Does God Want Me Well?

The man told me he didn’t want to hear about a God who lets people suffer the way they do. He said, “I turned against the Bible and the Christian faith when my mother was dying of the same disease I have. She was a devout Christian, but in spite of her prayers that God would either heal her or take her home she lived with terrible pain month after month. I decided that either there isn’t a God or that He isn’t the kind of God I think He is.”

Pastor Herb Vander Lugt tried to comfort this man with what the Bible has to say about suffering. There were questions to be answered. “Does God use sickness to make good people better?” “Are we sick because we don’t have the faith to be healed?” “Is He really a loving God?”

Writer-in-residence for RBC since 1966, Herb has tackled some tough issues. But a personal struggle left him facing questions of his own.

Herb’s first daughter died at birth. His second daughter Cathy was born but did not start breathing quickly enough. Five minutes later air pumped through her lungs—but not in time to avoid brain damage.

“Many people turn away from God because of the problem of pain.”

Herb and his wife worked with Cathy and today she can read, even play the piano. “I admit my dreams of a normal daughter were shattered,” shares Herb. “I begged God for healing, but it didn’t come in the way we expected.”

But over the years, there was a sense of God’s presence. “We love her deeply,” Herb states. “And out of this, I have experienced the comfort Paul talks about in
2 Corinthians 1:3-5.”

From his experiences, Herb wrote the booklet Does God Want Me Well?—a reminder that Christians aren’t immune to suffering. “How else would we learn to trust God?” Herb adds.

Another woman with cancer recently asked Herb if God sends sickness. “No, we’re in a fallen world,” Herb explains. We know that our bodies will fail sooner or later.”

Could there be a bright side to this problem of illness and pain? Herb urges us not to miss out on the opportunities we have to grow closer to our Father.

“Paul had a thorn in the flesh. Three times he cried out for healing. But in the end, he was forced to rely completely on God for His strength. Of course we prefer to avoid it, but God uses our weaknesses.”

And then there’s the question of whether God works obvious miracles today.

“I’ve seen a few people who have been restored in what appeared to be a miraculous way—but not often. God usually works through medical treatment or lets nature take its course.”

Herb’s booklet Does God Want Me Well? offers comfort for all who are suffering:
“No matter how downtrodden the believer is, he can remember this—God will make you well—either on earth or in heaven.”

The Discovery Series Bible-study booklet Does God Want Me Well? is available at no cost or obligation. Inside, you’ll find a list of people in the Bible who suffered, more ways to find peace through pain, and comforting Scripture passages.

To read the entire booklet online, go to:
http://www.discoveryseries.org/q0104/