Q: Why must some suffer through disease or cancer to humble us before God?
I don’t feel that God causes suffering, therefore I don’t believe that God inflicts us with diseases or cancer for the purpose of humbling us. I don't blame God for diseases. We should always remember that we are biological creatures.
We are animals that are part of God's creation; part of the eco-system. As part of that system, we are susceptible to contaminates and viruses and sickness. I feel that most of these come from human neglect of being good stewards of the creation. So, I feel that humans are the source of our own suffering. For generations and generations we continue to destroy and take for granted everything in creation that we have been given by God. Disease is a horrible consequence of being a biological creature surviving in an environment that we have polluted and destroyed over generations. It's not the fault of the person that has the disease.
On a positive note, in the modern era, God has given us so much through the advancement of science about diseases that have been around for years. God loves us and continues to guide skilled medical professionals and healers that work hard to combat disease and cancer through treatments and cures. We need to pray for and support the researchers and medical professionals. I pray daily for those who are on prayer list because of sickness. I feel that God hears our prayers, and answers us in ways that we don’t always understand. The ultimate cure for disease and human suffering is in the escaton, when the heavens and the earth will be fully restored to perfection in God’s Kingdom - when pain and suffering will be no more.
As far as the humbling part… this makes God sound like a bully. I’m not sure how anyone could think that God acts like this. In the description, I can picture a schoolyard bully twisting another kids arm behind their back to make them get on their knees. That’s not how it works.
Disease and cancer might cause us to acknowledge, connect or reconnect with God, especially if we have been absent from the relationship for a while, but I don't feel it's the reason for the sickness.
When I faced surgery for my prostate cancer mamy years ago, my congregation gathered around me after a service, must have been 50-75 members, laying their hands on me or on someone who touched me pr someone else who was touching me. I felt such a surge of power coming through that touch, giving me power to go into the surgery in peace. That feeling of connectedness gave me strength through the surgery, the recovery even to this day, many years later.
ReplyDeleteI look back now and realize the treatments that have become reality all these years later that did not exist when I was first diagnosed with prostate cancer. I remain convinced that God was with many of those researches as they worked out new treatments. For me, God is with us, as long as we stop long enough for God to be with us.