Unexpected Blessings, July 23
Daily Reflections from Inside the Cancer Journey
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Written by Thomas Sherrod
“[Jacob] said to Joseph, ‘I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too’” (Genesis 48:11 NIV).
Jacob believed his beloved child Joseph had died. Joseph’s brothers had let jealousy get the best of them. They sold Joseph into slavery and told their father a wild animal devoured him. Jacob must have been blindsided by the news and completely devastated and grief-stricken. Furthermore, he did not know he had been lied to about Joseph’s whereabouts. I don’t know which was worse, Jacob thinking his son was dead, or his sons’ choice to deceive him. What a tangled scene of deception, jealousy, and sibling rivalry.
Cancer can also blindside you. You may feel deceived by life. You may feel like the wind has been knocked out of you. You may feel like you are in a fog, blindly feeling your way forward. Your plans might have been abruptly changed. Instead of spending time traveling, working, or enjoying family, you are trying to survive grueling cancer treatments. Life is full of surprises, not all of which are welcome.
Jacob was unaware that God had protected Joseph and preserved his life. Joseph’s brothers acted with evil intent, but God used their actions for good, using Joseph to save their entire family during a time of severe famine. What a powerful reunion when Jacob’s brothers brought their father to Joseph’s arms in Egypt. In today’s verse, Joseph brings his two sons to Jacob. Jacob is awestruck! His heart overflows with gratitude! He is unable to fully express the joy in his heart.
How do we respond when God completely surprises us with blessings? You may have thought you would never see some of your family while undergoing cancer treatment. You may have lost hope of attending a long-anticipated family event. Despair may have attempted to close the curtains and turn off the lights. Depression may have crept into your heart. The thought, “I don’t think I will ever get out of the hospital” may have entered your mind.
But God is able to turn the lights on, open the curtains, and create life when we least expect it. Just when cancer threatens to strip you of hope, watch for God to come to you in unanticipated ways. A friend or neighbor brings you homemade soup. A church member stops by to have prayer. A Bible verse lifts your heart. A bird’s song brightens your morning.
God seeks to surprise you with joy. God wants to break into your daily routine with a word of hope. God desires to remind you of His eternal love. You may not be surprised exactly like Jacob. But God wants to come to you each day with unexpected blessings. Your blessing may not be a long-lost son and his family. But I pray God may bless you in ways you never imagined.
Pray: Lord, open our eyes that we may see the wonders of Your creation. May Your holy presence fill our hearts with hope and surprise us with Your love. May each new day remind us that God’s mercies are fresh every morning. Amen.
Your Turn: Ask God for an open heart to receive what you never expected. Ask Him for a thankful heart as He comes to you in unexpected ways.
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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