"My sickness glorifies God by showing others how to suffer well."
How it sounds in your head: People say I'm such an example, handling this illness with grace. Maybe my purpose now is to show others how to die with faith. Maybe my suffering is a testimony to His sustaining power.
"When Jesus heard that, He said, 'This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.'"
-- John 11:4Religion turned suffering into a platform, making pain a ministry and God the director of the tragedy.
She's received countless compliments about her 'strength' and 'faith' during illness, and it gives her suffering meaning. Church teaching praised martyrs and Job, making endurance seem like glorification.
Man was born blind—a lifetime condition, seemingly permanent. Jesus said it was so the works of God could be revealed in him, then immediately healed him. God was glorified by the HEALING, not by the man's decades of blindness.
I REFUSE the lie that my sickness glorifies God. IT IS WRITTEN that when Jesus said sickness was for God's glory, He RAISED THE DEAD—God is glorified in RESURRECTION, not resignation. Jesus healed the blind man to reveal God's works, not to let him stay blind as a testimony. My Father is glorified when His children walk in HEALTH, not when we endure disease gracefully. IT IS WRITTEN that by His stripes I WAS healed—and that finished work glorifies Him more than my suffering ever could. I am blessed with the BARAK of Abraham, and that blessing includes divine health that testifies to His goodness.
Your Father isn't asking you to be a poster child for suffering—He's the God who RAISED LAZARUS to glorify Himself. He's not impressed by your ability to endure sickness; He's moved by your faith to RECEIVE healing, the same way He was moved when the woman with the issue of blood reached for His garment.