Timing is Everything, August 31
Inside the Cancer Journey: Daily Reflections for Those Coping with Cancer
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Written by Thomas Sherrod
When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him” (Exodus 32:1 NIV).
Have you ever stood in a grocery store checkout line, become impatient, and switched to a shorter line that then took longer? You may have heard the axiom, “a watched pot never boils.” How true! Inevitably, my impatience and irritability lead to impulsive and ill-advised decisions. The children of Israel found themselves waiting for Moses to descend the mountain with a word from the Lord. They became impatient and begged Moses’ brother Aaron to construct a golden calf, an idol, as their object of worship. They said, “We don’t know what has happened to him [Moses].” So they took matters into their own hands, rather than trust in God’s promise to deliver a word through Moses.
You may be a caregiver for a cancer patient. Your patience may have grown thin while helping to navigate the healthcare maze. Physician appointments get canceled. Lab results get misplaced and delayed. Treatment protocols are changed at the last minute. Cancer is unpredictable, which makes planning for the future a maddening endeavor. You may ask, “Where is God in all this?” My frequent prayer while caring for my mother during her prolonged illness became “How long, O Lord, how long?”
The children of Israel grew tired of waiting on God’s timing. They took the “bull by the horns,” fashioned their own image of a god, and began worshiping it. It didn’t go well! How do you develop a trust in God’s timing? Humbly and earnestly asking God for the gift of patience is one way. Verbally, mentally, and spiritually placing your frustration and irritation at the foot of the cross is another path. Some find it helpful to share prayers with a community of trusted brothers and sisters in Christ. Ultimately, you can trust the Holy Spirit to shepherd you daily as you wade through the challenging waters of a cancer diagnosis. May God give you His patience as you wait for His promises to be fulfilled.
Pray: Lord, give me the gift of patience to trust in Your timing and Your plan for my life. Enable me to relinquish the fear that You have abandoned me. Be my fortress and rock through the shifting sands of living with a cancer diagnosis. Amen.
Your Turn: Make a list of things you want to happen right now. In prayer, hand each one to God, knowing that God’s timing is perfect. Ask God to still your anxious heart and to grow your trust in God’s timing for your life. Ask God to replace your anxiety with the assurance of His promise to never leave nor forsake you.
Thomas W. Sherrod, Cancer Survivor
Tom is a retired hospital chaplain who works part time for Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Health System in North Carolina. He organized and facilitated a cancer support group for twenty years as part of his hospital ministry. He is married for forty-four years and enjoys his three daughters, two sons-in-law, and five grandchildren. He is a recent survivor of prostate cancer and is immensely thankful for all of God's grace and provisions through it all.
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