So I read today a prayer request for a minister who has cancer. He's a great guy, only in his 50's, faithful to the ministry & I HATE that he has cancer!! I've known about it for awhile & it sounds very serious. I've prayed for him & have compassion about his situation.
But today I read a prayer request about him & it bothered me. Not that the person was asking for prayer but that this person believes that the minister's cancer is a direct attack of satan & not God's will for this man's life. I guess I just can't go that far.
Is sickness ALWAYS a direct attack of satan? I believe all sickness, disability, & death is a DIRECT result of the fall of man but not that it is a direct attack at a person by the devil. I can almost understand how someone could think something like that given the theology that is out there but if you look in the bible, it's hard to look at things that way. Is it always God's will that we live to 100 years old? Is it always God's will to heal? I have to say not. I don't understand everything but I KNOW we do not see great miracles in the world today & even if people were being healed every time they turned around, at some point you DIE! I can think of so many who have not been healed of things & died but I can't really think of many who have been healed of great sicknesses. I'm sure some of my Pentecostal/charismatic friends who read this may disagree with me. But be honest, it's just not happening very much. Does that mean that all the folks who died just didn't have "the faith" for their healing? Or did it mean that the ministers who prayed for them just didn't "have the faith"? Or did it just mean we live in a fallen world, life sucks but we are to trust God even when we "walk through the valley of the shadow of death"?
I think God is well pleased with folks who put their lives in His hands & say "tho He slay me, yet will I trust Him" Being a pastor's wife, I've seen how different people approach death. Some have encouraged me by their faith, while others have just made me sad for them & the unrest they had in their lives.
I've faced some tough battles in life but I've never faced cancer & hope I never will but whatever I do face (because I'll face something!- we all do!), I hope I can face it with courage & resolve to trust God no matter what happens.
We all want to be delivered from the fires of life but sometimes we have to walk through them....I don't mean that harshly, unfortunately it's just the way it is... Thankfully God will walk with us! I WISH just because we are christians that nothing bad ever happened to us but I don't see it like that! I used to think like that but I had a huge awakening when I lost the twins & almost my life also...it showed me how shallow & dangerous that type of thinking can be! Not just to the person who is going through the problems, but those who are looking on!
So I do pray for this wonderful man. I pray that God will do a miracle & heal him completely, relieve his pain....that's what I want for his life but I'm not sure what God wants.
"Our life maybe a crazy life but it's our life" I'm married to a pastor of a small rural church, who is also the prison chaplain. We have 5 kids, each with their unique story. I love gardening & we all love the outdoors. Our life is not the way we planned it to be, but we are learning to trust God in every area. Come and read about our life as we live it to the fullest!
I personally don't believe all illnesses are an attack by Satan. It is my belief that some illnesses are genetic - say, an inherited tendency towards particular diseases or disorders - or some that we bring on ourselves through poor health habits.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that God does take us through trials. It is how we address those trials that is important. Trials are meant to bring us closer to Him, shore up our foundational trust that He will provide for us always.
Our earthly bodies are meant to die. We are not made to be immortal in these current bodies we occupy. But within ourselves we have something that God so loves that He will give us everlasting life.
I love the writing you do, Yvonne! Keep up the good works you do. I offer up prayers for your friend.
How about a simpler solution. Bad things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. It's just random happenstance. No need for any supernatural agents at all.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, these things happen at a statistical rate that we would expect if there were no god or satan at all.
Applying Occams razor is a smart thing to do here. Why don't all people get healed? Because statistically..some people recover and some people do not. Prayer really has nothing to do with it at all. The statistics I bet are the same for muslims, christians, atheist..everyone.
Prayer is what people do when they need to feel like they're doing something..without actually having to do anything at all..
I don't think of illness as a supernatural thing either Twin daddy ( cute name) but I do believe in some cases people get healed. I have a friend who had cancer, then surgery then a spot on his lung. Big spot...they went in & the spot was empty! Now 4 yrs later, at each scan more new tissue is growing in there! The doctor has NO word for it ut a real miracle! Now why doesn't this happen more, I don't know! that's my real bonifed miracle.
ReplyDeleteI have twins, hence the name ;>
ReplyDeleteWhile spontaneous healings do happen from time to time in a certain percentage of patients, that's true for the followers of all faiths.