Why God Allows Sickness

This was after I had both my legs operated on. I told everyone I went in to have my lips done. LOL!

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 
But let patience have its perfect work,
that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 
James 1:2-4, NKJV

Do you count it "all joy" when you fall into various trials? It's not an easy thing to do, is it? It's hard to find joy when your life is falling apart. I speak from experience. I have had my fair share of trials. From a tumour the size of a grapefruit to an incurable disease to mistakes by doctors and a fall down a flight of stairs that left me partially disabled. According to the above verse, I am to count those trials as "all joy." With my five-month stay in the hospital last year that resulted in even more health problems, it seems a bit much to ask. But look at who wrote those words. 

James, the brother of Jesus, whose death is debated even to this day, prayed so much on his knees that they became calloused and hard. Some commentaries say he was stoned to death because he refused to deny the Lord. Others say he was beheaded. Either way, he endured his fair share of persecution, as did the rest of the Apostles. Peter was crucified upside down on a cross. The Apostle John was boiled in oil - survived! - and was then exiled to the Island of Patmos, where he would write the book of the Revelation. The Apostle Paul endured prison, snake bites, whippings, beatings, and shipwrecks. Knowing the extreme persecution each new believer faced, James still asked us to count our trials as "all joy." Why? Because they are necessary to grow in our faith. When our faith is tested, we learn patience.

But we need to, as James suggests, let patience have its perfect work. If we only look at our trials and all the bad things that happen to us, our focus gets really distorted. We become depressed when nothing positive happens in our lives. We become discouraged, and if we don't see the real reason for our trials, we might even begin to doubt that God even loves us. Trials, sickness, hardships, call it what you will. If you are enduring them and you don't look at their ultimate purpose in your life, you will not count them as all joy.

The Apostle James believed that we will be perfect and complete if we let patience have its perfect work. Equipped with what we need as a follower of Christ and as a witness to others. Patience isn't just exhibited, however, by how calm you are while waiting in a line of cars or at the grocery store checkout. Patience, in Greek, is hypomonē and literally means steadfastness, constancy or endurance. Strong's Concordance actually says, "In the NT, the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings."

So how loyal are you? If you are going through trials, ask yourself - are you ready to endure what comes your way and remain faithful to God no matter what? Even if what comes your way isn't something you would identify as "faith" related? Trials and sufferings don't come only in the form of persecution of your faith. They come as a testament to your faith. How you react to them will say a lot about your trust in God. If they seem to be never-ending (as in my case), don't get discouraged. God allows hardships for a reason. 

I wholeheartedly believe that when my troubles started, God allowed them to "perfect" me. Many years later, as I've learned to live with an incurable disease and a disability, I wonder when the "perfecting" will be done. But, I then remembered the Apostle Paul once begged for release from God over a thorn in his flesh. It wasn't a literal thorn. But it was an ailment that he asked God to heal. But God said no, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Paul moved on with that answer, accepting that God was using it for a reason. So following Paul's example, I believe God is using my trials for a reason. If more problems come, I simply see them as more tests of my faith. I firmly believe that God does not allow us to be tested unless He is positive we will still be faithful to Him and bring glory to His name. And that is why James says we can count it all joy, because when we remain faithful to God during trials and, yes, even tragedies, God is glorified. So whether we recognize it or not, our suffering is for a greater purpose.

Like it or not, suffering, tragedies and pain are a fact of life, but for the Christian, they are meant as an opportunity to let God's glory shine through. So embrace your suffering, your pain - whatever it is - and see it not as something that is meant to defeat you but as something meant to make your life a testament to God's glory.