It was a problem that just wouldn't go away. Every time I turned around I was making the same repair, only at different places on the farm. Early in my business career, I was a "hog farmer," a farmer who raised hogs. My recurring problem was a constant nuisance. It usually started with a soft mushy spot on the ground which turned into a little pond in the yard. Next, it developed into a little stream and water would meander in whatever direction was downhill and create an annoying miniature river.

The answer was always the same. Hire a man with a backhoe loader to dig away the dirt and expose the problem. The problem was often the same. Old rusty water pipes buried years ago were just not dependable any more, and the next weakest spot sprung a leak on a regular basis.

One day I said, "That's enough!" I called my backhoe friend and we dug up all the water lines on the entire farm and replaced all the old rotting galvanized pipes with new plastic pipe. It was a mess, but it was worth it. Oh sure, it maybe wasn't my last leak ever on the farm, but it made a huge difference.

In the beginning of my water leaking adventure, I kept trying to fix the symptom of the problem, but I focused on the wrong thing. The leaks really were not the issue. The entire underground piping system was flawed, and the leaks were only the symptom of the real problem- sort of a constant reminder.

Sickness is like my underground rusty pipes. Sickness is an ever present reminder in your life and mine that the whole system of things is flawed by sin. The lingering effects of sin tarnish everything and we can never completely get away from it. Christians know that one day God will remove all pain, all sickness, and wipe away every tear. Christians long for that day. In the mean time though, we wrestle with the rusty pipes.

Remember this when you pray. Don't get caught up only by the symptoms. Pray with the big picture in mind. David Powlison wrote:

Donna Schaper said sometimes prayer meetings "[become] solely an organ recital (loose livers, leaky lungs, and sickly stomachs).² John MacArthur Jr. while preaching on Ephesians said the same thing.

Praying for the sick is never forbidden in the Bible, it is actually encouraged. James 5:14-17 says

Notice how this verse ties together sickness, healing, confession, and forgiveness. Sickness reminds us that what we really need is redemption. That is, we need restoration, we need deliverance from sin, we need to "get back" to the way things were supposed to be, to the way God made his perfect creation. The beauty is that God is in the restoration business. God gives a new heart where there is a broken one, new thoughts where there were old thoughts, new life where there was death, new hope after all hope is lost, and new health where sickness is sapping it away.

God is restoring fallen mankind in the Kingdom of God while symptoms of the fall linger on. Pray with the real issues in mind. Focus on the bigger picture. Focus on the work God is doing and not just the symptoms of the problem.

Sickness is a real problem, but it is not "the" problem. There are much bigger issues at stake in the Kingdom of God than sickness. We are all going to die. The vast majority of us will die from something that we could be healed of, no matter how old we are. So, when do you stop praying for healing and say, "God, let me go now, I am old and sick." The prayer for healing will eventually go unanswered for most of us. I think the answer lies in how we pray for the sick all along the way.

Allow me to suggest some things that will help us to keep a right focus when praying for the sick.

1. Sickness reminds us of the fallen condition of man.

   Whatever else it may point to, all sickness continues to point to the fallen nature of man and the groaning that accompanies our condition. We await redemption.

   Romans 8:22-24 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. And not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits - we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
2. Sickness is not always the result of a particular sin.

   Illness is often the result of living in a sinful world, and not just the result of one's individual sin. Even the disciples made an incorrect assumption about a lame man.

   John 9:2-3 His disciples questioned Him: "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned,"
3. Sickness is sometimes the result of a particular sin.

   Sometimes we reap in sickness what we sow in sin. Sin often results in sickness. The following list is some examples:

   A) Worry

   B) Unconfessed sin

   C) Sexual promiscuity

   D) Foolish actions

   E) Addictions (alcohol, cigarettes)

   F) Foolish actions

   1 Corinthians 11:29-30 For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. This is why many are sick and ill among you, and many have fallen asleep. (Asleep here means that they have died.)
4. Sickness brings certain temptations with it.

   It is as important to pray for help in overcoming the temptations that come with sickness as it is to pray about the sickness itself. Some of those temptations are:

   A) Anger

   B) Dishonesty (denial)

   C) Worry

   D) Blame

   E) Laziness

   F) Discouragement

   G) Self pity

   H) Selfishness

   I) Doubting

   2 Chronicles 16:12-13 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a disease in his feet, and his disease became increasingly severe. Yet even in his disease he didn't seek the LORD but the physicians.
5. Sickness provides opportunity for spiritual growth.

   Never underestimate the opportunity that rides in on the wings of illness. Sickness is an opportunity to learn trust in God and rely on his faithfulness to his word. Where or to whom do you first turn when sickness and pain strike?

   Isaiah 38:1-5 In those days Hezekiah became terminally ill... Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD... "Please, LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and wholeheartedly, and have done what is good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: "Go and tell Hezekiah that this is what the LORD God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I am going to add 15 years to your life.
6. Sickness teaches us to depend on God.

   God has not promised to remove every discomfort in this life, but he promises to show his power in our weakness. Are you willing to be made weak so that God can be shown strong?

   2 Corinthians 12:9-10 But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may reside in me. So because of Christ, I am pleased in weaknesses, in insults, in catastrophes, in persecutions, and in pressures. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
7. Sickness ultimately points to the glory of God.

   The loftiest goal of every Christian is to boldly proclaim the glory of God for the joy of all people. Will you welcome God to use you to glorify him? Even if it hurts?

   John 9:3-4 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," Jesus answered. "This came about so that God's works might be displayed in him.

Friends, pray beyond the sick list. Pray and ask God to help you and sick persons see the bigger picture of what God is doing. Thank God for promised final release from "our bondage to decay." In the mean time though, ask God to help you search your heart, resist the temptations common to illness, grow spiritually through your hardships, depend on him when hope is dim, and use you to declare the glory of God boldly even if it comes at great personal expense.

Copyright © 2005 by Kevin Binkley