Did God Give Me Cancer

Did God give me cancer?  James 1:16 states, “Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father…”  Cancer is NOT a good OR perfect gift…so it is NOT from God.

When God created the world, it was all very good. (Genesis 1:31) God did not create death or anything that would lead to death.  Adam and Eve could have been immortal. Death and things that lead to death were brought about by sin. Everyone born after sin came into the world would be born dead spiritually and would eventually die physically. That is the consequence of sin for every one of us.  Death was not God’s plan. Death is a consequence of sin. “For the wages of sin is death.” Romans 3:23

And ever since mankind sinned, God has been working to give us life. God is a God of LIFE not death.  Jesus said, “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy.  I have come so that they may have LIFE and have it in abundance.  I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.”  John 10:10-11

Jesus came to this earth to live a perfect, sinless life so that He could become the perfect sacrifice, the perfect payment for my sins and yours.  Jesus came to earth, so that, through His death we could gain spiritual life and live eternally.  God wants life for us!  Especially eternal life!!!

Jesus also came to show us how to live an abundant life by living life in the way that God designed it, in obedience to Him.  You see, mankind’s sin brought spiritual and physical death, but my individual sins will bring loss, death and destruction to my life and to the lives of those I impact.  My individual sin brings about the opposite of life.  If I follow Jesus and have His Spirit living in me, He gives me the power to walk in abundant LIFE.  Life is what God wants for me AND for YOU!

So where does this cancer come from?  I think it comes from one of 2 places.  Either it is part of the “things that lead to death” that came from mankind’s original sin or it is an attack from satan.

You can read about the consequences of sin in Genesis 3:18-24.  The consequence of sin is not only death, but also pain, toil, and suffering.  Life would no longer be as God originally created it or intended it.  Death is not always a sudden occurrence, but it is also a process of bodies breaking down over time.  We begin dying as soon as we are born.  Cancer is just one of the dying processes brought about by sin…not necessarily an individual’s sin, but sin in general.

From studying the book of Job, I know that God allows satan a limited “reign” in our lives.  satan can do nothing to us unless God allows it.  Why does God allow satan to torment or test us?  I don’t know the answer to that question.  He’s God and He has a purpose for everything He allows.  Does it make Him a bad Father if He allows this? Our perspective may be, “Yes!”  But Scripture tells us, “You are good and what You do is good…” (Psalm 119:68) There are many other Scriptures that describe God’s character as good.

In the case of Job, once God put an end to satan’s oppression, God restores everything satan had taken from Job two-fold.  Job comes to know God in a more intimate way.  Job and his friends realize that God is much bigger and more mysterious than they can comprehend.  (We DO NOT have the capacity to understand God.) And Job lives to see his children to the 4^th generation and dies, “old and full of days.” (Job 42)   From Job, it seems that if God allows satan a limited reign in our life and we respond appropriately, His plan is to bless us afterwards.

BUT, whether this cancer is a product of sin or satan’s oppression, GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL of it.  God can heal cancer with one word. God can end satan’s oppression with one word.  God is not only a good Father, but He is also an amazing Redeemer.  He can redeem death, sin, toil, suffering, and pain. He redeemed Jesus' suffering, pain and death with resurrection and the payment of my sin and yours, if you will accept it.  He redeemed Jesus' suffering, pain and death with eternal LIFE for ALL who would believe. And He can redeem cancer.  He can somehow transform anything into LIFE. He's just amazing like that.  And I expect Him to do so in the case of this cancer.

Romans 8:28, 29b We KNOW that ALL things work together for the GOOD of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose…to be conformed to the image of His Son.

It doesn’t really matter why I have cancer.  But I know God did not give it to me.  But He WILL work it together for my good and for the good of those that I impact, if I love Him.  And I do love Him. And one way He wants to redeem this cancer, is to make me look more like Jesus in the process. That’s a good thing.

AND when He redeems this cancer, He WILL receive glory and praise.