Did God Make You Sick?

If you’ve read my first book or read much of my Choose a Better Life ™ blog you know I’m a Christian.  As you you’ve gotten to know me either in person, through my writing, or through a workshop you know that I do not proselytize, but my love for Jesus permeates all that I do.  And it’s because of my relationship with God that I can be transparent sharing both the trials and victories I experience in life.

You may be wondering, “Why are you bringing this up now?”  Good question.  The reason is simple.  People often have two questions for me.  First, “What does your faith have to do with your journey to good health?” and secondly, “If you believe in God, why did He make you sick?”

The answers to these questions are actually the same.

1)      I believe God has a plan in all this.  Although I may not be able to see His complete plan, I do get glimpses from time to time and every glimpse is an encouragement to keep moving forward.

2)      He never wastes anything.  If we let Him, God uses every experience to grow us, strengthen us, draw us closer to Him, and impact others around us.

3)      There are wonderful benefits to being sick. Yes, I said benefits.  Although this is not the life I had envisioned for myself, it is a wonderful life nonetheless.  I have relationships I would not have had otherwise. I appreciate life and life experiences like never before.  I am much more aware of the people around me and across the globe in a way that only comes from facing my own challenges.

For more on this see my blog post Fighting for the Future.

Let me clarify something.  I am not dealing with health issues because I am being punished or because I did something wrong.  God did not make me sick.  He has allowed me to become sick, but he did not cause my illness.  In fact, I believe He will heal me someday.  In His perfect timing He will heal me.  But, until then, I will do everything in my power to get well and continue to look for all the blessings this season of my life holds.

And one of those blessings has been learning that I can run to God with absolutely every emotion I have and every thought (grumpy or otherwise,)  sit in His presence, let Him calm my heart and leave with a joy that cannot be explained with words.

So in short, my faith has everything to do with my journey to getting well because healing is not just physical. It is also emotional.