What Good Is Sickness

The fingerprints of sickness is found everywhere. In every country, In every continent, In every state, In hot countries, and in ice-cold climates, In civilized nations and savage tribes, men-women and children alike get sick and die. Let us further observe, that all kinds of men get sick; meat-eaters, vegetarians, weak men, muscle men; all are eventually victims of sickness. Sickness is among all classes. Grace does not lift a believer above its reach. Riches will not buy exemption from it. Rank cannot prevent its assault. Kings and subjects, masters and servants, rich and poor, learned und unlearned, teachers and scholars, doctors and patients, preachers and members, all are eventually overtaken by this great foe. Sickness is of every sort and discription. From the crown of our head to the sole of feet we are liable to disease. There are more different kinds of sickness then we dare to count. No part of this complex human body is exempted. The heart stops, lungs collapse, liver degenerates, bones deteriorate; your brain will forget who you are. But not only is that sickness among humans, animals get sick also. Plants wither up and die. Th stars of heaven, when they’ve blink enough they too fall to the earth. Birds of the air get sick and fall to the ground. The fish of the sea get sick and die within the waters from whence they cometh. Sickness is often one of the most humbling and distressing trials that can come upon man. Medicine while helping one part of the body, will damage another. Sickness can unnerve the strongest man and confuse the holiest of men. Sickness is not preventable by nothing man can do. It will run down the fastest track star. It will break down the strongest weight lifter. It will tackle the greatest running back. Yes, the suppose faith-healers do not have enough faith to avoid sickness. No one is exempt. The universal prevalence of sickness is one of the indirect evidences that the bible is true. No where else can we find the answer. We must not be bamboozled by modern day medicine and technolgy that promises that man will out-live sickness. Sickness came not by the hands of the Almighty but by the failure of man to obey his creator. Sickness is a direct derivitive of human sin. Sin is a result of man trying to become God. But salvation is what happen when God became man. Sickness is an alien intruder that has dethrone man from his original position. If there had been no fall, there would be no sickness. When Christ die upon the cross, he heal our sin-sick souls but our bodies remain in a deteriorating state. But I say to you today, that strange as it may seem; there is some good in sickness. In our text this morning, we find that Lazurus’s sickness was not punitive but was to the glory of God. We must further observe that God loved Lazurus and still he became sick. Sickness is not neccessarily an indication of Divine abandonment. It may sometime be for the chastening of the saint or for the glory of God. In Theology, there is a doctrine called Theodicy, in which Theologians try to dfend the goodness of God amid the sufferings of the world. But I tell you to day that God needs no defence. He is sovereign and owes an answer to no one. Lazurus’s sickness did not cause Christ to move faster, nor this it alter the purpose of God. The principle here is that God will sometimes restore before from death or He will revive the soul subsequent to death. God will either remove the pain from the person or He will remove the person from the pain. We see Lazaruses everywhere in life, there are Lazuruses in nursing homes, there are Lazuruses in hospitals, there are Lazaruses hospices, there are Lazaruses on death beds and yes there are Lazaruses here today. I submit to you today, that sometimes we will have to live with sickness. Paul, Timothy, Tropomous and many others ministered amid illnesses. Let us consider what good is sickness:

A. SICKNESS HELPS TO REMIND MEN OF IMPENDING DEATH.

Most men live as though they are not going to die. They follow business and pleasures as if earth was their final. home. They plan and scheme for the future, like the rich fool. But I submit to you today, that a heavy dose of sickness will sober us up quickly.

B. SICKNESS HELPS TO MAKE MEN THINK SERIOUSLY OF GOD, THEIR SOULS AND THE HEREAFTER.

In times of health most people worship with thier back to God. But sickness will make us worship God face to face. Anything that causes men to think about God is a good thing.