Sick? It's not a test.

“But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5, NKJV)
 
“God must have given me this illness to test my faith.”
“God must be teaching me a lesson because of something I did wrong – that’s why I’m sick.”

Have you heard these words before? Or perhaps uttered them yourself at some point in your life? When disease strikes and we cannot understand why, we immediately assume that God must have had a reason for giving this to us. Maybe He is testing our faith. Maybe there is sin in our life that we need to get rid of so we can become well again.
But here is the earth-shattering, amazing, mind-boggling truth: GOD DOES NOT WANT YOU SICK, HE WANTS YOU HEALTHY!

Let me tell you a story about a boy who has been blind, right from the moment he was born. Imagine living in a world of darkness, never knowing the colors of the trees or the flowers, never seeing the faces of the people of he loves. Imagine how much he suffered every single day, how difficult life must have been for him. How many times must he have cried out in anguish, “God, why have I been born like this?” Think about it. How can a loving God subject someone to such a miserable life?

People started to assume that perhaps it was a payment for some sort of sin in his life – whether his own or that of his parents. Jesus responded to all the speculations by saying, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”  (John 9: 3)

Now you must be thinking, “See? God gave him the blindness so that He can show how great He is.” But is that really what He meant? Let’s read that again, with a simple change in punctuation.

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned. BUT THAT THE WORKS OF GOD SHOULD BE REVEALED IN HIM, I MUST WORK THE WORKS OF HIM WHO SENT ME WHILE IT IS DAY; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.” Then Jesus went on to heal him and give him his sight, right then and there!

The blind man was born blind not because he or his parents sinned! Jesus never said what the reason was, but one thing was clear - the work of God was to heal Him. The Light of the World could never have let that man remain in utter darkness. The work of Jesus was to bring health and healing to a sick and broken world.

Friend, whatever it is you are going through right now, know that God loves you so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die for you and redeem you from the curse and everything else included in it. At the Cross, once and for all, Jesus bore all sickness and disease – cancer, hypertension, diabetes, even the common cold! – so that you wouldn’t have to. He has already triumphed over all of these – the name of Jesus is greater than any other name. He is Jehovah Rapha, the Lord our Healer! Start receiving and enjoying your healthy life today!