My Big Brother: a Devotional on Expecting Jesus to Guide You Through Cancer
“We have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Colossians 1:9b BSB).
Growing up, I used to do everything my big brother said. This was not my smartest idea. He’d say climb a tree, I’d climb the tree—then he’d move the ladder so I couldn’t get down. He’d tell me a word I didn’t know and ask me to yell it at the cars as they went by. Later, I learned it was a dirty word. (So that’s why all the neighborhood kids were laughing.) My dad would tell me over and over again, “Don’t listen to your brother.” But more often than not, I did. Anybody with a lick of sense could see that doing what my brother told me to do was a bad idea.
Fortunately, there’s someone better than my big brother to listen to for guidance. There’s Jesus. Jesus is there to guide you every step of every day. Yet, do you expect Jesus to guide you? Maybe you think guidance is something Jesus gives that other guy. Or, that Jesus gives general directions like “love one another” and leaves the rest for us to figure out. Or, maybe you feel that the guidance you need to deal with cancer is different than the guidance that comes from Jesus. The question is, do you expect Jesus to guide you each and every day—cancer or no cancer?
You already know that Jesus can guide you through reading the Bible and listening to Christian mentors and friends, but is there more? Can we really expect to know the things God wants us to do? Today’s verse is Paul’s prayer for the Colossians: ”We have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” WOW! That’s one whopper of a prayer. If the Colossians can receive the knowledge of His will, why not you? Why not ask God for spiritual wisdom and understanding—and then come to expect it?
Living life expecting Jesus to guide you might look like this: for your oncology appointment, you ask Jesus for wisdom to hear and ask everything that is important to your care. For that pain that has you wondering if the cancer is back, you ask Jesus for guidance in how to discover if it’s a concern. For the upset person in the next chemo chair, you ask Jesus how He wants you to reach out to them.
These prayers, like Paul’s, come from a place of expecting Jesus to show up in your life and give you the guidance you need.
Cancer journeys need guidance. If you don’t expect Jesus to guide you, then who are you following? Your spouse? Yourself? Dare I say, look to your Big Brother, Jesus. Expect Jesus to show up with all the spiritual wisdom and knowledge you need. I don’t know about you, but I sure could use it!
Pray: Jesus, give me a hunger for your guidance each and every day—through this cancer season and beyond. Amen.
Your Turn: Look at the next week of your life. List the decisions you might need to make. Places to go? People to see? Plans for the future? A medical decision? Decisions to make you healthier? Lift up each item to Jesus now in prayer, asking Him to be your Guide through each one.