A Greater Sickness II: Benefits from Illness
We don’t want to live as people who have fear. What is a Christian’s response to physical illness? What is our response to the pandemic of sin? Last week, we talked about the different plagues and William Bridge. This week, we want to talk about how we can benefit from sickness.
J.C. Ryle, a 19th century Anglican Bishop, wrote Practical Religion. We’ll look at the chapter called, “On Sickness.”
J.C. Ryle uses John 11:3 as his overarching verse for this chapter. When the enemy would whisper to us that God has forgotten us, we can go to Jesus. We must never forget what a privilege this is.
God does not exist to give us happiness or to get us through hard times. Those who think so might say this is just a virus and God has nothing to do with it and has no control over it. Others may say that this virus is directly attached to national sins, that this pandemic is a curse from God.
Ryle writes of a sovereign God who has control over all things and who uses hard things to get our attention. Sin is a daily, active choice. So all sorrows are ultimately connected to our own sin. However, Ryle says that sickness can be a benefit to us. “It is my Father’s doing, so it must be good,” he writes. Both sickness and sin are universally prevalent. Both affect everything about us. Both are frightening and humiliating.
Amy Carmichael, a missionary to India, was fiercely independent but was bedridden at the end of her life after she broke her leg. She was dependent on others for the rest of her life. It pointed her back to her Father, on whom she had always been dependent—even before she was bedridden.
In Romans 8:28-30, we read:
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
All things work together for good. This passage only makes sense if we have the same definition of “good” that God has. What’s the good? We use “good” in a lot of ways - pleasant, happy, content, etc. Paul is talking about the ultimate good—that God, in rescuing us, doesn’t just remove the stain and guilt of our sin, but He also transforms us into the image of Christ.
Events are like a scalpel in the hands of a skillful Surgeon. Ryle writes of sickness as a schoolmaster that God sends to teach us. Ryle was no stranger to sickness. “It is a rough schoolmaster, I grant, But it is a real friend to man’s soul.”
“Sickness awakens men from their day-dreams and reminds them that they have to die as well as to live, this I say emphatically is a mighty good.”
In our sickness and in the midst of this pandemic, the distractions are pushed aside and we are forced to think about lies beneath the surface. It can soften our heart and teach us the emptiness of our idols. Our idols are powerless to give us hope or satisfaction. This is a good time to see if what we’ve been devoting ourselves to is valuable or not. It reveals our pride and our neediness and humbles us.
Sickness tests our religion. Very few people have no religion. Few things test our religion like sickness, like suffering. Is your religion vague? Is it plastic?
If sickness is universal and it has the potential to do us good, how should we respond?
Live perpetually prepared to meet God.
You’re not ready unless your sins have been covered.
You’re not ready unless you have a been born again. A new birth means new desires, a new understanding, a new love, and a new obedience.
Live perpetually prepared to bear sickness without complaint.
Don’t be surprised when you or someone you love gets sick. Turn your heart toward God and look to Him to see the benefits in this.
Live perpetually prepared to help others when they are sick.
We’re not called to be hardhearted toward others, but love them more than ourselves.
Use these times to be thoughtful. Let your love for others move you to take concrete efforts to help those around you.
Ryle closes with this question, “What will you do when you are next sick, how will you live now so as to benefit from it then?”
Sickness or death is inevitable for all of us. How should we prepare? If you have more time, spend it in the Word, memorizing Scripture, reading good books, and staying in touch with others (especially those living alone). Keep going to God and confessing your neediness.
Ryle writes, “I exhort you to keep up a habit of close communion with Christ, and never to be afraid of going too far in your religion.” In other words, follow the Lord fully, daily, and you will be prepared to follow Him closely when sickness comes to your house.
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Show Notes
Podcast Resources
Practical Religion, J.C. Ryle