202: Exhausted and Wondering If God Caused Your Chronic Illness? 5 Biblical Reasons He Allows Suffering (And What To Do While You Wait)
If you’ve been running on empty for months — chronic fatigue, autoimmune flares, a body that won’t cooperate no matter how much you sleep — and part of you has quietly wondered whether God is doing this to you or just letting it happen, this episode is for you.
We’re walking through five biblical reasons God allows suffering, and what to actually do while you’re still in the middle of it. Fair warning: these reasons aren’t wrapped in a bow. A few of them are genuinely hard to sit with. But stay to the end, because there’s real encouragement waiting there.
This one is for the Christian woman who is done spinning her wheels and ready to take real steps toward healing — body and faith, together. As a Registered Nurse and holistic health coach, I bring both a clinical lens and a faith-centered one to this conversation, because holistic health was never meant to separate the two.
Why God Allows Suffering: 5 Biblical Reasons
1. So God’s Works Can Be Displayed — John 9
When Jesus’s disciples ask who sinned to cause a man’s blindness, him or his parents, Jesus answers plainly: neither.
“It was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” — John 9:3
Illness isn’t always a verdict on someone’s character. Sometimes it’s simply the setup for what God plans to do next. If you’ve walked through healing, your story matters — telling it points other people back to Him.
2. Because God Works in Ways We Don’t Fully Understand — Job
The Book of Job is genuinely hard, and it’s okay to say so. Job loses his family and his health, and when God finally speaks, He doesn’t explain Himself.
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.” — Job 38:4
There’s no tidy resolution here. Just a reminder that we serve a God whose understanding is bigger than ours — which means some suffering won’t make sense from where we’re standing, and that’s allowed to be true without shaking our trust in Him.
3. Temporary Suffering Can Be Training Now, and Protection Later — Joseph, Genesis 50
Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers, falsely accused, and imprisoned — roughly seventeen years between the dream God gave him and the day it came true. When his brothers later feared retaliation, Joseph told them:
“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.” — Genesis 50:20
God used that season to train Joseph for the leadership he’d eventually need, and that same training is what positioned him to protect his entire family years later when famine hit. The suffering came first. The protection came after, once the training had done its work. If you’re walking through chronic illness or a season of low energy right now, it’s worth asking what this might be preparing you for, and who it might one day let you protect.
4. So God’s Power Can Be Made Perfect in Weakness — 2 Corinthians 12
Paul asked God three times to remove his “thorn in the flesh.” God didn’t.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” — 2 Corinthians 12:9
Paul’s conclusion was that his weakness became the very thing that made him strong. Self-sufficiency tends to pull us toward leaning on our own strength instead of God’s. Sometimes the thorn stays so the credit goes to God’s power, not ours.
5. So We Will Lack Nothing — James 1
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness… that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” — James 1:2-4
Nobody signs up for trials willingly. But if the process produces something in us we’d otherwise be missing, that reframes the waiting — even when it doesn’t make it easy.
What to Do While You’re Waiting on God
Faith Matters — But It’s Not a Verdict on Your Healing (Luke 8)
A woman who had been bleeding for twelve years touches the edge of Jesus’s garment and is instantly healed. He tells her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well.”
Faith plays a real part in healing. But just because you haven’t been healed yet doesn’t mean you don’t have enough faith. The man born blind in John 9 wasn’t blind because of a lack of faith. Faith is a factor, but it’s not the only one. There may be other things at work that have nothing to do with how much faith you have, so there’s no need to carry guilt over it or pick yourself apart looking for what’s missing.
Obedience Is Part of the Process (2 Kings 5)
Naaman was told to dip in the Jordan River seven times to be healed of leprosy — and he almost refused because it felt too simple. When he finally obeyed, he was healed.
Sometimes God is asking for action alongside our faith — working with a doctor, researching natural remedies, changing a habit, simply doing the next obedient thing in front of you. Faith and action aren’t in competition. And underneath it all is a quiet principle worth remembering: we reap what we sow. Good choices tend to bear good fruit, even when the harvest is slow to show up.
Remembering God’s Goodness in the Waiting
There’s a lot in Scripture that’s genuinely hard to understand — Job’s story, Ezekiel being told not to publicly mourn his wife, and plenty more. But understanding everything was never the requirement for trusting God’s goodness.
“He will never leave you nor forsake you.” — Hebrews 13:5
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” — Romans 8:28
He’s been proving that for thousands of years. He’s still doing it now, even in the waiting.
Key Takeaways
- Suffering is not automatically a punishment for sin or a sign of insufficient faith.
- Some of God’s ways genuinely won’t make sense from where we’re standing — and that’s allowed.
- Hard seasons can be preparation for something ahead that isn’t visible yet.
- Faith and practical obedience — medical care, lifestyle changes, natural remedies — work together, not against each other.
- You’re responsible for your next faithful step, not for forcing an outcome or understanding the whole plan.
This episode is educational and faith-based reflection, not medical advice or a diagnosis.
Ready for Your Next Step?
If you are experiencing low energy or autoimmune symptoms, I’d love to help you with your next steps. I have a few spots open for a More Energy Strategy Session, where we’ll look at what’s actually going on and build a clear path forward.
You can book your session at herholistichealing.com/services.