Can Illness Be A Blessing?
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(1) Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the Lord delivers them in times of trouble. (2) The Lord protects and preserves them— they are counted among the blessed in the land— He does not give them over to the desire of their foes. (3) The Lord sustains them on their sickbed.’ (Psalm 41:1-3)
Getting sick is unfortunately part of the experience we have at some point in our lives. Flus, fevers, upset stomachs, and other maladies come and go periodically, and though we may take vitamins and other precautions we cannot completely seal ourselves away to prevent catching a bug. The Lord can use illness, though, for His purpose.
Paul used an illness he had to provide the Gospel to the Galatians for the first time, per Galatians 4:13; it’s not clear what illness he had, but we can assume that he was likely sick enough to need a modicum of care, and was able to show that he was remaining faithful despite being afflicted. Paul doesn’t go into detail, but he may have shared the Gospel with those nursing him back to health, the doctor who was treating him, or those who provided food and shelter during his affliction. Paul also used the illness that Epaphroditus had to expand the Gospel to the Philippians in Philippians 2:25-30; Epaphroditus was from Philippi, and was, according to Paul, on his deathbed during his time with Paul, likely in Ephesus. Paul again doesn’t go into great detail but most likely went into continuous prayer with the Lord, along with physicians of the day treating Epaphroditus, until his health recovered. Paul then was able to send Epaphroditus back to Philippi to represent him and to provide someone able to share the Gospel with the people.
We also know Jesus used the afflictions of strangers to show His love and mercy, even up to the biggest affliction – death. The recorded healings of blindness and paralysis, and long-term bleedings and skin diseases that Jesus performed allowed Him to show His power as God Manifested in a way that would be seen as blessings, not in fear or terror. Those who had long-term afflictions were likely told that their conditions would never change; once paralyzed or blinded they would never regain the abilities to walk or see, even today with modern medicine these afflictions are not normally recoverable. However, having Faith, those afflicted were healed by Jesus completely!
The key in illness is having Faith; Paul had Faith that not only he, and later Epaphroditus, would be healed but that his affliction could be used to provide the Gospel to those needing to hear it. Jesus used the afflictions of others to show their Faith, even as ‘small as a mustard seed’, in His power and Lordship, could completely and miraculously heal them. There are faithful Christians today who use their afflictions to witness to those treating them and well as those who are going through the same illness and the same treatments. It’s not whether we will become sick, but it’s how we maintain our Faith and use our illness to provide the Gospel to others in our afflictions.
