"God is using this disease to prepare me for heaven."
How it sounds in your head: Maybe the cancer, the dementia, the failing organs are God's way of loosening my grip on this world. Maybe He's making earth less appealing so I'll long for heaven more. Maybe this suffering is His kindness.
"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
-- John 10:10Religion romanticized suffering as divine preparation, making God the author of disease instead of the Giver of life.
The progression of her illness has coincided with increased thoughts of eternity, and it feels purposeful. Church teaching said 'blessed are those who mourn' and 'counted worthy to suffer,' making pain feel sanctified.
Dorcas (Tabitha) died—fully dead, being prepared for burial, mourners weeping. Peter arrived, sent everyone out, prayed, and said 'Tabitha, arise'—she opened her eyes and SAT UP. Instant resurrection, no 'preparation for heaven' needed.
I REFUSE the lie that God is using disease to prepare me for heaven. IT IS WRITTEN that the thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy, but Jesus came to give me ABUNDANT life—even now, even at 90+. My Father is not the author of sickness; He's the Resurrection and the Life. Jesus made me ready for heaven by His blood, not by breaking my body. IT IS WRITTEN that there is NO condemnation for those in Christ—no disease-as-preparation, no suffering-as-sanctification. I am Abraham's seed, and the BARAK blessing means life and health are mine by covenant, not death and decay.
Your Father isn't killing you softly to get you to heaven—He's the God who raised Dorcas from the dead when everyone thought she was gone. Whether He adds years or calls you home, disease is NOT His messenger—the thief sends that; Jesus sends LIFE.