GoodNews

Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word” (Psalm 119:67). Is sickness always an at- tack of the spiritual forces of evil in this world? If we are looking for the root cause of sickness then the answer is a resounding YES. Going all the way back to the encounter be- tween Satan and Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when sin entered into human- ity through the willful rebellion of Adam and Eve against the revealed will of God, sickness was now a byproduct of the sinful condition. But now that sickness has entered into this world through the fall, we must decide if it is always an attack on us? Are we to as- sume, as the faith healers tell us, that God wants us healthy all the way into glory? The an- swer to this question put into this light is a resounding NO. There would be no way to ex- plain sickness as it presents itself in the New Testament after Jesus ascended into heaven. So, in light of all we read in the New Testament, we must come to the conclu- sion that sickness is a servant of our Savior. The life of Paul Is this not the truth God has put on display in the life of the apostle Paul? Paul had been given a ‘thorn’ and prayed three times that God might take it away. But God did not. Paul’s sickness was his Savior’s servant in keep- ing the great apostle from be- coming conceited through the incredible ministry God had given to him. Whatever this thorn was, which scholars have debated over the cen- turies, it certainly was not the picture of health in the life of Paul. God could have taken Paul’s thorn away in an in- stant. God could have kept it from every happening. But He did not. Instead, God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). When we understand this clear teaching of Scripture, we change our perspective on sickness. Instead of first cry- ing out for healing, we look for God’s purpose in it. Yes, it is right to ask for healing and a restoration of our health. We have been commanded by God to come boldly to the throne of grace and present our requests to God. But we must not miss the deeper message that God sent what- ever sickness we are dealing with as His servant to draw us closer to Him. Perhaps it was sent because of some sin (1 Corinthians 11:30); or be- cause of Satan (Job 2:7); or some unknown reason (John ENCOURAGEMENT 36 MAY 2018 Good News • South Florida Edition The Servant of Sickness Tommy Boland Good News (.5# #TFKě *CRCSSMGNě %OMPĚKCNEG 6RCKNKNI *4 #TFKě %ĚCKMS /CNCIGMGNě (RCEěKONCĚ *4 /GNěORKNI 2GRSONNGĚ +NUGSěKICěKONS 0GV $TSKNGSS 5ěCRě TP #SSKSěCNEG # 2RCEěKECĚ #PPROCEJ ěO *4 %OMPĚKCNEG 5GRUKEGS Ikhn] f^f[^k h_ *4R K SLCFU K SORS EOM estminster o T learn more about all that W scholarly perspective for college and beyond. ners, and leaders with a Biblical and thinkers, lear ong foundation for them to be exceptional eating a str cr ogram— eschool pr estminster Academy in our pr at W ney Many of our graduates started their educational jour e Education Starts Her ed A Quality Christ-Center , e view today! . Sign up at e HYVZ\UVZ[(LOKUHZJP[LSO( ZJPTKHJ(UYLVV[ZHO`TKHJ( L ќ P L [ [ Y Q P M personal pr view tour wa.edu/pr wa. Please visit UWW\XL HJ(YL[ZUT[ZL> P P P 954.771.4615 or call eview edu/pr NYLONUZ\`ISLJ_V[Z[ULK\[Z[UHUL]VJN JKLZHI`SHJPIIKLL[ULJ[ZPOHZ`TLK P * Y Y P S S L P [ P e information , for mor , ext. 2529 VNZKV.YVZ[ULH[KUHZ[M edicated to KSVVOJZ`V[HHWLWLNLSVS Y Y Y P S M » S Y` .