Cancer Is a New Location to Worship God, December 17
By Karen Tripp
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him” (Matthew 2:1-2 NIV).
There are lots of weird things about cancer. One weird thing is that on the day of diagnosis, many people don’t feel like they have cancer. Why? Because they don’t really feel sick. Even though you did nothing wrong, it seems your life suddenly took a sharp left turn to who knows where.
Cancer is probably not the first sharp turn in your life. We all have them, sometimes because of our own or others’ bad choices, but sometimes they just come out of the blue. You’d be surprised how often people are confidently following God’s path, and suddenly find themselves in a yucky place. Take the wise men.
These guys were so smart they not only figured out that the King of Kings had come, they knew which star to follow to find Him. (That’s smart.) So they followed the Christmas star—just like they were supposed to—and it took them to the “wrong” town. The star led them to Jerusalem, when Baby Jesus was in Bethlehem.
I’m guessing these wise men were thinking, “Wait a minute! We followed that crazy star across miles and miles of barren wilderness just to worship the Messiah, and we end up in the wrong town? This is not OK.” That had to be a tough day for those wise men.
Cancer can feel a lot like that. Cancer can have us thinking, “How did I end up here?” On the super rough days, it can have us wonder, “Maybe God put me in the middle of this cancer because of some past ‘wrong turn’ I made.”
No, that’s a lie. God does not work like that. God doesn’t punish you for your wrong turns. As a matter of fact, He can’t even see them. How does that work? Jesus knew each wrong turn you made in your life before He climbed on the cross.
Jesus: “Yeah, I see your wrong turns. Not your best decisions, but it’s OK. I’ll wipe them away on the cross, so that even our Heavenly Father can’t see them anymore. They’ll be as far as the east is from the west. All He sees when He looks at you is abundant love, not wrong turns or a need for punishment.”
Cancer is not a punishment. It’s just a new location to worship God.
God doesn’t make mistakes. The wise men were not in the wrong place, they were right where God led them. It was just one more stop on the way to worship the Christ Child. On your cancer walk, you are not in the wrong place, either. You are right where you are supposed to be.
God is leading you this Christmas, like every Christmas, to the peace and beauty of the Christ Child. By walking through your cancer to get there, you will see a new fullness of all the wonder Christ has brought into your life. Come to the manger and receive. Receive the double portion which comes from walking through cancer to the manger.
Pray: God, please do not let cancer get in the way of my worshipping You. Open me up to see You and the glories of this life with You with more clarity and more wonder this Christmas. Give me a hunger to see the Christ Child this year with a deeper awareness of all the wonder He has placed in my life. In your precious Son’s name I pray. Amen.
Your Turn: This Christmas, let God guide you to the manger on your cancer walk, knowing you are right where you are supposed to be—just as the Wise Men were. With new eyes, experience the hope and the light the Christ child brings. Join Hillsong in singing “Joy to the World”—and don't let cancer steal your joy.
Karen Tripp, MS, LMFT, Cancer Caregiver
Karen is the Executive Director of Cancer Companions, the premiere national Christian cancer ministry (https://www.cancercompanion.org). Her roles have included authoring several Christian books including God is Bigger Than Your Cancer and working as a licensed marriage and family therapist. She is a daughter of a colon cancer survivor. Karen uses her experience to teach how to step into another person’s struggle to help build their faith while strengthening your own.
Cancer Companion’s vision for the future is for every person impacted by cancer to know the hope, love, and grace of Jesus and that every oncology team has included faith in their treatment toolbox. By 2033, Cancer Companions will provide 5 million engagements through cancer prayers, scriptures and interactions to those impacted by cancer. Engagements include; social media outreach, e-newsletters, prayer team requests, 30 days of Cancer Prayer event, and volunteer connections.
To learn more about our ministry and the services we provide visit our website by clicking here.
