Why does God cause sickness and affirmaties?

edited July 2006 in Random Issues
Hi all,

This question may be a little absured, but i've always wondered, what is the purpose of sickness in our world?

I'm not trying to question God's motive, I would just like to understand why?

Why do little babies suffer in hospital? Why do people have to go in for operations that could be life threatening? Why do children get cancers and lukemia?

Is it that God's trying to test us, is he trying to awaken us to him?

Any insights on this matter?
Again, please forgive my ignorance.

Comments

  • It could be for any number of different reasons. It could be to glorify God [Such as the blind man who was healed by Jesus], or it could be the work of Satan which God permisses, or it may be like we were talking about in Bible study the other week, where someone who may seem sick compared to us, is very spiritually strong. Father said something very similar regarding poverty, when he said "I'd rather be very poor physically, and very rich spiritually, than to be a very poor spiritual person and be very rich materially", perhaps a similar thing can be applied to physical sickness, in that though the person may be sick, perhaps it serves to strengthen their spirit.
  • that's exactly what i was looking for
    thanks WMA
  • also there is another one... just as God tested Abraham and Job... when everything is going fine by the grace of God then u go doctor and u find u got cancer O-OW!! would that be a thanku God and i know ull help me get through it or wood it be a HOW COULD U GOD WAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS NAAA THATS IT I DONT LIKE U ANYMORE etc. hopefully it wont b the second 1 but ye as u sed its a test... :)

    sorry just my 2 cents worth
    +FROG+
  • thanks frog, u don hav 2 apologise, cus i luv ya ;) :-*
  • awww :-[ :-[ i luv u too lol :-* bumchum lol
  • You know, many times have I asked God that question, because i personally have close loved ones that are sick, and i know of many friends that have some bad diseases as well or have brothers or sisters that do...or one often wonders you might even see twins, yet God gives 1 a disease while the other is completely healthy, and u wonder why. But then I came to realize, that I should stop blaming God for diseases or thinking that is unfair in anyway, why....because God's wisdom is beyond our understanding, yet I am sure that He does everything for a reason, and that even though diseases are quite a sad thing, but we have to have faith that "all things work together for good to those who love God"....and even though diseases are bad, yet some good can come out of a bad situation,like others already have said, sometimes it is to test our faith and see if we will still love God when we are sick. just remember St. Paul,he was sick (even though many were cured from his handkerchief) and he asked God to cure him, but God did not want to, but told St. Paul to be thankful and that "His strength is made perfect in weakness"
  • On a similar note to what FROG and PrincessMary said, I was just reading various assorted articles, and came across one a while ago that dealt with a similar topic to this, and just remembered it now; basically it likened God to a parent who does something for their child which they know is good, even if their child thinks it is bad. Interestingly, this is one of the things mentioned in the Bible Study I was talking about before; Basically, it's like when a parent takes a child to a doctor to get an injection, and the child cries thinking the parent is wrongining the child, but really the parent is only doing whats best for the child. Similarly, when God does things to us, theymay feel unfair at the time, but in actuality they may be very beneficial to us, and may let us grow and develop into a closer relationship with Him.
  • u know sometimes babies or pepole get the sick to glorify God as someone stated but u know what. the little babies and adults that are sick like having cancer they actually pary, go to church, confess adn take communin more than us. they know their life will end soon so they watch out and pray every second they have. also if u notice they are the nicest pepole around u. at my church there was a little girl who was 4 years old when she passed away she had cancer since she was 11 month not even a year old. she went to church for 3 times a week, she would fast without food BEFORE COMMUNINe even tho she was only 4 like a kid and would fast for 8 hours. she would pray and every time she would tell her mom lests go pray and her mom says i am tired she pushe her and tell her jesus will strenthen u her story was the greatest and motivated all of u one like her she changed fath to a lot of ppl. she gave them courge like who cares about pain at the end we will be with jesus. and also the pain they feel they get rewarded at haven thats their cross and they caried it. they get the crown u know they are soooo lucky i wish i was in their shoes.
    i hope that answere ur question and if u wana know more about that girl i will be more than happy to write for u her story
  • thanks guys for all your input

    God Bless
    Please pray for me (I have 3 months left till my finals :-X)
  • I read about a girl asking her mom about that and her mom explained it by using a cake making story. In short: if you eat every ingredient by itself you say yuk to the flour and to raw eggs for example but at the end when it is mixed, fermented and cooked it is delightful (cannot find the page of this nice story).

    Hope it helped...
  • Marena I would greatly appreciate it if you would tell this angel's story in detail. Thank you sooo much
  • Do you guys have any ideas about how to explain this to a non-believer, someone who perhaps was driven away from their beliefs by this very question? To be honest, I often find myself struggling in my head, debating both sides and getting nowhere and I think, if it's this difficult for me, imagine how intransigent of a block this question poses between a non-believer and his lost faith.

    To me, it's just mind-boggling because if you think about it, the situation for the non-believer is a paradox. (Hypothetically speaking,) the guy is driven away from his faith which preaches nothing but love because apparently, his heart just can't stomach seeing an innocent child suffer while the ignoble wander free and healthy. The seeming injustice of it all is enough for the devil to convince him to drive down a path that isolates him, ironically enough, from the singular light in this world. So the question again is: How do you bring this poor soul back to the Church after he's embarked on the worn and illusory journey for light in a world that offers nothing but darkness?
  • God is not the cause of any suffering but the humans themselves. I think God allows things to happen to people to strengthen them spiritually and to promote them to His Kingdom.

    Since the fall of Adam and Eve, we have a weak nature that can be corrupted by environment on the cursed earth. All creatures big or micros which used to obey Adam do not anymore. He and his descendants are naturaly attacked by most of the creatures (big or small). Man did it to himself.
  • i defintly agree w/ john its to get closer to god
  • I don't see how you could apply that kind of arguement to a person who uses a terminally ill baby as his example; how's the baby going to benefit from dying; in what way is he/she going to get closer to God?
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