“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 NIV).

It’s two in the morning! You haven’t been able to sleep. Anxiety has crept into your every thought. For some of you, the voice of your doctor telling you his findings plays over and over in your head like a bad Seventies disco song. For others, the lingering pain of chemotherapy burns every fiber of your being. Still another grapples with the gnawing thought, “How am I going to pay for an immunotherapy pill costing more than six months of my salary?” Or, “How long before I die?” The list goes on and on for those in various stages of a cancer journey.

“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and God, with a terrific east wind all night long, made the sea go back. He made the sea dry ground. The seawaters split. The Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground with the waters a wall to the right and to the left” (Exodus‬ 14:21-22‬ MSG‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬).‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

On your cancer journey, you are likely to run into roadblocks. Whether you are denied the care you need, exhaust your last option, or can’t find a parking place, God can make a way.

“For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers” (Proverbs 11:14 NIV).

The waiting room looked like most: comfy chairs, encouraging but generic quotes on the wall about thinking positive. The receptionist answered the phone, and smiled when people signed their name and arrival time on the paper. I felt obligated to show a smile to the people who sat near me, but my stomach was doing cartwheels and I had a cold sweat. For thirty-eight years, fake smiles and nausea were my constant companions in every waiting room. My childhood cancer made some unseen part of me believe that every waiting room was a trap. But I was ready for some victory in this battle, so I sat in the therapist’s waiting room ready to talk about the emotional wounds that cancer had inflicted on me thirty-eight years ago.

“He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’” (Mark 4:40 NIV).

As a counselor, I have taught many stress management classes. Here’s the short version:

1. Our bodies are made to react to danger.

2. This reaction is called “fight or flight” for a reason: when danger comes, your body automatically makes your heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate increase. Why? So that you can fight or flee the danger.

3. After the threat is gone, your body returns to normal.

“He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6 ASV).

I was starting a new job, filled with all the excitement and anxiety that comes with a new venture. An old friend from seminary sent me a card in the mail with the sixth verse of Philippians chapter one written on the inside, “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” My friend’s gesture and the words of scripture spoke to my heart. I was able to see the new job as part of a much larger picture—I could see it as God working towards my completion. Even though it was easy to see that God was doing a good thing in my life, anxious questions had been coming to my mind. How much more does that happen to us in difficult times, when it may be harder to see God at work?

“We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19 NIV).

Have you ever played hard to get? It’s when you like someone—I mean REALLY like someone—but you don’t want them to know you like them. So, what do you do? You act like you don’t like them.

You walk into a room, and instead of running over to the person and saying how happy you are to see them, you turn and talk to someone else. When they invite you to spend time with them you want to say yes, but you don’t want to seem too anxious. You may even leave your calendar open just in case they want to get together, but you don’t actually ask them to spend time with you. If you did, they might think you liked them—which you do—but you act like you don’t. Pretty silly, huh?

“”But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5 NASB).

We all want to benefit from wisdom, not just knowledge, when we make decisions that matter. Wisdom can be defined as the ability to discern inner qualities and relationships, or having insight. It can also include good sense and good judgment.1

“The devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Revelation 20:10 NIV).

In the book of Revelation we are given a vision of the end of time. It includes the final battle between God and evil. The forces of evil come out to battle God: the devil (portrayed as a red, seven-headed dragon), the world’s evil empires (pictured as a beast of the sea), and the false prophet all unite to fight.

Before they can strike a blow or say a word, Jesus arrives in splendor. He immediately disposes of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, as well as hell and death. The battle is over before it begins. It turns out to be no battle at all. (See Revelation‬ 19:20-21; 20:10, 14).

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18 NIV).

As a pastor, nothing gave me a sense of greater sorrow and yet inner compassion than when someone would say words to this effect: “I’m afraid God is using this to punish me for all that I’ve done wrong in the past.”

Fear of punishment.

“…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair” (Isaiah 61:3 NIV).

In February, my best friend from college was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer while she was expecting her second child. She was afraid. She didn’t understand why she had to go through this. She told me that she had only ever heard bad stories about cancer, and quickly recounted all the people she knew who lost their battles to this disease.

“From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2 NIV).

I am sure you have heard the phrase, “I’m at the end of my rope.” We have all felt, at some point, like we have gone as far as we can go, and we have exhausted our resources. “I have tried everything I know to do” is an expression of exasperation. My wife and I attempted to fix our washer for three weeks without success. Finally, I said, “I don’t know what else to do.”

“I have food to eat that you know nothing about” (John 4:32 NIV).

Almost three years after being declared cancer free, I started having occasional difficulty swallowing. It soon became daily, and in a matter of weeks, I could not eat or drink anything.

An endoscopy revealed a tumor obstructing my esophagus and preventing anything from entering my stomach. My lung cancer had again metastasized.

Doctors admitted me to the hospital to receive a feeding tube. They assured me the simple surgical procedure wouldn’t take long or be painful. My greatest concern was having a tube protruding from my six-pack abs and messing up my beach body!

“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. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind” (James 1:5-6 NIV).

Every student has one subject that’s always a struggle. For me, it’s math. Rarely would a math lesson go by that I didn’t need help—but asking for help is not easy. Before I am willing to ask a teacher for help, I ask myself these three questions:

1. Do they know the answer?

2. Are they able to share what they know?

3. Do they want to teach me?

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26 NIV).

It had not rained in several weeks. I unwisely attempted to plant a shrub during this dry season. It was like digging into cement! There was no moisture in the ground. I decided to wait until we had some rain before proceeding. Ezekiel describes God’s chosen and beloved people’s heart as a stone—lifeless and hard. God’s beloved people had drifted away from Him, becoming disobedient, defiant, and rebellious.