Why Does God Heal Some People But Not Others?
Why would God ever choose not to heal a person? Isn’t health and wholeness in this life what He wants for us?
- Does He withhold healing because we have unrepented of sin?
- Or is it because we lack faith?
- Or is it because we have simply not asked?
Any of these factors can, and often do, lead to a situation where healing is withheld. But what about situations where none of these are a factor? Consider Paul’s prayers for his own healing 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. God’s reasons for answering “no” were not because of sin in Paul’s life or some lack of faith. God said “no” because He had something much bigger and much better in mind for Paul that could only be achieved through perseverance in suffering.
For believers, that bigger and better goal God has in mind is to be transformed into a new type of person who thinks and acts like Jesus himself Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:12-15. That transformation is what makes us fit to receive God’s gift of eternal life. If we were to received that gift of eternal life without having first undergone this transformation in the way we think and act… eternity could end up being a very unhappy place.
God’s purpose was that Paul be moved forward towards this goal through physical suffering. Even in this physical suffering Paul was following the example set down before by Jesus Himself Hebrews 2:10.
Note: the word translated perfect is teleos, it means complete or a finished product. In common English usage perfect is used to mean without flaw, defect or deficiency. Jesus did not have any flaw or deficiency… He was without sin, He was not lacking in faith… yet He was made perfect… meaning He became everything God intended and willed for Him to be… a king, a priest, the firstborn of many brothers… this is the perfection God wants you to achieve… which will only be complete when you are resurrected.
As with Paul’s life, our present lives with all their trials and suffering should be viewed as a training ground. Preparing us for a future that is bigger and brighter than anything we might enjoy in our present physical lives.
Why then does God choose to heal some people?
We cannot possible know all the reasons why God chooses to heal or not to heal. However, two broad categories shine forth in the scriptures:
- God heals because He is compassionate. He desires to act with kindness and gentleness towards all human beings. In the greater world around us human disobedience, indifference, and disbelief often disrupt the flow of His compassion.
- God heals to demonstrate His power to perform works in this world John 9:2-3. He often heals for the purpose of building and strengthening newly budding belief in Himself either in the person being healed or ones looking on.
By contrast Paul’s strong faith was tested and strengthened when he was required to persevere through the trial of not being healed.
Only God, who knows the heart, can properly assess a person’s life. Only God can know whether to heal, or not heal will best move the person forward to His goal of building the mind of Christ in them.
The just must live by this faith.
4 Reasons People Get Sick/Injured/Damaged
1. Punishment for sin
- 1 Corinthians 11:27-34 (personal)
- Numbers 12:1-15 Miriam opposes Moses and is punished with leprosy, Moses pleads that she be healed, God heals her after 7 days (social)
- 2 Samuel 24:10-16 David disobeys God’s instruction not to perform a census. The nation of Israel is stricken by plague for 3 days (personal and social)
In these cases confessing your sin, repenting and changing your ways, and a plea for God’s mercy would be the best course of action. Please make not that in each of these cases the root issue was PRIDE.
2. Bad Decisions
A bad decision might be to disobey God’s law [for example a fornicator who contracts some form of STD], but it doesn’t have to be. It could simply be a mistake, or based on faulty or lacking information. For example:- A person decides to take a job in a coal mine, gets lung cancer. Not knowing any better a person follows a poor diet and gets sick. A football player plays hard and gets a concussion In each case the decision was not a matter of sin but the person is still reaping the consequences of the decision they made.
- A person lives in a community where misguided civil engineering leads to water contamination and they get sick. Someone involved in city planning might have made their decision as a result of sin [such as greed], or they might just not have known any better. Either way, the person who gets sick is not at fault… but they are still sick.
In these cases personal sin is not the root of the problem.
A person might do a lot of soul searching thinking their sickness or injury is punishment for sin in other areas of their life. It might be, but it doesn’t have to be. If so, then confessing and repenting of sin… while god for the soul… may have nothing to do with the affliction.
Seeking God’s merciful intervention and healing makes sense. But, I think He would also expect you to change your behavior [diet], or circumstances [where you choose to live, whether to continue playing football].
Which leads us to...
3. Time & Chance
John 9:1-3 the disciples were part of a society that saw every sickness and affliction as part of a grand scheme of sin punishment repentance healing. Jesus clearly told them “nope, sometimes stuff just happens”… see also Luke 13:1-4.
Personal Observation: God has purposefully designed the universe with little random events [quantum level anomalies] that create physical reality that is less 100% predictable. Stuff happens.
4. Affliction & Testing
We have already mentioned Paul’s affliction, another example is Job.
Job was afflicted with terrible loss and sickness for no other reason than to see what he would do. I do not consider this to be some sort of amusing game God was playing with this righteous man. The affliction served a purpose and left Job a better, wiser, more faith-filled man than before!
You could say Job was transformed in his way of thinking to better reflect the mind of Christ… and in this way he was “perfected” or completed through suffering.
Notice again that the target is matters of the heart and mind… and the resulting attitude is humility
Job 42:1-6
How Does Sickness Transform A Person?
Wouldn’t it make a lot more sense for God to give me a nice long life so I can do lots of bible study, learn and grown in knowledge. Wouldn’t a longer life give me more time to put on the mind of Christ?
2 Corinthians 12:7 humility… it was God’s power not Paul’s intellect or personal righteousness that forever changed the world. God doesn’t need you, He wants you.
Hebrews 5:8 obedience/submission/trust even if he does not deliver you. Think of Daniel 3:16-18 where Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to King Nebuchadnezzar: “we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us[c] from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if He does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”.
1 Peter 4:19 perseverance, James 1:2-4
Psalm 119:67 to learn to avoid sin… affirms that choices have consequences
Conclusion:
1 Peter 1:6-7
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