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Mark and Carla Gilbert

Before we talk about sickness we need to build a foundation to work from. Is it God's will that you sin? Absolutely not. The Bible is filled with scriptures that warn us NOT to sin. So if sin is not God's will, then why do we sin? Why is it that every person that has ever lived, except for Jesus, has sinned?

Deuteronomy 30:19 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
19 "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,

Sin is present in the earth because God gave us a choice. We have the power to choose life or death, blessing or cursing. It was never God's will for man to choose death. It was never God's will for Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. God told Adam what His will was, "Do not eat from that tree". Adam and Eve disobeyed God. God also warned them of the consequences "If you eat of that tree you will surely die". God did not want Adam and Eve to die. As good father, God told them not to eat of the tree, and explained to them what would happen if they disobeyed Him. Death was not part of God's will for Adam and Eve. Death happened because of disobedience.

John 16:33 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
33 "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

In the World we will have tribulation. If tribulation or trouble was God's will then Jesus would be violating the will of God by overcoming tribulation. Hardship and difficulty was not what God wanted for His family. God wanted his family to have "peace". Notice that Jesus said "in Me you may have peace." If tribulation was God's will then why is it that we don't find tribulation in Jesus? Tribulation was not God's will. Tribulation is the result of sin or the consequence of sin.

If sickness is the will of God then you would be fighting God to get healed. If it is actually God's will for you to be sick then you better not try to get healed, because you're fighting against God. Jesus always did the will of God. If sickness was God's will then Jesus would not have healed the sick.

Acts 10:38 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
38 "You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with Him.

Notice that sickness is the result of oppression by the Devil. Sickness is not the will of God. It's will of the Devil. When Jesus healed people He was destroying the works of the Devil. Notice that Jesus did not go about destroying the works of God. Jesus was doing the God's will by destroying the works of Devil. Jesus was doing God's will by healing people.

1 John 3:8 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

It's almost like some Christians think that Satan is a secret agent for God. Satan brings sickness, disease, death, and destruction and some Christians will say, "It must have been the will of God". If everything that happens on earth was God's will then God would not have sent Jesus to die for our sins. If everything that happens on earth was God's will then nobody would have needed to be saved.

Luke 13:10-16 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
10 And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
11 And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all.
12 When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your sickness."
13 And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God.
14 But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, "There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day."
15 But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him?
16 "And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?"

Did you notice that!! This woman was NOT bound 18 years by the will of God. She was bound 18 years by the will of Satan and Jesus came to destroy the works of Satan. Boy I am glad that Jesus was not destroying the works of God when he healed her. We can go to God for healing. A lot of Christians are hesitant or unsure if God wants them healed. But they have to understand, in this world we are dealing with the works of God and the works of Satan. The works of God are healing and salvation. The works of Satan are sickness and bondage.

God gets blamed for a lot of things He never did. We would see more of the power of God in our lives if we would stop blaming God for our problems and start praising God for the solution. Now I am not talking about praising Him for the solution once the problem goes away. Praise God for the solution while you are smack dab in the middle of the problem. Did you notice what Jesus said to the disciples just after he stilled the storm?

Mark 4: 40 New International Version (NIV)
40He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

Their fear demonstrated a lack of faith. You see, fear tolerated is faith contaminated. When you are in the midst of a problem do not be afraid, exercise some faith and praise God for the solution.

Revelation 21:3-4 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,
4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

If death, mourning, crying, or pain was God's will then God would not do away with them. If sickness, disease, and suffering was God's will then it would be in heaven just like it is on earth. This is not God's will. Death, sickness, pain, and suffering are the byproducts of sin. They entered the earth when Adam and Eve disobeyed God's. Disobediance was not God's will neither was sickness and pain.

Now some people will say 'But I learned humility from my being sick". Just because you learned something from your suffering and pain does not mean that it was God's will for you to suffer. If sickness was God's will then sickness and suffering would be in heaven.

Matthew 6:10 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
10 'Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.

Would Jesus ask you to pray for something we already have? If you already have good health would you pray for God to heal you? Of course not. If God's will always happened on earth, then Jesus would not have taught his disciples to pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. You see God's will is always done in heaven. But on earth some of what happens is not God's will.

Job's friends eloquently told Job how it was God's will for him to suffer. They went to great lengths to try to get him to admit to some sin or wrong doing in order to justify the suffering Job was experiencing. They tried to convince Job that his suffering was God's doing because of his iniquities. But those guys got in trouble with God for what they had been saying to Job.

Job 42:7-8 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
7 It came about after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has.
8 "Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has."

A lot of people will take what Job's friends said and preach it as if it were truth. You can not do that. God corrected them for what they said. What they said about God was not right.

We have a choice. We can focus on the problem (the works of Satan) or we can focus on the solution (the works of God). Healing, good health, and long life are God's will for your life. Don't let the works of Satan distract you from the will of God. Stand on God's word and you will see the works of Satan destroyed right before your eyes!