If some people are sick by God's design so He can teach them a lesson, how can we know which ones to lay hands on and which ones to leave to God's "design?" It would be impossible to know who to lay our hands on and who not to lay our hands on.
If, for a moment, we go along with what some people believe, and we say God is the author of sickness and disease, then God and the devil must have changed places at some point in history between the time that the Bible was written and now.
I am basing that statement on what the Bible clearly says about God, the devil, sickness and disease:
They [believers] shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.If some people are sick by God's design so He can teach them a lesson, how can we know which ones to lay hands on and which ones to leave to God's "design?" It would be impossible to know who to lay our hands on and who not to lay our hands on.
(Mark 16:18)
If it is true that some individuals are supposed to be sick because God wants to teach them something, then Mark 16:18 should read, "Lay hands only on the ones I authorize you to lay hands on, because I want only those to recover. But tell all the other sick people that they are supposed to remain sick."
Jesus didn't say that! He said, "Lay hands on the sick"—period! There are no other qualifications or exceptions to the rule!
When I was in school, many times when the teacher was explaining a grammar or spelling rule, she would say, "Always do such-and-such, except under certain circumstances." For example, to help the students remember how to spell certain words, the teacher would say, "Use 'i' before 'e' except after 'c'!"
It seems there is an exception to every rule in the natural. But notice that Mark 16:18 simply says, "Lay hands on the sick"—with no exceptions!
Should Christians Suffer?
Someone might say, "But Second Timothy 2:12 says we should suffer."
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us.This passage of Scripture says that we are to suffer with Jesus. And, if we suffer with Him, we can reign with Him.
However, we need to first determine exactly what the word "suffer" is referring to. Did Jesus suffer sickness? Did He suffer pneumonia, cancer or some other kind of disease? No! What did Jesus suffer? Persecution.
Many of us were persecuted—either by friends, family or others—when we chose to live for Jesus. Persecution for the Word's sake or for following Jesus is the kind of suffering that this passage of Scripture is talking about!
Sometimes people will concoct silly theologies in an attempt to explain circumstances they can't understand. But, friend, I'm going to tell you right now; there is no preacher alive who has the explanation for every situation.
Personally, I have prayed for many people who didn't receive their healing. But I have prayed for many more people who did receive their healing! And no matter who doesn't receive, I'm not going to quit praying.
You see, I have preached to many people who needed salvation, but they didn't get saved. I'm certainly not going to quit preaching salvation because some people don't receive. I'm also not going to try to make up a reason why people choose not to receive Jesus!
I'm always going to preach the truth about salvation and healing. The Word of God is so simple, yet sometimes we try to make it theologically profound. I've even heard people say, "It can't be that simple."
Yes, it can!
Jesus said it was. There are no exceptions!
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications