Command 42 : Take, Eat, and Drink | Day 292

Identify a Cause of Sickness!

Her name was regularly on the prayer list. If it was not one sickness it was another. They were genuine illnesses, but prayers for her did not seem to affect her physical condition. Nor did she improve after many visits to doctors or from taking countless pills. Her list of ailments continued year after year. Yet in her case, there was no need for these ongoing physical afflictions, because her condition and the cure were identified by the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 11:29-30:

“For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep."

When I first met this woman and talked with her, I asked her if she was in fellowship with the Lord. She affirmed that she was. However, when I asked her if there were any people against whom she was bitter, she quickly admitted that there were.

She did not realize the vital connection that exists between loving God and loving others (see I John 4:20). Consequently, she was neglecting the warning of Jesus, Who said that if we refuse to forgive our offenders, He will turn us over to "tormentors.” (See Matthew 18:21-35.) In her case, the "tormentors" were rheumatoid arthritis, back pain, osteoporosis, allergies, and several other self-destructive diseases.

The connection between physical disease and lack of thorough spiritual examination is explained in James 5:14-16. The passage does not say to call for the doctor when we are sick, but to call for the elders of the church. The elders can help us discern whether we have a sickness unto death, a sickness unto chastisement, or a sickness unto the glory of God. (See I Corinthians 11:27-32 and John 11:4.) If it is a sickness unto chastisement, we need to confess our faults and seek forgiveness from God and those against whom we have sinned.

When this woman confessed her sin of unforgiveness and forgave and blessed the one who had deeply hurt her, she began to experience renewed health. God has designed us in such a way that unresolved conflicts produce guilt, bitterness, fears, depression, and a host of other emotions that directly affect our physical health. John related physical health to the condition of the soul when he said, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (III John 2).

Thorough self-examination and confession to one another prepares our hearts for communion and helps us avoid the consequences of partaking in an unworthy manner.

I have been impressed with the way one church conducts their weekly communion service. After a time of personal examination and confession, each family within the congregation comes to the front of the sanctuary, takes the bread and the cup, and then finds a place where they can talk. They make sure all offenses are cleared up among family members; then, together they partake of communion.

There is great wisdom in this practice, because many illnesses come as a result of stress and tension from unresolved family conflicts. Let's examine our lives to see if we are experiencing any illnesses due to unconfessed sin and then humble ourselves by confessing these faults to God and to one another.