What Do You Do When Your Body Fails You?
Responding to Weakness, Sickness, and Disease

Our bodies fail us. We all would say that we wish it were not so. In the past few days, I have had conversations with people related to heart disease, dementia, cancer, stress, anxiety, aches and pains, and sicknesses of unknown origin. And, that has just been in the last few days. The outer man does waste away in life while we live seeking to grow in our inner man (2 Corinthians 4:16). Yet, for each of us, a legitimate question is, What do you do when your body fails you? How should you respond to weakness, sickness, and disease? Let me provide you a short guide on how to respond when your body fails you.

A Biblical Counselor’s Guide to Handling Weakness, Sickness, and Disease

Using the Bible as our guide, let me suggest twelve ways you can respond to your weakness, sickness, and disease.

• Repent of any sin in your life

Whenever you are dealing with something in relationship with your body, take time to do a spiritual inventory of sin. Certainly, I am not implying your weakness, sickness, and disease are a direct result of your sin; however, this is a very obvious place to begin. James writes,

And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven (James 5:15).

Consider where you may have unconfessed sin in your life, repent of that sin through confession, then ask God to forgive you of the sin.

Narratives in the Bible confirm that it is possible for someone to get sick and even die from unconfessed sin (1 Corinthians 11:30-34; cf., Daniel 4:25-35; Genesis 4:6-7).

We must use caution here because often the mistake is made in the Bible that all types of weakness, sickness, and disease (as well as calamity) are caused by sin. The Bible makes it abundantly clear this is not the case (Job 1-2, 42; Luke 13:4; John 9:1-5).

 

• Commit to living wisely with the fear of the Lord

The Bible teaches when we choose to live wisely with the fear of the Lord, we can expect better health. Consider just these two passages as examples:

Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
It will be health to your flesh,
And strength to your bones. (Proverbs 3:7-8)

My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh. (Proverbs 4:20-22)

In both of these texts, the author emphasizes living consistent with biblical principles and respecting God. When we do these things, we increase the probability of good health, emotional stability, and long life.

 

• Use this unpleasant circumstance as an opportunity to grow in Christlikeness

God regularly uses pressured-filled circumstances to help us grow into Christlikeness, be complete in our character, and grow. The book of James helps us here as well.

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4)

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:28-29)

God’s purpose for man through all of life’s circumstances is to become like Jesus Christ. The unpleasant circumstances of weakness, sickness, and disease fit inside the general category of various trials or all things. Therefore, you do not want to miss what God is doing in and through this unpleasant circumstance. If you fail to see God using this as redemptive in your life, you will not gain everything God has for you through it.

 

• Understand your personal responsibility and stewardship

Whatever the weakness, sickness, or disease, you have a personal responsibility for your health and vitality. Health is not simply something that comes at us; instead, we actively participate in the process. Consider these two texts:

For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come (1 Timothy 4:8).

She clothed herself in might,
and she strengthened her arms. (Proverbs 31:17)

Although it should never be the primary focus of a godly person, bodily exercise does profit. As stewards of our bodies, it honors God when we seek to treat them in ways that benefit or enlarge our capacity to serve God and others. In order to do the hard work of living for the Lord, as the Proverbs 31 text implies, we must be in our best shape physically.

God grants us eating, sleeping, working, and relationships as our gifts in life (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13; 9:9-10). As gifts, we need to steward them well.

Furthermore, consult your healthcare provider, listen to what that individual has to say, and try to follow his or her directives toward better health for the glory of God.

 

• In humility, draw near to God

In humility, draw near to God in times of weakness, sickness, and disease. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. In a time of sickness, God invites us to draw near to Him, to enjoy Him, and to receive grace from Him.

But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. (James 4:6-8)

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

God invites us to come to Him when we are in need through Christ. Jesus invites us to find rest in Him.

 

• Your body can influence you, but does not make you sin

As we work through our weakness, sickness, and disease, we need to remember a key biblical principle: our bodies can only influence us; they cannot make us sin.

We sin when a desire captures our hearts more than God and godliness, Christ and Christlikeness, along with love and service. The heart determines whether or not a person sins, not the body.

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. (Matthew 12:33-35)

But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.” (Matthew 15:18-20)

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (James 1:13-15)

Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23)

Jesus emphasizes the role the heart plays in every decision, attitude, or thought. In James and Proverbs, the emphasis is the same.

 

• Remember, in your distress, Jesus loves you

As you work through your weakness, sickness, and disease, remembering Jesus loves you is important. Consider these beautiful verses of Scripture:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31-39)

My suffering friend, regardless of what is going on in your life, it certainly does not mean that God does not love you. In fact, the opposite is true. Jesus’ death on the cross is proof positive that God loves you with eternal love.

 

• Your suffering helps you think about the past and long for the future

The suffering you go through in your weakness, sickness, and disease directs our thinking in three different directions. The experience of our suffering emphasizes the present. The presence of suffering reminds us of the past. In addition, the reality of living in suffering makes us long for the future.

In a perfect world where man enjoyed fellowship with God and every benefit of His creation, Adam and Eve chose to sin. God had warned them beforehand; yet, they still chose sin.

Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)

As we see decay, destruction, and death around us, we remember that sin is at its heart. The curse of sin causes what we see and experience (Genesis 3:14-19; Ephesians 2:1-3).

How do we respond? We long for a future day when Jesus returns and everything in the universe experiences redemption. Our suffering highlights this hope.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. (Romans 8:18-25)

 

• God’s grace is sufficient for your need

No matter what it is that you face or how you are experiencing your suffering, God’s grace is available for you. God both tells us it is sufficient and invites us to receive it. God promises us strength in our weakness.

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

God provides us abundant grace in Christ as we walk in the Spirit. He invites us to receive it and be helped by it as we face life’s most challenging situations, including our weakness, sickness, and disease.

 

• Talk and pray with your elders, and with other Christians

In your sickness, you are invited to talk and pray. Talk with other Christians who can give you comfort, serve you, and pray with you. Also, talk with your elders who can pray with you as well.

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:13-20)

No matter what your particular weakness, sickness, or disease looks like, take it to God in prayer. Talk with Him.

Invite your elders to join that conversation. Allow them to serve you, too, in the process.

 

• Grieve, Groan, and Lament over your suffering and the suffering in the world

We grieve, groan, and lament over the suffering in the world. This is not how the world was created. Instead, the serpent introduced a third voice of counsel that disoriented mankind, brought on the curse of sin, and, in some sense, you can say that the compass was changed. What was true north is no longer north.

Asaph notices all of these things and becomes overwhelmed by it. We, along with Asaph, trust God but lament over what has happened and continues to happen.

For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish;
You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry.
But it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have put my trust in the Lord God,
That I may declare all Your works. (Psalm 73:27-28)

We lament the world has changed, suffering exists, and evil continues.

 

• Agree with God in His hatred of sin, suffering, and the fallenness of life in this broken world

God hates sin, suffering, and the fallenness of life in this broken world; it is because of these things that Jesus had to come to earth to provide a wrath-bearing sacrifice for atonement from man’s sinfulness. God hates sin and is holy. Notice these texts:

The boastful shall not stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity. (Psalm 5:4)

God is a just judge,
And God is angry with the wicked every day.
If he does not turn back,
He will sharpen His sword;
He bends His bow and makes it ready.
He also prepares for Himself instruments of death;
He makes His arrows into fiery shafts. (Psalm 7:11-13)

As we go through suffering, we hate it sin and evil as God. We recognize that sin and suffering are part of the greater spiritual war against the flesh. We walk with God, seeking to honor Him even while we wait for future redemption.

 

Striving for Humility, Even in Suffering

As we suffer through weakness, sickness, and disease, it is easy to respond in pride on several fronts. We can easily believe that we deserve better – similar to Job in the Old Testament. Possibly, we can think that God is unfair for allowing suffering into our life. If so, these are very natural thoughts and emotions. However, they reflect pride rather than a humble spirit of trust in God’s plan and character. Therefore, we want to be sensitive to these areas as we seek to glorify God in our weakness, sickness, and suffering.

 

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