GOD'S HAND IN ILLNESS.

• Author: Gomes, Anthony
• Position: RELIGION

LIFE-THREATENING illness has a devastating impact on our lives, and it often tests our faith and relationship with God. However powerful one might be, there are moments in life when weaknesses are exposed, and one may clamor to a superior power for assistance. Even atheists are known to embrace God at the very last moment of their lives.

Life-threatening illnesses give rise to a wide variety of emotions: denial, anger, withdrawal, guilt, loss of livelihood and relationships, and, ultimately, the fear of death. These bring about negative and destructive energies that need to be coped with, and circumvented, to achieve a sense of balance and peace, which, in and of itself, may go a long way towards the physical and psychological healing process.

The first encounter with disease is unsettling and even terrifying. When I--together with the radiologist--looked at the chest X-ray of my wife, I nearly fainted, having to steady myself when he said to me, "She has a lymphoma." When I was alone in my office, I fell on my knees and prayed.

It is common for a sick individual to seek God's help. On the other hand, illness itself often is viewed as God's wrath. The very idea or concept of a loving, yet wrathful God is abundant in the Judeo-Christian religion. Numerous instances occur in the Old Testament where God's wrath is evident on Korah, Daman, Abiram, and some 250 others who rebelled against Moses.

God not only displayed his wrath toward rebellious Israelites, but towards wicked pagans. He also destroyed Earth by means of the flood. After the Exodus, he used Israel to destroy the wicked Canaanites for their sin. The fall of Jerusalem and the exile can be seen as Israel's and Judah's ultimate experiences of the wrath of Yahweh. Additionally, other occurrences like sickness, famine, and defeat in battle are expressions of divine wrath. Even personal affliction can be interpreted as God's wrath, as wrath often is seen as a response to human sin, both personal and collective.

In the Muslim faith, the Qur'an states: 'Those who reject Faith in the Signs of Allah will suffer the severest penalty, and Allah is Exalted in Might, Lord of Retribution."

Similar views are prevalent in the New Testament. Jesus, John the Baptist, Paul, and John preach a gospel that includes the proclamation of the wrath of God. Wrath is viewed as an essential and indispensable trait of God. It presents God as a savior, a judge who decrees judgment and punishment.

The...