Facing sickness

Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses. 1 Timothy 5:23. 

I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. 2 Timothy 4:20.

I knew a woman once who had suffered the trauma of going blind in her middle years. This had of course changed her life radically, but she found great comfort later when she became a Christian. Her faith, when I knew her, was still quite new, but it was real and deep, and she was a great believer in prayer. 

All was well. But then she came into contact with a group of Christians who taught her that if only she had enough faith she could be healed - God would restore her sight. They used to gather to pray with her. She told me they sang a song which contained the words “all we need is a miracle!” She became quite troubled and asked, “Colin, is there something wrong with me? I think I do have faith in God, but could it be that I just don’t have enough?”

It became my task to offer her reassurance. These Christians were lovely people, I said, admirable in many ways; but they didn’t really understand that healing isn’t quite as straightforward as they imagined.

Miracles are a big topic in the Christian faith, not least miracles of healing. There are various facts it’s good for us to get hold of.

For one thing, they are not as common in the Bible as some Christians make out. “There are hundreds of miracles in the Bible!” we sometimes hear. “There are healings on nearly every page!”

But this just isn’t so. Broadly speaking the miracles of the Bible fall into three main clusters, each of them marking a time when God is specially on the move. First, there is the time of the Exodus, the great deliverance of Israel from the slavery of Egypt (Exodus 1-20). We read about the heaven-sent plagues, about the parting of the Red Sea, about the heavenly bread, or manna, in the desert. Second, there is the time of the early prophets, especially Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17 – 2 Kings 13). This is where we find such stories as Elijah calling down fire from heaven to burn up the sacrifices (soaked in water!) on the altar, or Elisha healing the Syrian army commander Naaman of his leprosy. 

And then, third, the greatest cluster of all: the ministry of Jesus himself in the Gospels, and of his apostles, as recorded in Acts. The peak, of course, is the miracle of all miracles, the raising of Jesus from the dead, never to die again.

Stories like these are wonderful to read and should stir up our worship and our faith. But it’s interesting that even in the pages of the New Testament they seem to dwindle away somewhat.

This is where we come to the verses at the top. Paul gave a lot of advice to Timothy about how to be a good pastor. But he also gave him some advice about his health. Timothy was clearly a sickly young man - Paul speaks of his “frequent illnesses” - and Paul urged him to drink wine rather than the no doubt unhealthy water that was available in his region. And then he mentions one of his travelling companions, Trophimus, whom he “left sick in Miletus”.

You almost wish you could get hold of Paul, sit him down in an armchair with a cup of coffee, and ask him to explain himself: “Paul, why didn’t you tell Timothy to pray for healing? Why did he have to put up with these frequent illnesses? A little wine may have been helpful, of course, but it won’t exactly have healed him!” And as for Trophimus... “Paul, God used you to heal the sick and even raise the dead. So why on earth did you leave him sick (in Miletus or anywhere else)?” I wonder what Paul would have said.

The point is obvious. Our God is a miracle-working God, no doubt about that. He is a God who can supernaturally heal, no doubt about that. And still he does today. But such dramatic and powerful events are the exception rather than the rule - the salvation of the soul matters far more than the healing of the body.

So - what? I suggest two things. First, may we never be guilty of raising false hopes and expectations in those who are suffering. Pray for them of course, and do all we can to help them. But recognise that the full healing may not happen until God’s kingdom comes in final perfection (take a look at the glorious words of Revelation 21:3-4). And second, if you today are a Timothy or a Trophimus - a bit off-colour, or sick, or in pain, perhaps bed-bound, perhaps even seriously ill - of course pray for healing by all means. But if it isn’t granted, don’t beat yourself up, whatever else you do!

I praise you, O God, that you are a miracle-working God, a God who has healed in the past and still heals today. But your word makes plain that you do not always heal as we would like. Help me then to trust you whatever you may choose to do or not to do, and to look forward to that day when all sorrow and pain will be at an end. Amen.