ICS Daily Devotions
Sickness Is Not from God
Job 2:7 (NKJV) So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
There wasn’t even one among Job’s four friends who was able to minister or pray the prayer of faith for Job’s healing. The prayer of faith is prayed when one believes to receive the healing of God. Job’s friends instead gave Job the wrong image of God which tormented him even more. They misrepresented God. According to their human experience and human tradition, they believed that man must do things to earn God’s favor and therefore suffering is a sign of God’s displeasure. They were wrong in their logic and conclusion.
Psalms107:20 (NKJV) He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.
Sickness is not from God. Sickness and pain weren’t part of God’s creation but came into this world after the fall of man. However, restoration of health be it a healing process or a miracle is very much dependent on God. Jesus is the Word made flesh, who walked on this earth and healed the sick. We can have faith in God instead of being fearful that sickness and pain are ways used by God to punish or discipline us. God is pleased with us since we are seen to be hidden in Christ in this world. Therefore, we are able to have faith and confidence to approach God for the healing of our bodies if we are sick.
James 5:14-16 20 (NKJV) Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
If we are sick, confess our trespasses to one another and have our sins forgiven. We have to quickly get back into fellowship with God if we have been sinning and striving with men. We have to close the door to the devil before the toehold becomes a stronghold in the area of habitual sins.
When we are sick, we can call the elders of the church to pray over us in the name of Jesus. In the New Testament, James tells us to anoint a sick person with oil. The person anointed should consider himself set apart or consecrated for healing and should not accept anything less. The moment the sick person is anointed with oil, he should boldly reject sickness as it tries to dominate his body! He should see himself assigned for healing and restoration. Unlike Job’s friends, we are in a better position after the redemptive work of Jesus Christ to pray for one another. We also have the privilege of praying in the name of Jesus for our healing and have faith that our prayers will be answered.
Sermon Series: Job and I
