Objection: God Sometimes Heals You Only After He Has Let You Suffer a While (1 Peter 5:10)
It is amazing that anyone would quote this as a proof text that God is unwilling to heal you right away in all cases. As with many objections, a look at the context quickly unravels this argument and a quick trip to a concordance runs what is left through the shredder.
1 Peter 5:8-10:
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
To What Afflictions Does Peter Refer?
The “afflictions” you suffer here are from Satan, who is out to destroy you. The suffering is from temptations and persecutions, not sicknesses. The afflictions accomplished in your brethren around the world must be from Satan, because we are told to resist him (personally) steadfast in the faith. Note that our faith is what gives us the victory over him. However, Satan won’t just give up the first time you resist him; he’ll be back. You will suffer temptations, as even Christ Himself had to do, and you will have to actively resist Satan.
The word Greek word translated “afflictions” is elsewhere translated as shown below in the New Testament:
“But call to remembrance the former days, in which after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.” – Hebrews 10:32-33. Does sickness fit here? Nope. If they were sick, they would not have been referred to as “them that were so used.”
“Persecutions, afflictions, which came to me at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me” – 2 Timothy 3:11. Again, this is clearly persecution and not sickness. (Paul did have some physical trouble because of his stoning at Lystra, as mentioned elsewhere, but this proves nothing because the Lord healed him.)
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” – Romans 8:18
“For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted [this is a different word that means to crowd, literally or figuratively – it is translated afflict, narrow, throng, suffer tribulation and trouble, never sickness or anything of the sort], it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.” – 2 Corinthians 1:5-7.
“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” – Philippians 3:10. Do you suppose that Paul was expressing his prayer that he would get sick? No, that would not be one of Christ’s sufferings that he could partake of because Christ was only sick during His atonement. No man can add to the finished work that He did at Calvary. After all, Paul wanted to know the power of His resurrection, and that resurrection power healed Christ’s body and raised it from the dead!
“Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is left behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church” – Colossians 1:24. This Scripture has been used as the basis for a different healing objection that is covered elsewhere. But just look at this verse – would you rejoice in someone’s sickness? No. Could your sickness be suffering for you or for His Body’s sake, which is the church? Does the Church benefit from your asthma? No. Could you have arthritis for Christ’s Body’s sake? No. So forget that idea.
“For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons into glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” – Hebrews 2:10.
No sensible person would say that Jesus was made perfect through sickness. Sickness never perfects anyone – it loads the person up with imperfections!
“Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” – 1 Peter 1:11.
“But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.” – 1 Peter 4:13-14.
You cannot possibly partake of Christ’s substitutionary sufferings for mankind. There would be no need for that anyway, as Jesus finished the needed substitutionary work for all mankind. So these sufferings must be what Jesus suffered BEFORE He was punished for our sins. Those sufferings NEVER included sickness, so sickness CANNOT BE “Christ’s sufferings” of which you partake in the passages above.
“For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.” – Romans 7:5.
“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” – Galatians 5:24.
“The elders which are among you I exhort, who am an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:” – 1 Peter 5:1. [We’ll come back to this verse below.]
Conclusion: The afflictions Peter talks about are persecutions, not sicknesses.
When Does God Strengthen You?
It is also a very questionable reading of this verse to say that God will perfect, stablish, strengthen and settle you after you have suffered a while. That is how most people read it, but it could equally be taken to say (in English or Greek): “God, who has called you unto His eternal glory after you have suffered a while, will Himself perfect, stablish, strengthen and settle you.” In context, this would almost have to be what Peter meant. In other words, the “after you have suffered a while” clause belongs with “has called you into His eternal glory” as opposed to the part about God perfecting and establishing you.
See 1 Peter 5:1 cited above. Peter speaks of the glory that shall be revealed. Then in verse 4, “And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” Then in verse 10 he tells us that he has called us into His eternal glory after we have suffered a while. The suffering in this context refers to our entire life on earth, not temporary suffering from some illness.
It does violence to dozens of Scriptures to claim that God will let you suffer a while and only then will He get around to strengthening you. He declares repeatedly that He IS your strength and that he will strengthen you. The Bible is full of promises about God’s strength being imparted to you. For a long list of them, see the article Condition: Weakness. It would be totally inconsistent with God’s nature to refuse to strengthen you even for a minute. God strengthened Paul in his weaknesses and declared that His grace was sufficient for him. So His grace is not going to be insufficient for you!
Study that Weakness article and you will have to conclude that God does not want you to be weak. He wants you to be strong, not in yourself, but in Him. To keep these promises, God could not delay strengthening you for some arbitrary amount of time just to make you suffer.
Quit Suffering from Illness Thinking That It’s God’s Will!
God wants to strengthen and establish you, not leave you sick. If you’ve been taught to patiently suffer sickness until God gets around to strengthening you, you now know better. It should now be clear to you that Peter was talking about Satan and persecution, not sickness.
See also: