God's Health Plan

     I was at a Christian women's group recently where we were going around our small circle sharing prayer requests. The woman next to me, who by her 60's should have recognized some correlation between aging and health problems, shared that she and some of her friends were getting illnesses. She attributed this to some kind of spiritual attack because "God wants us to be healthy so we can serve Him." The leader said "No!" and added two more no's for emphasis, and I said, "Just the opposite." For me it was kind of like sighting a kangaroo. I knew prosperity gospel converts were out there, but I did not expect to see one up close. What I really wanted to say was, "Yikes! What kind of Bible are you reading?" It must not include the last verses of Hebrews 11 because, after commending many Old Testament servants of God for their faith, the chapter ends with a list of the spectacular suffering of those of whom the world was not worthy--flogging, chains, imprisonment, stoning, sawed in two, killed by the sword, destitute, persecuted, mistreated. It is true that the Bible does not say they were sick when those things happened, but it could not have been good for their health.

     Jeremiah, for instance, probably would have been in better condition to serve God if he had not been stuck in a cistern for a long, involuntary, lower body, mud bath. And when Jesus sent Ananias to give Paul his "Welcome to the Ministry" speech, He promised to show Paul how much he would suffer for Christ's name. Being blinded, beaten, shipwrecked, stoned, starved, flogged, etc. is not much of a health plan. Would Fanny Crosby have had time to write all those wonderful hymns as a sighted person? Would Nick Vujicic inspire so many to trust the Lord if he had normal arms and legs like everyone else? What would Joni Erickson Tada, who has been quadriplegic since her teens, battled cancer, and is now in chronic pain, say to the idea that God wants us to be healthy in order to serve Him? 

     When it was my turn for prayer requests, I explained that aging and arthritis are the cause of my joint pain in my ankle and shoulder. Nothing works as efficiently as when we were young, including our immune system. But it is a normal part of the aging process, not a Satanic attack. I call this phenomenon "Age Related Body Degeneration." If God wants people to be healthy in order to serve Him, He is not doing a very good job at making that happen, especially as we age. God does not promise health, He promises suffering, but He also promises His grace to endure it, and reward for serving in spite of it. Service to God comes with many benefits, some of those will involve health, because obedience to God's word protects us from the physical effects of sins like drunkenness, sexual sins, and the stress of guilt. Caring for our bodies is part of our stewardship to the Lord, but the specifics of our health are for God to plan.