There are also some believers who have gone to another extreme. According to their natural disposition, they are hard and stubborn. However, through God's allowed sickness, they have become broken by God. As a result of going along with God's will through His chastisement, they have become very gentle, kind, yielding, and holy. Accordingly, they consider that being sick is a great benefit for them, and they begin to love sickness more than health. They think that sicknesses cause their spiritual life to advance greatly. Therefore, they do not seek healing. If they realize that they should be healed, they would rather have God heal them. They accept all the sicknesses that come upon their bodies, thinking that it is easier for them to be godly when they are sick than when they are healthy. They think they are closer to God when they are lonely and in pain than when they are well and active. They think it is far better to lie in bed than to be free to run around. They do not want to ask for healing from God. They think that it may be more profitable to be weak than to be strong! We admit that many believers have given up their evil works by becoming sick, and that they have acquired some profound experiences through their sicknesses. We also admit that many handicapped and disabled persons have exceptionally godly and spiritual experiences. But we must say that many believers are quite unclear concerning several points in this area.
Although one who is sick can be holy, such holiness is compelled. Perhaps if he were healthy and could choose freely, he would want to turn back to the world and his natural self. He becomes holy only when he is sick, and he becomes worldly when he is not sick. The Lord has to keep him in sickness continuously before he can be holy continuously. His holiness is dependent on his sickness! A living that is for the Lord should not be restricted to times of sickness. We should not let others think that the only way God can subdue a believer is by sickness, and that without sickness, he is incapable of glorifying God in his daily life. A believer should express God's life in his daily life. While it is good to endure suffering, it is better to obey God at a time when one is full of strength.
We should know that healing is of God; it is God who heals us. If we seek after healing through man's medicine, we will find ourselves separated from God. However, if we seek after God's healing, we will become more intimate with God. A person who receives God's healing will glorify God more than one who remains in sickness for a long time. It is true that sickness can glorify God because sickness provides God an opportunity to manifest His healing power (John 9:3). But if one remains sick all the time, how can God be glorified? When one receives God's healing, he sees God's glory through the demonstration of His power.
The Lord Jesus never considered sickness as a blessing, as something which believers should bear until they die. Neither did He say that sickness is an expression of love from God the Father. The Lord Jesus desired His disciples to bear the cross, but He never said that the sick should remain in sickness all the time. He told the disciples the manner in which they should suffer for Him, but He never said that they should suffer sickness for His sake. Although He said we would have suffering in the world, He did not consider sickness a suffering. He indeed suffered while He was on the earth, but He was not sick. Moreover, every time He saw sick ones, He healed them. He always considered sickness to be from sin and the devil.