WHY CHRISTIANS ARE SICK

By Daniel Yohanna

If Jesus has carried our sickness (and He has), then why are people, especially believers, still sick?

It's like asking, if Jesus has carried the sin of the whole world (Jn. 1:29; Heb. 9:28; 1Pet. 2:24; 1Jn. 3:5), then why are people still dying and going to hell? It could be they never knew He took their sin away, so they could not receive His grace. It could also be that they do not believe He took their sin, so they could not receive forgiveness of sin.

                In the same vein, though Jesus Himself took our pains and carried our sicknesses, as written in Matt. 8:17, believers are still sick as a result of some or any of these factors. The same sacrifice that paid for the sin of the whole world also took care of our sicknesses. That’s why scripture says that “By His stripes, we were healed.” (1 Pet. 2:24). As far as God is concerned, you have been healed, because Jesus took that sickness on Him. I am totally convinced that God has made adequate provision for His people to live strong and healthy lives. In fact, He questions in Jeremiah 8:22 why His children are still sick in spite of the provision made.

Is there no balm in Gilead; Is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? (Jer. 8:22).

While we may not with exactitude know why certain ones are sick, the following provide a pointer to why many believers are sick.

1.            Breaking Natural Laws

                Sometimes erroneously, we think that walking by faith is pretending something that exists doesn't, but that is presumption.

The laws of creation put in place by the creator are to help regulate the forces of nature, so they can be of benefit to us. Even in the Old Testament, some of the laws were dietary and sanitary laws that we will do well to heed to. You can't expose your body under the harmattan and not expect to catch a cold or pneumonia, or something. You can't go on eating anything and anyhow and expect to be healthy. Sometimes it is what you're eating that's actually eating you up. Take care of your body. Remember, it is the Temple of God. Don't defile it with smoke or alcohol. Don't live or eat in unhygienic environments. Wash your hands every time you use the toilet.

2.            Sin

                There is a close link between sin and sickness. That's why when the paralytic man that was carried by his four friends laid him before Jesus, the first thing Jesus did was to clear the hindrance to his healing by forgiving his sins. (Lk 5:18-25). The man that was healed at the Pool of Bethesda (Jn 5:1-14), was told by Jesus to “sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” Two statements catch my attention here: no more and a worse thing. No more implies he had done it before, and a worse thing compares a present with a later experience. The man might have sinned before, and so was warned against sinning anymore. A sinful lifestyle can cause the believer to be sick.

3.            Bitterness & Unforgiveness

These are two deadly vices. Bitterness works like bile in a chicken, it poisons the whole meat. Bitterness destroys your system. So does unforgiveness. It hinders the power of God from flowing in one. Once there is the absence of love, the devil has room to manifest (1 Cor. 2:11). You will keep the devil out in Jesus name (Eph. 4:27). Release every trace of bitterness in your life (Heb. 12:15). Has anyone  hurt you lately? Forgive and forget.

A research revealed that over 80% of cancer patients have a problem with unforgiveness. You subject your body to lots of torment through unforgiveness. Release the person and get yourself released.

Do you know what happens to you when you start holding grudges against others? According to Kenneth Hagin, Jr, it’s the same thing that happens in the arteries of your heart when too much fat gets in. Fat starts collecting around the edges of the artery and restricting the flow of blood. Once it starts collecting, it builds up and builds up until no blood can flow at all. May be you never saw it in this light, but it is very true.

In the spiritual realm, unforgiveness builds up the same way. It starts collecting in the channel where the Spirit flows, and if you’re not careful, it will clog the channel. Before you know it, nothing is flowing at all. What a tragedy this will be. If nothing flows in your life, how will you survive?

Therefore, once you realize that things are not flowing in your life as they are supposed to, then you need to release all unforgiveness so the flow can start again.

Lack of walking in love and forgiveness is the main reason people’s faith doesn’t work. Unforgiveness is the main reason people fail to receive their healing.

4.            Lack of Discernment

For not discerning the Lord's body, many are sick (1Cor. 11:29-30). The Lord's body here is both symbolic and spiritual. The bread we break in communion is symbolic of His Body which was broken for us. An irreverent attitude in partaking of this brings God's judgement down on people. Secondly, we all make up the Body of Christ - His mystical body. Any divisive attitude in us as well, brings condemnation. We must preserve the unity of the body. Let's discern (understand) the Lord's body.

5.            Ignorance

                The Bible shows us that a reason why people are destroyed, either by sickness or by any other means is because of ignorance. Some have not heard the truth about healing. They do not know that their diseases have been laid on Jesus, and that by His stripes, they have been healed.

 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” (Hos. 4:6)

Let’s assume you were arraigned before a judge and were convicted of a crime, and were given a 5-year jail term with an option of a fine of 5000 naira. If I decided to pay the money on your behalf, would you still serve your sentence? No. My friend, Jesus has paid for your liberty. You are free.

In his book, Receive Miracle Healing, Dr. T. L. Osborn said, “People who pray and fail to receive the miracle from Christ that they desire, usually lack knowledge of what the Bible says about God's blessings. Without knowing these truths, the person in need has no basis for faith.”

When you do not know something belongs to you, it could never be claimed or appropriated by you. Dr. David Oyedepo says there is no mountain anywhere; every man's ignorance is his mountain. Without ignorance empowering the disease, no sickness can destroy the child of God.

John 8:32

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

6.            Unbelief

It is possible for someone to know that something is true, and yet refuse to be convinced about it. There are two sources of unbelief. One is ignorance. What you don't know, you can't believe. Because you still feel the pains, you think you're still sick, not realizing that healing takes place first in the spiritual realm before it manifests physically. The presence of pain or any physical evidence is no guarantee that you are sick.

                But a second source of unbelief is a kind of rebellion or stubbornness. It is an unpersuadable attitude. It is a result of sheer disobedience. You know it's true, but you refuse to yield to that truth. You know God heals, but you just can't be convinced to believe He'll heal you. You are just disobedient to the truth being presented to you.

7.            Wrong Thinking

                Some people attract sickness by their negative thinking pattern. They are constantly seeing themselves sick. They keep imagining themselves sick. They are full of fear. According to Dr. John G. Lake, “Fear causes your mind to become subjective. When you are full of fear, your pores will absorb everything around you. You are drawing into yourself what is around you. That is the way people absorb sickness.” Norman Vincent Pearle said, “If you fear something continuously you tend to create conditions in your mind propitious to the development of that which you fear. An atmosphere is encouraged in which it can take root and grow. You tend to draw it to yourself.”

Probably because of what they've been listening to, once they hear of an outbreak of an epidemic, they conclude that they must be victims, and it comes to pass. Yet the Bible says “a thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.” (Psa. 91:7).

8.            Negative Talking

Sickness talkers are sick people. Proverbs 6:2 says you are snared and taken by the words of your mouth. Isaiah 33:24 says the inhabitants of Zion will never say, “I am sick.” Why? Because “they are healed, by His stripes.” (1Pet 2:24). “Himself took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses.” (Mt 8:17) Jesus said, “You shall have what you say.” (Mk 11:23) So, what have you been saying? If you keep talking sickness, that's exactly what you're going to have. “But,” you wonder, “What do I do when I feel sick?” You say what the Word says concerning healing. That you feel sick doesn't mean you are sick. Temptation is not sin until you fall into it. So also the symptom of a sickness is temptation to be sick. Don't establish that sickness with your words. A neuro-surgeon once revealed that the speech nerve in the brain controls all the other nerves in the body. When a man says, “I am sick,” a message is passed across all the other nerves: “Let's prepare to be sick.” Don't say what you see. Say what you believe. Say what you want to see. Smith Wigglesworth said, “I am not moved by what I see or hear. I am moved by what I believe.”

You then wonder, “Am I not supposed to say the truth about my condition?” But what is the truth? “Thy word is truth.” (Jn. 17:17). When you speak what the Word says, you are speaking the truth. You can’t keep on talking negatively and experience positive results in your life.

“Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’” (Joel 3:10). And this is not suggesting you letting people know you are sick by saying, I am strong. It is believing that the Lord is the strength of your life, for His power is made perfect in your weakness (Psa. 27:1; 2 Cor. 12:9,10).