I

Some people often fall ill,

but no matter how much they pray to God, they still don’t get better.

No matter how much they want to rid themselves of their illness, they cannot.

Sometimes, they may even face life-threatening conditions

and are forced to confront them head-on.

In fact, if one really has faith in God in their heart,

they first of all must know that a person’s lifespan is in God’s hands.

The timing of one’s birth and death is predestined by God.

When God gives people illness, there is a reason behind it—

it has significance, it has significance.

It feels like sickness to them,

but, in actual fact, what they have been given is grace, not illness.

People must first of all recognize and be sure about this fact,

and take it seriously.

II

When people are suffering from illness, they can often come before God,

and make sure to do what they should, with caution and prudence,

and treat their duty with greater care and diligence than others.

As far as people are concerned, this is a protection, not shackles.

It’s the negative way of handling things.

Everyone’s lifespan has been predetermined by God,

has been predetermined by God.

An illness may appear to be terminal from a medical standpoint,

but from God’s point of view, if your life must still go on

and your time has yet to come,

then you couldn’t die even if you wanted to.

III

If God has given you a commission, and your mission is not over,

then you will not even die from an illness that is supposed to be fatal—

God won’t take you yet.

Even if you do not pray and seek the truth,

or do not attend to treating your illness,

or even if you put off your treatment, you will not die, you will not die.

Especially for those with God’s commission,

when their mission has yet to be completed,

no matter what illness befalls them, they must not die straight away;

they must live until the final moment of the mission’s completion.

IV

Everyone’s lifespan was determined by God

before the creation of the world.

If they can obey the arrangements,

obey the arrangements and orchestrations of God,

then regardless of whether they suffer illness or not,

and whether they are in good or poor health,

they’ll live the number of years predetermined by God.

Do you have this faith?

If you only acknowledge this based on doctrine,

then you do not have true faith,

and it is useless to say nice-sounding words,

it’s useless to say nice-sounding words;

if you confirm from the bottom of your heart,

from the bottom of your heart that God will do this,

your approach and way of practice will naturally change.

from The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three