He will tell you that he once bragged, “I am the fittest 50-year-old in this church.” Sadly, only days later he was hit by a car while riding his 10-speed to work. After multiple surgeries and a long stay in the hospital, he went home to begin his slow journey back to full health. Thirteen years later the brother sports a slight limp and, praise the Lord, seems no worse for wear from his accident.
If you have been among the few who have always lived in good health, you are much to be envied. Good health is a gift from God that you need to enjoy for all it is worth; long may it continue.
I will only speak for myself when I say that pain and suffering made me a better Christian. I learned empathy for those suffers worse off than I had ever been. I pray nothing but complete health for them.
God is the God of the well and the God of the sick. Whatever state we may find ourselves in, He is there with us—Jesus understands pain.
The breaking down of the physical body is a stark reminder of its temporary state, and though stating the obvious, I still appreciate the kindness meant when the old preachers said, “We all live in the shadow of death.”
But life is to be lived to the glory of God. These bodies are the carriers of us. So, until your soul returns to God, he has gifted you in this physical vessel so that you can be a worthy vessel for the hope of salvation.
I have often said in my sermons: “Brethren, if I am sick, or broken, or dying, please do not pray that the Lord gives me comfort. Instead, pray ONLY for my complete and total recovery!”
With the apostle John I pray that “you be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
John Staiger
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