Why Won’t God Cure Cancer?
I have a friend who is suffering from cancer. I have known him for several years and until recently, he was not a believer. His cancer diagnosis awakened a spiritual need within him to accept Christ as his Savior (Praise be to God!). I recently visited him and asked if he had contemplated his own death, for his cancer carries a high morbidity rate. He responded by saying, “No, I have not; not at all. I am a believer in Christ and am praying that Jesus will heal me, so I know He will. Jesus is going to heal my cancer because I am praying that He will do so.” Oh boy. How does one respond to such a statement? And, it’s not an unexpected question, especially for a new believer: Why won’t God cure cancer?
There’s much to unpack here, and I am going to proceed, first, by discussing the theological response, but then by addressing the more personal and emotional response. This question gets to profoundly fundamental questions we face as believers: If God is sovereign and loves us, then why do we suffer? Are the concepts of God’s sovereignty and benevolence contradictory? Does God truly answer prayers, but if He doesn’t, why go through the exercise?
Let’s start with this: God is sovereign over all things (Romans 11:36). The Bible does not teach that God is only sovereign over good things. It teaches that He is sovereign over all things, including suffering and evil. However, there is an important distinction in how He is sovereign over good and evil. God is the direct cause of good. (“Every good and perfect gift is from above.” James 1:17). While God permits and governs evil, He is not its author. (“I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.” Isaiah 45:7). This means that while God is sovereign over everything, He does not commit evil, nor does He approve of it morally. Instead, He allows evil in a way that He can ultimately use for good purposes, though those purposes are not always immediately visible to our human perception. So many times, God’s plan is only seen with the eyes in the back of our heads, as only in hindsight do we see His wisdom. We know that this world is not right. From the Fall, the overarching narrative of the Bible is God’s plan to restore mankind to Him. Christ spoke of the coming of the Kingdom of God, where the sick will be healed, the blind made to see and the peacemakers will be the children of God (Matthew, Chapters 5–7). That plan is in motion and working every day. We rely on the coming of the Kingdom, and in Him as our Savior, for “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good.” Romans 8:28.
Prayer is our opportunity to speak relationally to God. Prayer carries power, where we may communicate directly with our Father. We should pray boldly for those things we need from God. The Bible speaks directly to prayers for the sick: “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 one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.” James 5:14–15. But this boldness must also be balanced with humility, for we are also taught to pray “Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:9–13). It is God’s will that must be done, not our own. Prayer is not wish fulfillment, but our opportunity to honestly and vulnerably open our hearts to the Father. While God spared Nineveh, he would not remove his Son’s cup in the Garden of Gethsemane. So, we pray, knowing that our Father hears us, but also knowing that He answers according to His plan, not ours.
These are basic theological points upon which most would probably agree. While these ideas answer the questions posed above, they still do not address personal and emotional aspects underlying the questions. My friend will die. He won’t see his grandchildren. He should have many years left with much to do, but he won’t live to see those years. His death won’t be pleasant. Why? Why does this have to happen? Why wouldn’t God just cure his cancer? Well, I don’t know, but I do know this: We must believe that, in the fullness of time and through God’s infinite knowledge, mercy and wisdom, a greater purpose and meaning are in motion, because what choice do we really have? To believe that death is simply random, that suffering has no purpose, that evil exists just because it does, is to take the road to Hell. Such a world, and such a mindset, would both be unbearable and deny those miracles of love we do see around us every day. So, what do we do? We surrender. We surrender to the not knowing. We relinquish our resistance. We take that leap of faith and accept the consequences of it, because Hell is the only alternative. Casting our eyes to Heaven, with our feet planted on the earth, we speak as the man spoke to Christ: I believe! Help my unbelief. (Mark 9:24).
We grieve for the suffering in this world, for it is not right. In the fullness of time, God will complete the restoration of His kingdom, where His will shall be done on earth, as it is in Heaven. While we wait, we take that leap of faith, seek to be agents of His will and offer love. While we boldly ask our Father those things we need, we also humbly submit to His will, plan and purpose, as our Father and Creator.
In Christ,
Mort Taylor