We’ve all heard it before. When someone gets sick, the common response is, “It’s just a 24-hour bug,” or “It’ll run its course.” We treat sickness as something inevitable, something we must endure and wait out. But here’s the question: why do we let sickness run its course when we could be letting God’s Word do that? Why aren’t we allowing God’s promises of healing to take hold and drive sickness out of our bodies?

Too often, we’ve become comfortable with sickness. We see it as an inconvenience to manage, rather than something to resist. But our bodies are not meant to be dwelling places for sickness. The Bible says, “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19). Just as Jesus drove the money changers out of the temple, we need to let Jesus, the Word of God, drive out sickness from our lives.

Don’t Get Comfortable with Sickness

When I was younger and would get sick, my dad would say to me, “Just say you’re healed.” I remember thinking, “But I’m not healed; I’m still sick. If I say I’m healed, that would be a lie.” I didn’t understand what he meant. Then my dad explained it to me: “No, that’s not a lie—that’s faith. Faith says what the Word of God says, not what your body says.” He told me, “Yes, you may be sick, but faith says the opposite. Faith says what God’s Word declares about your healing, not what your symptoms tell you.”

At the time, it was hard for me to grasp. I was used to believing what I could see and feel, and if I felt sick, then I assumed I had to admit it. But my dad was teaching me something deeper. He was showing me that faith operates on a higher level than what we see or feel. 2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” Faith isn’t about denying reality—it’s about trusting God’s truth over our circumstances. And God’s truth is that “By His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5).

The Power of Speaking God’s Word

One of the most powerful things we can do when faced with sickness is to speak the Word of God over our bodies. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” The words we speak carry immense power, and when we declare God’s promises of healing, we are releasing that power over sickness.

Isaiah 55:11 tells us, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” When we speak the Word of God over sickness, it’s not just empty words—it’s God’s promise being put into action. We can confidently stand on scriptures like Isaiah 53:5, which says, “With his stripes we are healed.” Healing is something that Jesus already accomplished for us on the cross, and faith allows us to tap into that healing, even when our bodies are still experiencing sickness.

My dad was teaching me that faith speaks the truth of God’s Word, even when the physical reality hasn’t caught up yet. It’s not about denying the fact that you’re sick; it’s about declaring that God’s Word is greater than your symptoms. Faith calls those things which are not as though they were (Romans 4:17), meaning it speaks healing even when the body still feels sick.

Don’t Give Sickness a Place to Stay

Sometimes, without realizing it, we give sickness a foothold in our lives because we don’t actively stand against it. Ephesians 4:27 says, “Neither give place to the devil.” Sickness, like any attack from the enemy, is something we have the authority to resist. James 4:7 reminds us, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” This applies to sickness too. The enemy wants us to believe we’re powerless against sickness and disease, but that’s far from the truth.

Jesus gave us the authority to cast out demons, heal the sick, and trample on the power of the enemy. Luke 10:19 says, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” But many times, we don’t use that authority. Instead, we let sickness take over and accept it as normal. However, we are called to stand on God’s Word, speak life over our bodies, and command sickness to leave in the name of Jesus.

Don’t Rely Only on Plan B

Now, I’m not against doctors, medicine, or prescription drugs. These are often helpful, and God can work through them. However, we can’t let these become our Plan A, while God’s Word is relegated to Plan B. Too often, we rely solely on medication to manage our health instead of trusting in God’s healing power. While medical treatment is valuable, we must first lean on God and allow His Word to take its course in our bodies.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” It’s fine to seek medical help, but our first and ultimate reliance should be on God’s Word. Let’s allow His promises to work in us, rather than relying solely on medical solutions.

Let the Word Run Its Course

How many times have we heard people say, “It’s just a bug; it’ll run its course.”? Now imagine if we said the same thing about God’s Word: “I’m going to let God’s Word run its course in my body.” How different would our approach to sickness be if we focused on letting God’s Word—not the sickness—have the final say?

Joshua 1:8 says, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Meditating on the Word, speaking it constantly, and standing in faith are how we let the Word take its course. Instead of waiting for sickness to pass, we should give the Word of God time to work.

When Jesus encountered sickness, He didn’t wait for it to “run its course.” He spoke healing immediately. Whether it was the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:25-34), the blind men He healed (Matthew 9:27-30), or the leper He touched (Matthew 8:1-3), Jesus didn’t accept sickness as something to be endured. He dealt with it completely, and we can trust Him to do the same in our lives.

Faith in Action

To truly see God’s Word take its toll on sickness, we need to put our faith into action. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Even when we don’t see immediate results, we must continue standing in faith, speaking God’s promises, and believing that His Word is working in us.

Mark 11:23 reminds us of the power of faith-filled words: “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” Sickness is a mountain that needs to be spoken to—commanded to leave, with no doubt that God’s Word is greater than any diagnosis.

Let’s not get comfortable with sickness. Let’s not give it room in our lives. Instead, let’s allow the Word of God to take its course and drive sickness out. Just as Jesus drove the money changers out of the temple, He wants to drive sickness out of His temple—our bodies. Stand on His promises, speak His Word, and watch as healing comes.

—Joshua L Mullins