most difficult promise for people to believe is God’s promise of physical healing. The reality of suffering and excruciating pain, in the form of sickness and debilitating disease, can sometimes cause the strongest Christian to question God’s goodness. A parent having to cope with a child who has cancer can raise more doubt about God’s existence and goodness than all of the greatest atheistic arguments combined.
Here are just some of the questions I hear from people concerning God and suffering, “Why does a good God allow the world to have sickness and pain?” “Why does pain and suffering affect children?” “Why do bad things like sickness and disease happen to good people?” These kinds of questions were even asked by people in the Bible. The answer? Sin.
The reason for sickness is sin. The reason for pain is sin. The reason for evil is sin. Sin caused the universe to experience what God never intended.
When Adam and Eve sinned, the perfect world was affected with sin and sin brought sickness, sickness brought suffering and eventually those who suffer will die (Hebrews 9:27). Remember, the curse of sin doesn’t mean people who are sick, today, are being punished because of their personal sins; God forbid. However, sickness was unleashed upon the earth, along with natural disasters and evil, because of man’s sin. Thankfully, God uses what was meant for evil for our good; either in this life or the one to come (Romans 8:28).
Pagan karma based thinking affected some of the most faithful disciples. They asked Jesus concerning a blind man, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus replied, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:2-3). God has allowed mankind to live in a fallen world so that all who come to Him, in faith, might experience His works of love and grace.
The Bible teaches, in Romans 1-7, that because of Adam’s sin, the penalties of sin, sorrow and sickness have been dealt to all mankind. We might experience these things differently, but no one is immune to them. At some point in their lives, everyone will be sick, have sin and face sorrows. For this reason, Jesus came to die on the cross and break the curse of sin. Matthew Henry wrote, “Come, and see the victories of the cross. Christ’s wounds are thy healings, His agonies thy repose, His conflicts thy conquests, His groans thy songs, His pains thine ease, His shame thy glory, His death thy life, His sufferings thy salvation.”
According to Peter in the above passage, the prophecy of Isaiah 53 (which He is quoting) referred to Jesus and the promise to remove all of our sins, sorrows and sicknesses. When we pray to God, in faith, we can be healed because of the wounds Jesus received on the cross, just like we can receive forgiveness of our sins and comfort in our sorrows. After a crippled man was healed, Peter declared in Acts 3:16, “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.” Pray in faith, today, for Jesus to heal you and those who are sick around you!
REFLECTION
Do you believe Jesus is your Healer?
ACTION
- Ask God to remove any doubt or offense you may have towards Him because of the sickness you or others have faced in life.
- Pray for God to heal all of your sicknesses and diseases.
- Have faith in God that He is your Healer in this life and the one to come.
