Sickness 675
One observation is certainly beyond dispute, which is: that were
we to be healed by dependence on God, we would derive such
spiritual profit from it as a cure by medicine could never accord us.
When sick in bed how deeply people repent of their past lives; but
once they are healed through use of medicine they drift further away
from God. Yet they would not fall into such an after-effect were they
to be healed like others by waiting and trusting in God. These latter
ones confess their sins, deny themselves, trust in God’s love, and
depend on His power; they accept the life and holiness of God; and
they establish a new indivisible relationship with Him.
The object lesson God purposes us to learn in sickness is to cease
from all our own activity and trust Him thoroughly. How often in
anxiously seeking cure we are driven on by a heart of self-love. We
forget God and the lesson He wishes to teach us. For if God’s
children were void of self-love, would they so eagerly strive after
healing?—if they have truly ceased from their activities, would they
turn to the assistance of human medicine? Not at all. They would
examine themselves quietly before God, seeking to understand first
the meaning of their sickness, and afterwards asking Him for healing
on the basis of the Father’s love. The contrast between leaning on
medical help and leaning on God’s power is that in the former case
the person anxiously seeks for a cure while in the latter case he
calmly aspires to ascertain God’s will. It is because believers are full
of self-love, impetuous desire and their own strength that they so
seek for a cure when sick. They would react differently were they to
learn to depend on God’s power. To trust in God for healing,
believers must honestly confess and forsake their sins and be willing
to offer themselves utterly to Him.
Many today are sick. In each of these sicknesses the Lord has a
special purpose. Whenever “self” relinquishes its power, the Lord
will heal. If Christians refuse to bow, if they refuse to gladly receive
the sickness as the best from God, and if they search for means other
than God, they will be filled with sickness again even after being