If healing is always God's will, then what about Job?

... Paul's Thorn?

and all those suffering verses?

When people object to the view that God’s will is to heal everyone, the usual questions that are asked are about Job,  Paul’s “thorn,” and all the verses that say we are supposed to suffer. So those are the subjects that will be discussed in this brochure.

What about Job?

       If you are not familiar with this story, here are some facts.  First, the man’s name is pronounced Jobe. There is a book in the Bible that bears his name, and has his story.  Briefly, Satan and God had a conversation about Job, who was possibly the richest man of his time.  The result was that Job lost everything!  But then God not only replaced everything, but gave him far more than he’d had before!  According to James 5:11, that’s what we are supposed to remember about Job. Most Christians remember only that God apparently allowed Satan to cause horrible loss and suffering to a good man!

            In chapter one, Satan is talking to God about Job.  In verse 8, God said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job?” By a careful study of the Hebrew, this should be translated, “Why have you set your heart on Job?”  So God didn’t suggest that Satan harm Job!

            If you have been around faith teaching very much, you will recall that like faith activates God, fear activates Satan! If a person thinks they are in faith, but are saying faith confessions out of fear, then what they fear will happen.  Job had a lot of fear (1:5 and 3:25).  Satan said that God had put a hedge about Job, but God said, “He’s in your hands” (1:10-12 and 2:6).  Fear had opened the hedge, not God!

            Job didn’t understand what was happening or why, and wished he had a book (31:25).   In the final four chapters of the book, God talks about His greatness.  When He finishes, Job is ashamed and confesses that he didn’t know what he was talking about (42:6).  God also said that the three friends were wrong (42:7-8). If you put these facts together, the only thing that Job said that was right, was in 42:2-6.

            Finally, in 42:11, it says that God brought all that loss upon him, but because the English translators didn’t understand the difference between causative and permissive verbs, we have a mistranslation.  Because of the facts we have covered, it should be translated, “…God had to allow…” (because of Job’s fear).

            So now you know that verses within the book of Job cannot be completely accurate. The words were spoken in ignorance. Look at 1:21, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.”  And 13:15,  “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” These are admirable statements but they are wrong.  God is not the stealer or the killer; Satan is!  John 10:10.

Paul’s Thorn

            You may want to read II Cor. 12: 7-10, for that is where this account is. Most people think this “thorn” was a physical ailment, and that God said, “No, you have to keep it so you won’t be proud.”  That is totally wrong, and because Satan has so twisted that verse, generations of God’s people have been bound with sicknesses and not been able to believe that Jesus bore our sicknesses on the cross! 

            First, here is a list of verses that use the phrase “Thorn in the flesh.”  We always need to let the Bible interpret itself.  Num.33:55, Josh. 23:13, and Jud. 2:3 all use that phrase like our grandmas used to say someone is a pain in the neck!  It means an irritable or obnoxious person!  A study of Paul’s life will reveal that he had plenty of those! Yes, he had eye problems (Gal.4:15 and 6:11) but that wasn’t the thorn!

            “My Grace is sufficient for you.”   Even a shallow study of the word grace will reveal that it is God’s power and strength to meet any need.

            Heb. 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

            II Tim. 2:1, “My son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” 

            I Cor. 15:10, “By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

            Grace made Paul the mighty man he was! God wasn’t saying that Paul had to keep the “thorn” but that he had access to the power to deal with it himself.  In II Tim. 3:11 we see that Paul was delivered.

            Grace can be used for endurance or deliverance.  It’s your choice.  In Heb. 11: 35 we see those who chose endurance so that they might receive a greater reward by being martyred. This is something we need to decide now. In Phil. 1:22, we see Paul struggling with this decision – to die or stay a while.  If he didn’t have a choice, why is this verse there?  That brings us to –  

The suffering verses

            Ninety-nine per-cent of the suffering verses in the New Testament are referring to our being persecuted for the cause of Christ, (Matt. 5:10) not sickness and disease!  My brochure titled What’s my Cross? will help you with many of these verses. It deals with total surrender or dying to self, and that is the suffering which we are to experience! This involves fasting and resisting temptation as Jesus did in Matt. 4:1-11

            Another type of suffering is in travail praying. And similarly, when we give ourselves in service for others.  This is hard because our flesh doesn’t like it!  Our interests have to be laid aside.  And again we’re back to my other brochure, What’s My Cross”  Kathryn Kuhlman, a mighty woman of God who had a powerful effect on Benny Hinn’s life when he was a young man, said that dying to self is the secret to the power of the Holy Spirit!

Home  |  What I Believe  |  The Help I Offer  |  Brochures  |  Contact Me