Sickness Can Draw You and Others Closer to God, if You Let It – Here’s HowSample

Let Your Response to Sickness Bring Others Closer to God

Whether we like it or not, people watch how we suffer. Coworkers notice your attitude. Family sees your tone. Friends pay attention to what you say – or don’t say. And while you may not feel strong or wise during a time of sickness, your response quietly shapes how others see God.

Paul understood this deeply. Writing from prison, he told the Philippians:

“Now I want you to know… that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.” – Philippians 1:12 NIV

In other words, Paul’s hardship didn’t push people away from faith – it drew them toward it. His chains became his platform:

“Because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel.” – Philippians 1:14 NIV

This is the third way that sickness can draw people closer to God: through your witness.

Your attitude, peace, and perseverance under pressure speak louder than any sermon. When people see your faith and outlook as you face your sickness, they begin to see that maybe, just maybe, God really is enough for them also.

The apostle Peter urged suffering believers with these words:

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” – 1 Peter 3:15 NIV

The context of that hope was hardship, not so different from the sickness or suffering that you may be facing. In writing these words, Paul was telling Christians: Your endurance might be someone else’s evidence.

A Crazy Faith

During the year or so that it took my illness to unfold and be diagnosed, I continued with my work. Somewhere along the way, after a typical Zoom call, I must have shared something that spoke volumes – because a colleague suddenly blurted out that I had a “Crazy Faith” – a faith so strong, so real, and so effective that she wanted it too.

Huh? Was I so special? Did God bring about such a change in my life? What made her think my faith was so special that she wanted it too?

I didn’t think I said or did anything special, but I guess it was just how I was living, in the midst of my health uncertainties, that touched her exactly where God wanted to reach her and draw her in to Himself also.

Take Time to Reflect

You don’t need to put on a brave face or pretend everything’s fine. That’s not what makes your faith compelling.

What moves people is when they see peace where there should be panic, gratitude where there could be complaining, and trust when nothing makes sense.

Paul writes these words:

“Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:16,18 NIV

This kind of vision – this hope – is what others notice.

Ask yourself:

• What are people seeing in me during this season of illness?
• Am I allowing the Spirit to shape my response?
• Could my quiet trust be someone else’s turning point?

Your story is still being written, and perhaps even more powerfully so through your sickness.

Don’t underestimate the power of your example. You might be lying in a hospital bed, but your faith can be standing tall, quietly pointing people to the God who sustains you.