“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” (John 9:3)

All sickness and suffering come because of sin in the general sense, that is, through Adam’s transgression. Jesus Christ came to save his people, so that for them there will be no more suffering in heaven, but everlasting bliss and fellowship with God. But for those who do not trust in him, the pains and agonies of this life are but faint foretastes of the endless torment that they will experience in hell.

Here we are interested in particular instances of sickness and suffering. Sometimes sickness and suffering come upon a man because of his sinful action or lifestyle. Jesus healed a man in John 5 and said to him, “Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you” (v. 14). We cannot dismiss the possibility that a man suffers because he has sinned. On the other hand, Job suffered not because of specific sins that he committed, but God ordained him to be an example of faith and patience.

Job honored God in his suffering. Although he did not maintain a perfect spirit in the process, in his relatively innocent suffering and faithful endurance, he was a type of Christ, who would indeed maintain a perfect spirit before God even as men falsely accused him, tortured him, and nailed him to a cross. Job’s suffering saved no one’s soul, not even his own, but it foreshadowed the Christ whose truly innocent and redemptive suffering would rescue the souls of his chosen people.

Nevertheless, suffering did not have the final word in Job’s story. God restored him and gave him twice as much as he had before (Job 42:10), along with relatives and friends, sons and daughters. Did Job cease to honor God when his troubles ceased? No, God also honored himself through Job in his health and prosperity. Likewise, Jesus Christ honored God in his suffering and death. But death did not have the final word. He also honored God, and honored him more and more, when he rose from the dead and ascended to the Father’s side.

God is honored not only when his people patiently endure setbacks and troubles. He is also honored when they overcome problems and achieve victories by faith. He is honored not only when his people remain grateful in sickness, but he is also honored when he displays his power and compassion in healing them, in relieving their suffering. These two aspects of the Christian life reflect different facets of Christ’s character. Any theology that undermines either is an insult to him.

For one to maintain a selective view of God and his dealings with men because of tradition and prejudice means that this person worships not the true God but an idol that he has conjured up. God is as he presents himself, and not as sinful men wish him to be. Do you deny that, in any age and in any place, God brings evil down on men for his own purpose and glory? You are wrong, because the Bible refers to Job’s suffering as “all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him” (Job 42:11). Satan himself acted under God’s direct command and power. Do you deny that, in any age and in any place, God removes men’s suffering, even what they regard as incurable, in order to show forth his power and compassion? Then your God is a bastard child of unbelief and tradition.

Since God controls all things, the fact that this man was born blind meant that God made this happen, that he ordained and caused this man to be blind from birth. But the blindness did not have the final word. God arranged this not because he wanted the man to demonstrate his trust and gratitude throughout his life as a blind man, but he set this up so that his Son would have this occasion to show forth the healing power of God. Far from belittling healing as something that is coveted by an inferior spirituality – unlike some theologians, the apostles were not spiritual idiots – it is a part, a significant part, of a broad redemption that God was working in this man.

The miracle of healing awakened noble qualities in him. The man went on to become a bold witness for Christ the likes of which I hope every day to see in this generation. In contrast to the man in John 5, he spurned the unbelief of the religious establishment with derisive sarcasm and countered their challenges with a stubborn loyalty to the one who healed him. This one helped him. This one healed him! What had the Pharisees done for him? And now they did not celebrate with him, but they interrogated him. But they could not keep him down. He stood up to them until they threw him out. And then Jesus found him, and the man’s gratitude and reverence overflowed in worship, saying, “Lord, I believe.”

God’s will was for Adam to sin and plunge all men into ruin, although his will was not for all of humanity to remain there, but it was to send Jesus Christ to redeem the chosen ones. His will was for Joseph to be sold to slavery. Even though he behaved admirably, he was falsely accused and thrown into prison. There he continued to honor God with his wisdom and conduct. But prison did not have the last word. God’s will was deliverance and exaltation, and to make him the ruler of all Egypt under Pharaoh. God’s will was for Jesus Christ to die an unjust and gruesome death, but his will did not end in death. He raised Jesus from the dead so that he could become the high priest of all who come to God through faith.

God has ordained your suffering or it could not have come about. Therefore, you must honor him in your suffering and imitate the patience of Christ. But you must also follow God’s precepts that teach you to strive and to overcome. Suffering does not have to be the final word. Stir up your faith, and pray without ceasing, so that you may also honor God in your deliverance and victory.