In many of the sacred books, there are accounts of miraculous healings that were performed by the prophets. Even today there are religions that advocate the healing of illness by prayer. But there are also instances where the prophets could not heal, or where God could not cure an illness. In the Book of Prophecy (Ofudesaki), there is an incident where a request was made for the life of a child. God answered:

You say that you wish to train the child for two or three more years. But she is no longer in the hands of God. 3-60.

What are these instances where God has no control of our fate? In the Heaven’s Truth Religion (Tenrikyo), we believe in the principle of causality. Causality states that suffering and inconveniences are due to our past thoughts and actions. We reap what we sow. God usually has no control over what develops from past actions and thoughts. Some may call this fate. Fate may appear to be dark. But by the principle of causality, the positive acceptance of suffering and understanding the source of suffering also promulgates a positive fate in the future. God may not be able to stop our suffering, but we control our fate by our response to our suffering. Optimism always creates a positive fate. Remember the soul is everlasting, and does not end with our current physical demise. Our soul or consciousness goes on forever.

Because people do not understand causality, God has begun to work. What is this work God will perform? In the Book of Prophecy (Ofudesaki), he calls it miraculous blessings. God sees the path of mankind, which causes suffering, and wants to give us a glimpse of our future. This is why he gives us guidance in the form of temporary illnesses depending on how we are using our minds. These are the illnesses that are curable. When we ponder over the illness, and remove greed, arrogance, and self-love from our thoughts and behavior, these illnesses are returned back to God. This is why God calls these illnesses as blessings. They have the potential to create a joyous future from what may have been ominous one. This is a concept of a temporary inconvenience for a joyous future. These are the illnesses that can be healed. But for God, healing is a secondary goal; the primary goal is to save the soul. This starts from understanding causality and removing greed, arrogance, and self love from one’s thoughts and behaviors. Your illness may be God guiding you to remove evil from your heart. It may be healed!