Another Objection: “I’m Suffering for the Glory of God”

This objection is used by some who have taken a verse from the story of the raising of Lazarus as a basis to claim they are suffering sickness for God’s glory. Jesus said concerning Lazarus:

This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it (John 11:4).

Jesus wasn’t saying that God was being glorified as a result of Lazarus’ sickness, but that God would be glorified when Lazarus was healed and raised from the dead. In other words, the final result of the sickness wouldn’t be death, but rather that God would be glorified. God isn’t glorified in sickness; He is glorified in healing. (See also Matt. 9:8; 15:31; Luke 7:16; 13:13 and 17:15, where healing brought glory to God.)