“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 . . . .

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!” (Luke 24:5-6 NIV)

The women who followed Jesus to His entombment on Friday returned Sunday morning with spices to embalm His body, expecting to find His dead, brutalized body. Seeing the tomb empty shocked them. 

“The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment” (Luke 23:55-56 NIV).

What happened the day after the crucifixion? Luke tells us that some of the women who had followed Jesus rested. The other disciples likely did the same. Being the Jewish Sabbath, and after the horror of Jesus’ death, they needed to rest.  

“When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left” (Luke 23:33 NIV).

After arresting Jesus, the Jewish leaders and their “holy” henchmen took Him to Pilate, the Roman governor of the Jews. He listened to their charges, questioned Jesus, and found no wrongdoing. He planned to punish Jesus and let Him go, but an angry crowd arose shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Their pressure prevailed, and Pilate gave in to their demands.

When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God’” (Luke 22:14-16 NIV). Moses had warned cold-hearted Pharaoh of the consequences of refusing to let the Israelites go. Now Egypt awoke to find every Egyptian first-born son dead. Imagine—screaming mothers and fathers, stunned siblings, everyone weeping and wailing.