Behold, thou art made whole; sin no more,
lest a worse thing come unto thee.
John 5: 14.
I take pleasure in infirmities…
for when I am weak, then am I strong.
II Corinthians 12: 10.
Over the course of one’s life, one has to spend many days in sickness or infirmity of body. In reality, it is not sickness, but its cause that is a misfortune for mankind: sickness of the soul - passions and sin; this is what is at the root of the origins of physical sickness. As Fr. John of Kronstadt wrote, “All of our diseases are God’s punishment for sins; they are a cleansing, and reconcile us to God and bring us once again within the compass of His love.”
Thus, disease is something of a reminder from the Lord – a reminder to us about our more awful sorrow: sin’s attack upon our soul. To achieve healing of disease, one must first of all repent. Before healing the paralytic, the Lord first forgave him his sins (Mark 2: 3-12). When at the “sheep’s’ pool” He healed the person who had been ill for 38 years, He said to him: “Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” (John 5: 14). This would lead one to conclude that the prayers of the Church or of a Righteous One for healing of disease leads to forgiveness of sins (James 5: 16), and as a consequence, to recovery.
However, disease and infirmity is not the fate only of great sinners. The Lord said to the Apostle Paul: “My strength is made perfect in weakness,” and the Apostle Paul said of himself “…I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. (II Corinthians 12: 9-10).
Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow wrote regarding the beneficial results of illness: “It is useful to experience during an illness a feeling of estrangement from the world, so that after the illness has passed, you might retain that feeling. It is not surprising to see that such a feeling does not come as easily after a period of illness than during the illness itself. During illness, God grants it for the use of the infirm, but in times of health, requires that man struggle to acquire it.”
That is why the Saints and Righteous Ones patiently endured their infirmities and illnesses. St. Seraphim of Sarov suffered for about three years from dropsy, and spent half of that time in bed. During extreme worsening of the malady, the rector of the Sarov Hermitage suggested that the Venerable One summon a physician. St. Seraphim replied, “Holy Father, I have turned myself over to the True Physician of souls and bodies, to our Lord Jesus Christ and to His Most-pure Mother. If your love should so decide, for the Lord’s sake supply me, the wretched one, with Heavenly treatment” (i.e. commune me of the Holy Gifts). After the Venerable One had communed of the Holy Gifts, the Mother of God appeared to him and, by the touch of her hands, healed him.
Thus, in times of illness we should first of all hope not so much in receiving help from earthly physicians, as in the mercy of God; to receive that, we should offer repentance, and should seek healing through the Mysteries of Confession, Holy Communion, and Holy Unction.
Venerable St. Silouan the Athonite stated, “The soul that submits to the will of God easily tolerates any sorrow and any sickness, for it prays to and contemplates upon God in sickness as well. “Lord, Thou seest my disease. Thou knowest that I am sinful and weak; help me to patiently endure and to thank Thee for Thy goodness.” The Lord eases the sickness, the soul senses God’s help, and it remains ever thankful before God."
One should mention that a Christian can sin by not wanting to seek the assistance of physicians; as in all things, in this realm the Christian needs to exercise common sense.
One example is that of a certain spiritual daughter of Fr. Valentin Amphiteatrov, a renowned Muscovite pastor. She had a serious visual problem for which she did not want to seek treatment; instead she persistently urged Fr. Valentin to heal her eyes by his prayers. Seeing in this desire for miraculous healing an absence of humility and a manifestation of pride, Fr. Valentin refused to pray for her, and suggested that she see take the course that all others do – see a doctor.
Elder Fr. Nektary of Optina would point out that the following question may be found in the book of Confession: “Do you scorn treatment?” He would add, “Physicians and medicines are also from God.”
Here is the attitude toward illness maintained by Righteous Fr. John of Kronstadt, a great man of prayer: “You ask the Lord that you might love Him even unto death. Heed: here the Lord sends you a severe internal malady that brings you to the brink of death itself. Do not complain to the Lord, but rather endure it courageously, thanking Him for this, His fatherly visitation upon you. This will demonstrate the firmness of your love for God, that you love Him unto death itself. Also, in times of severe attacks and [painful] contortions of illness, maintain the sure hope that if God so wills, He can deliver you not only from disease, but from death itself.
When you see the body destroyed by sickness, say, “The lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away…blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1: 21). You have become used to seeing your body as personal property that cannot be taken away, but that is grossly erroneous, for your body is the building of God… Thus, be unsparing: do not love your corruptible body for [the Lord’s] sake, but rather give it up, in its entirety, and voluntarily, to the will of the Lord Who commands you, just as Abraham gave up his son to be a burnt offering - not losing faith in God’s mercy, not sinking in spirit, not directing mad senseless words toward God, as if he were incorrectly punishing you so severely - and you will bring a great sacrifice to God, like unto that offered by Abraham or by the martyrs….
Thus, patiently tolerate your sickness with magnanimity. Do not become despondent. Quite the contrary: if you can, rejoice in your sickness…. Rejoice in the fact that the Lord has sought you out for temporary punishment that your soul might be cleansed of sins….
Rejoice in the fact that you are not succumbing to the passions you otherwise would face if you were healthy. Rejoice in carrying the cross of illness and that, accordingly, you are following the narrow, sorrowful path which leads to the Kingdom of Heaven..”
Here is what Fr. Alexander Yelchaninov writes about sickness: “Sickness is not a misfortune, but a visitation from God... Sickness is the most felicitous time for causing your heart to return to God. With your return to health, that opportunity once again recedes into the endless distance…. How many times have I witnessed people hopelessly physically ill become through their illness refined, inspired, and tender.”