Stop Waiting for Life to Get Better, December 27
Inside the Cancer Journey: Daily Reflections for Those Coping with Cancer
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By Niki Hardy
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10 NIV).
You may have heard me tell the story of when I got taken out by a riptide. Despite swimming where I thought it was safe, the current swept me out to sea and the waves pounded me until I couldn't catch a breath or fight my way back to the shore. Eventually I had to get rescued by a girl on a surfboard.
When we’re diagnosed, it feels like cancer has swept us out to sea. We do our best to fight our way back to the shore, but the waves pound us and we feel like we just can't breathe. Yet, what if there was life, full, abundant life right there, in the middle of our riptide?
I want to share three things I found in my own cancer journey that we can do to stop waiting for life to get better and start living life to the full, today.
1) Explode the myth that life should be riptide-free. It’s easy to buy into the myth that a full life must be perfect and pain-free. When we do, we can assume that the abundant life that Jesus came to give us must be off in the future and out of reach. We end up hunkering down and waiting. Instead, let’s embrace the biblical truth that an abundant life is a life of peace and joy and connection and intimacy with God and others—right now.
2) Expose the lies. When my cancer hit, so did the wave of lies. The enemy is going to take every opportunity to kick us when we're down. So we've got to counter the trash with the truth. Here are some examples:
Trash: “My whole life is ruined.”
Truth: Even if every part of your life is affected—His abundant life is for every part of your life.
Trash: “I’ll never be over this.”
Truth: Even if feels like it’s forever—it is NOT! (And God’s abundance is available now and forever!)
Trash: “Why is God angry with me?”
Truth: Our painful lives are not evidence of God’s anger. Rather, His painful death is evidence of His love for us.
3) Enter in. After my rescue, I saw a guy swim out into the riptide and be swept away just like I was. But he didn't fight to get back to the shore. He turned and swam parallel to the shore, and the riptide eventually took him back in to the beach. He didn't just float, though. He had to swim, to actively engage in his journey. He had to enter in. And so, my friends, I want to encourage you to enter in.
Life isn't off in the future somewhere; it's here and now. It might not feel like it, but there are rubies in the rubble of your cancer. God has more for you, even though life has handed you less. So I invite you to explode the myth that life should be riptide-free and perfect. Expose and counter the lies you're believing, and start swimming with your riptide. Don't fight it, but swim with it. Enter in.
Pray: Lord, thank You that You are a God who came to give us abundant life, and that it's not waiting off in the future somewhere, but it's here and now. We thank You for the strong truths that You have given us to counter the lies we believe about ourselves and about You. Help us to take You at Your word and to enter into what You have for us in each day. We pray these things in the wonderful abundant name of Your Son Jesus. Amen.
Your Turn: Do any of the three trash thoughts or the three truths resonate with you? Are there other trash thoughts you need to replace with truth? Write that truth where you will see it and ask God to help you live in its light today.
Niki Hardy, Family Member and Cancer Survivor
Niki is a British author, speaker, podcast host, and cancer thriver. Through her books Breathe Again: How to Live Well When Life Falls Apart and One Minute Prayers for Women with Cancer, and her free Trusting God Through Cancer Summit and Chemo Chair Prayers podcast, she helps people discover that life doesn’t have to be pain-free to be full, then to go live it. Download her FREE book bundle or find other resources at nikihardy.com.
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