“For the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals instructions to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7 OSB).

The spirit of fear is all around us and can prohibit us from hearing God’s voice. Many have fears related to economic downturn, decaying social conditions, and declining morality. Those who have been given a diagnosis of cancer may have a very real fear of poor health, pain, suffering, and loss of independence. These issues are constantly staring you in the face. Fear seems to be part of the human experience. Nevertheless, we have no need to fear because the Spirit of the Lord is speaking to and guiding us, even in the worst of times. The Spirit of the Lord is preparing God’s people for things to come if we turn our hearts toward Him.

“Teach me to do Your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground” (Psalm 143:10 NIV).

When I was in my third year of doctoral work, I found out that my husband and I were expecting our very first child. It came as an unexpected surprise, and we were so excited. Although I had always wanted to be a mom, I never really thought about how working would impact my family life. I had spent the last 20+ years of my life in school. Up until that point, I was very excited to finally get a “real” job. Yet now I wasn’t so sure. A growing part of me wanted to stay at home with my children.

If Only God Would Make My Decision for Me….

By Dan Held

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5 NIV).

Before her death, my 102-year-old mother was asked, “Of all the things you have prayed for over the years, what do you consider the most important?”

Such a question of anyone might be cause for hesitation. Having to account for the various prayer requests any one of us have made over our lifetime could be a real stumper. How much time do you have? I would have to think long and hard about this one. Yet my faithful mother, who had prayed ever since she was a child at mealtime and over the course of a century-long series of difficult challenges, never blinked an eye. Without hesitating she answered, “I would say my prayers for wisdom were the most important.”

“Truly, my soul silently waits for God” (Psalm 62:1 NKJV).

In the midst of our busy lives, the assertion to wait silently for God sounds ridiculous. A surgeon friend says that when someone asks how his business is doing, he always says, “I’m covered up!” He says, “No one wants a surgeon looking for work.” His statement is somewhat funny, but also an unfortunate and even sad reminder that our culture places a high value on “being busy” and having a full schedule. Cancer has a way of pulling our focus past our schedules so we might reorder our priorities. Things that once seemed of highest importance suddenly take a back seat. Our lives become focused on survival, getting through the next treatment, and staying close to the people who mean the most to us.

“We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans” (Romans 8:26 NIV).

While cancer can cause you to want to pray more than ever, you may not know how to pray. Maybe you have never prayed. Possibly you have prayed, but now everything you knew about it seems insufficient, and you do not have the strength. No matter where you are, God promises to help you pray.

“However, as it is written: ‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’—the things God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV).

No matter what your age, you have seen the beauty of the Lord through the lens of your wonderfully complex yet functional eyes. Our eyes’ capabilities are keener and sharper than any lens created by man—a gift given to us to see the beauty of God’s creation. The sharpness of the human eye is needed for the oncologist and radiologist to see the cancer, too!

“Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus” (Luke 24:3 NIV).

I was interested in playing drums as a young boy. As my ability increased, my father talked about purchasing a drum set for Christmas. We did not have much money. The idea of an actual set of drums was beyond my comprehension. I walked downstairs to the living room on Christmas morning. My father had discussed buying drums, but seeing them set up in the living room was like a dream. How could this be true? As a side note, fifty-five years later I am still amazed I have the opportunity to play drums for our church’s praise band!

“The centurion replied, ‘Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed’” (Matthew 8:8 NIV).

Suffering has the ability to cause us to question our faith—both how much we have and whether it’s strong enough! We wonder things like, “Did this happen because I didn’t pray enough or believe enough?”

I know how that goes; when I got cancer hot on the heels of losing both my mum and sister to the same thing, the solid ground of my faith began to shift and shake beneath me. Yet from out of that difficult season, the Lord taught me some powerful things about finding solid ground. And that’s what I want for you right now—solid ground to stand on, whatever comes your way.

“‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him’” (John 9:3 NIV).

When cancer enters into your life, one of the first questions out of your mouth may be, “Why?” Why cancer? Why me? Why now? God, why did You allow this? Why haven’t You healed me?

As Jesus “went through all the towns and villages … healing every disease and sickness” (Matthew 9:35 NIV), He surely heard many similar questions. On one occasion, He and his disciples came upon a man who had been blind since birth. The disciples asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2 NIV)

“He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches’” (Matthew 13:31-32 NIV).

Have you ever questioned your own ability to make much of a difference in today’s world? If so, cancer may have led you to question your ability even more.

“My eyes are awake through the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word” (Psalm 119:148 NKJV).

Have you ever lain awake at night wondering if you will ever fall asleep? Counting sheep never worked for me. The few months before retiring from a job of over thirty-two years, I had a difficult time falling asleep and staying asleep. The future seemed uncertain. What was I going to do with my time? What would my new life look like? Anxiety would creep in like a burglar in the night. Worry would infest my mind like a swarm of yellow jackets.

“You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19b NKJV).

Have you ever sat on the beach under an umbrella in the hot sun, and looked out to the horizon? Approximately 71% of the earth is covered by water! The depths of the ocean are beyond our imagination. I watch the National Geographic Channel and see creatures I did not know existed! Since the advent of the movie Jaws, I am a lot more reluctant to swim too deep into the ocean. Who knows what is out there?!

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:14 NIV).

My appearance is not everything, but it is something. I have always been grateful for my hair, even when I was having a bad hair day or wishing for curly instead of straight hair. My hair is a part of me and a part of how people have known me.

When having hair is all you have ever known, it can be devastating to know you will lose it. And lose it I did in June 2019, as a result of chemo to treat my breast cancer.

“But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” (Genesis 3:9 NIV)

Do you have any snow globes? When my kids were young, they loved to shake and flip those globes until all the “snow” was swirling around. Now, imagine if you were actually in the snow globe that my kids were violently shaking. A traumatic event like a car wreck, an unexpected death of a friend, or a cancer diagnosis will violently shake your life—your snow globe. All your “normal” is upside down and swirling around you.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV).

Both times I heard the word “cancer” used by a surgeon in response to my wife’s diagnosis, two different four-letter words crossed my mind in quick succession. Neither were profane, but both were profound within my mind’s initial reaction. The first one was “lose.” I didn’t want to lose my wife. Breast cancer triggered such a thought back in 2017. Colon cancer triggered it again in 2020. My most immediate prayer was, “Please, God, I don’t want to lose her.”

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” (James 1:2-3 NIV).

In the spring of 2019, my sweet daughter, Grace, planned to leave on a trip to Europe at the completion of her sophomore year of college. That spring, I was also diagnosed with breast cancer. At the time of her departure, we thought Grace was healthy, and I was set to win my battle against cancer with radiation after my lumpectomy. Wow! Things really did not work out like we thought!

For our family, life went from difficult to frightening . . . .

“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4 NIV).

Many medical procedures from routine blood work to major surgeries may require fasting. Your doctor may instruct you not to eat any food after midnight until after the procedure. This typically means missing breakfast, maybe lunch, too.

Medical fasting can be hard and unpleasant. Most of us aren’t used to skipping any meals. Our stomachs can be big bossy babies. “Feed me! Feed me now!!” One person I know, when forced to give up her daily cereal and banana breakfast, came unhinged, as if she might starve to death!

“Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15 NIV)

There she was, alone in an empty room. Although streams of sunlight crept in through the blinds that hung on her window, the room still felt cold and dark. Cynthia was on her face before the Lord. For hours, she cried out to Him. “Lord, you’ve got the wrong girl. I can’t do this again. I don’t want to fight anymore. What about my daughter? She deserves to have a mother!”

Cynthia had just learned that her breast cancer was back. And it was aggressive. She felt alone. Forsaken by God. This was just too … unfair. She was gripped with fear. She desperately wanted a way out.

“Then the word of the LORD came to him: ‘This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.’ He took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be’” (Genesis 15:4-5 NIV).

When we were kids, my brother, sister, and I used to make the BEST blanket forts. We’d use every blanket in the house, all the stools, a few chairs, broomsticks, large books, and tons of clothespins to make a blanket fort so big it would cover the entire room. It was unbelievably awesome. One day I decided I wanted the fort built my way—and if they didn’t do it my way, I’d take my blanket and leave. Did my manipulation stop the awesome fort from being built? No, but it did result in me sitting in another room with my blanket over my head, reading a comic book with a flashlight. Not much of a fort. I guess my way didn’t turn out so great.

“Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for him’” (Lamentations‬ 3:22-24 NIV‬).‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

When living with cancer, every day presents new challenges—chemotherapy, fatigue, uncertainty, setbacks, and more. Reasons for complaining abound. But each day also carries the promise of God’s presence and His loving help. His acts of compassion are new every morning.

Today’s Bible verses come from the book of Lamentations. A lament is a passionate expression of deep grief, sorrow, regret, or disappointment. Death, loss, suffering, or sicknesses like cancer can lead us to lament.‬‬