Bible Question: "As a nursing home nurse, many of my debilitated patients have asked me, 'Why is God doing this to me?' due to their loss of health and dependence on others. What does the Bible say about this, and what answer can I give them?"

Bible Answer: There is no easy answer to such questions, but to understand the root of our fears about losing our health and independence, we must recognize our universal sin nature.

In Genesis 3:17-19, God pronounced a curse on the earth and its inhabitants due to the sin of Adam and Eve. "Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return."

Before Adam and Eve's sin, they lived in a perfect world in the Garden of Eden. There were no thorns and thistles, and Adam did not have to sweat to produce his food, nor was there any sorrow or dying. All the world was in harmony, and even the animals were in peace with each other and with man.

Since the curse, we are born into a flawed world, a literal dog-eat-dog world, where if the lamb lies down with the lion it will become supper, where men have need of swords as well as plows.

And sickness and death are realities in this flawed world.

As to what to say to elderly people facing the loss of their health and independence, the first Scripture that comes to mind is written by King David of Israel in Psalm 37:25.

"I have been young and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread."

David was King of Israel, yet as he grew old, he faced the reality of death and the loss of his powers as everyone does. Yet he offers these words in confidence of his faith in the Lord.

Everyone else may forsake us, and old people who have left the comforts of home and loved ones to live in nursing homes may well feel they have been forsaken, even if families visit.

But even if family members and friends don't visit -- which they certainly should -- God will not forsake any of His own.

I remember one dear soul I knew who had lived her life for God and been a tremendous influence in her community as a Christian. But time came when she had to go to a nursing home.

She was depressed and asked a visiting preacher to pray God would take her home because she didn't wish to live anymore.

He prayed instead that God would comfort her and show her His will for her and how she could be used in the nursing home.

At his next visit, he found a different woman. She was still in her wheelchair, but instead of sitting depressed in her room, she was rolling up and down the halls, visiting other residents and reading her Bible to them and praying with them, one by one.

No matter what our circumstances -- and sometimes because of them -- God is not through us until the day He calls us home.

Even the worst of circumstances can turn out to be God's will for us, putting us in the place where we can truly be used of Him.

Submit Bible questions by email to writeme@johnwmyers.com

(John Myers has been a Christian lay speaker, Sunday School adult teacher and newspaper Bible study columnist for more than 20 years.)