In Sickness There is Joy

Suffering from sickness is never a good time. Runny and stuffed noses, sore throats, excessive coughing, and nausea stifle our drive to do anything but mope and languish in self-pity. We lose ourselves in the mucus, spittle, and the vomit, becoming these little vessels of fluid expulsion. It’s irritating at best, debilitating at worst.

The flu, colds, and all other kinds of common ailments remind us of how truly human and fragile we all are. Most days we spend thinking about what we’re going to do the next. We’ll make plans to do this activity or that work. There’s a schedule being made by or for us in the moment to moment process of life. But we don’t account for the unpredictable.

When something goes wrong, like sickness, all our prospects are thrown out the window. Our minds no longer focus on the future, the greater tomorrow, but the narrow scope of our present predicament. We’re mindful only of ourselves, our pains, and our aches. We dread waking up and going to sleep, knowing again that these will not be pleasant experiences for some time.

Sickness shows us that we are not in control and never have been. I can make plans all day, every day, for the rest of my life, but there’s nothing that says those plans will come to fruition. And when a cold or allergies strikes me, I’m left feeling numb, distant, agitated, and incapable of much but moaning and groaning.

No matter how careful you are about what you touch and regardless of how much germ cleansing liquid you use, you will get sick. It’s an inevitable part of life. There’s a saying that only taxes and death are guaranteed in life, but I’d argue that there is sufficient evidence that sickness and suffering are their close companions.

I can’t stop myself from getting sick. I can’t halt the spread of bacteria from any number of sources any more easily than I can prevent my cat from acting like a cat. Illness is as much a part of ourselves and our lives as anything we say or do, yet we pretend it doesn’t exist until we’re scared or it hits us. Then we’re acutely aware of our own ineffectual nature.

But where does sickness come from? Why are we plagued by colds, flu, viruses, bacteria, mold, etc.? Secular scientists postulate and argue myriad theories about the origin of these things, but the Bible, to my mind, provides the most direct answer.

“And He said to Adam, ‘Because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘Do not eat from it’: The ground is cursed because of you. You will eat from it by means of painful labor all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. You will eat bread by the sweat of you brow until you return to the ground, since you were taken from it. For you are dust, and you will return to dust.’” (Genesis 3:17-19)

The root of all our pain, all our sickness, all our suffering originates from the Fall of Man. Because we sinned in the garden of Eden, we are therefore cursed to walk the earth in a less-than perfect, decaying state. Man chose to be gods, capable of knowing good and evil, and rebelled against the Lord. We not only harmed ourselves by our unholy actions, but the earth itself is doomed by our decision. As Paul says:

“For the creation was subjected to futility – not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it – in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious freedom of God’s children. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now.” (Romans 8:20-22)

As we are redeemed by the Lord, so too will the creation itself be made anew. Though I’m certainly not happy with my current predicament, I take joy in knowing that there’s something better on the horizon. There’s a day where I won’t be sick, a day where illness won’t even be a thought in the mind, and it will be glorious because He is victorious.

Scripture says that when all is done, when He has returned and the world has been set right, that it’ll all be perfect as it was intended to be.

“Then I heard a loud voice coming from the throne: Look! God’s dwelling is with humanity, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will no longer exist; grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)

This ailment that I’m suffering will pass. The sinful flesh of my body will die. One day, perhaps not too far from now, we will join the other saints in heaven, equal before God, made righteous by the blood of the Divine Lamb, Jesus Christ, Son of God. And there will be a new earth, a new Jerusalem, in which to coexist and cohabitate with the Lord our God, our Creator and Savior.

Until that happens, we’ll be blowing our noses, stuffing used rags in the bin, and generally being unpleasant messes lying miserably in our bedrooms, hoping against hope that we’ll stop coughing and retching long enough to think a coherent thought.

Thanks and praise be to Him! And God bless you for reading. Thanks and peace be with you.