Sickness and the will of God

By Lucell Larawan

Many assume that sickness is the will of God. Sad to know. Have we ever thought how in the world can a loving God who created cherry blossoms and majestic mountains  ever be the villain of the universe at the same time? This is not logical, philosophers say.

So why are we battling with diseases? To answer this, I believe I don’t anymore need to expound on parallel questions like getting weak with wrinkles and death—these are explained by the fall of the human race. They all have biblical bases and the Bible has such authority to have the last say. I am basing it on the meaning of this passage: “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21).”

Based on biblical perspective, sickness is a virus that comes as a consequence of sin. And all of us sinned (Romans 3:23). In other words, disease is a by-product of ignoring the governing laws of the universe. It is not God’s will.

To prove my point further, the reason why God’s Son Jesus Christ came, is to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). He touched lepers and blind men and they were all healed. He commanded the dead to come out of the grave and Lazarus rose. After Christ came back to the Father, he gave his disciples power to heal the sick and drive out demons. These disciples’ supernatural stories are written in the book of Acts and we are, in fact, still part of the narrative of this book.

We hear of Christians, even laymen, casting out demons in Christ’s name. This cannot be mimicked by anyone because only those who live according to Christ’s teachings can have authority over spiritual forces, or else they get injured trying. We hear them lay hands on the sick as they pray–with powerful results. Thus, certain ministries are rising to deal with what Christ dealt during his time.

What about the coming of the 2019 novel Corona virus? I believe it is much connected to how China’s leaders persecuted Christians. In Helen Raleigh’s article in The Federalist, “Xi’s China Ends 2019 With The Worst Religious Persecution In The Country’s History,” she highlighted the fate of Wang Yi, the founding pastor of China’s most famous house church. The pastor, together with 100 other believers, were imprisoned for trumped-up charges of “inciting subversion of state power” and “illegal business activities.” In 2018 alone, 10,000 churches in China were forced to shut down. Notable cases include the demolition of Linfen’s Golden Lampstand Church: its properties were looted, with dozens of church leaders arrested, and four charged of “illegal occupation of agricultural land” and “assembling a crowd to disturb traffic order.”

According to Raleigh, “The Nazis’ downfall should teach the CCP a lesson: An evil regime may seem mighty and powerful temporarily, but God will eventually overthrow it, if for no other reason than God’s righteous punishment and revenge for this evil.” This is most certainly what is happening in the rise of the dreaded virus.

I am not wishing ill of my fellow men. I am just pointing out the law of action and consequence: not only Newton’s third law. There are many Christians in China and God is protecting them from the feared new corona virus (Psalms 91), while He teaches China’s leaders that they cannot always haughtily deny His existence.

I wish Chinese leaders learn that they cannot brag too much of what they have and what they know and believe.

This is not just about the novel virus. Somebody is challenging Xi Jin Ping and his supporters. I am certain it is God.