Did God allow you to be sick so that?

This morning I made a visit to the local hospital to visit a dear brother named Scott. He was struck with a rare, out of the ordinary, never happened before, illness yesterday that left him throwing up blood and riddled with pain. 

It hit him out of nowhere as he was eating with a friend yesterday morning and he was rushed to the emergency room. They found the problem to be an ulcerated esophagus. Pray for him...

But maybe, just maybe God allowed this to be brought upon him for reasons that we sometimes never see. Because we are so quick only  to look at our own condition and want it fixed so we can quickly get back on our feet. What if God looks down on earth and sees someone far from God and his heart is broken and he wants someone to reach that lost person? 

Let me explain... After visiting with Scott in his room today I struck up a conversation with the man next to him. I asked why he was there. I asked how it happened. I asked where he lived. I asked if he had family. I asked if he was a native of that area. I asked where they went to school. I asked if he was connected to a church. You get the picture I was having a conversation with him. 

I found out a lot about this man in 5 minutes... He was a Fairfield grad, He had 3 kids. He went to a college in Indiana, his wife was a school teacher. He had never been in the hospital before. Then he told me he wasn't religious. He shared that he really didn't need God. But he said that there might be a day when he possibly would if something happened to him. 

I asked if I could pray for him and he said yes. So I prayed for his healing and asked God to reveal somehow that it was him that brought the healing. Bam!!! Then it hit me...

Did God love him so much that he allowed Scott to be his bedside roommate? Did he allow Scott  to get this horrible sickness in his esophagus so that he could meet this man who is far from God? Maybe God knew Scott had what it takes to share the good news about Jesus with this man. Maybe God orchestrated all these events that allowed both of these men to be disabled so that time would slow down and allow this encounter to take place.

Well, only God knows that answer but I sent a text message to Scott after I left the room and shared that his roommate was far from God, and that maybe God allowed his sickness to happen so that he could reach this dear man with 3 kids. The text reply back from Scott read "I'm on mission today!"

Maybe we need to pause in the midst of our delays, trials, sicknesses, and hospital stays and ask God is there a reason beyond me that you have for me. 

Just thoughts that run through my head. Pray for Scott and pray for his roommate...