Faith, Hope and Love, April 11
Written by Justin Wood
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love”. (1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV).
I was building a step stool for my best friend to put next to his bed. I thought about all the steps my best friend and I had taken together. Every morning we walked together before work. We laughed, told stories of our family, prayed, and cried through those many steps. We walked together for a lot of miles, but sadly my friend was taking these last steps by himself. Cancer had spread. Hospice had come. All those steps we had shared, and now I was building the last place where my friend would step. As my tears splattered on the wooden stool, I carved these three words: faith, hope, love.
Your cancer journey will stretch you in so many ways. Ways that you could not imagine. Your body will change. Your emotions will change. Your understanding of life will change.
Will you grow in faith, hope, and love? Of course, you want to say a big “YES!”
Cancer will present you with strong cases for the opposite of these three. It will be important for you to examine the oppositions that cancer puts on the table because these are legitimate options that you will have to work through.
The opposite of faith is fear. Cancer will continually give you fear. It will randomly creep up when you don’t expect it. Fear will want to be your companion.
The opposite of hope is despair. Cancer will want you to despair. It will come to you when you feel alone and misunderstood in your cancer journey. Despair will want to be your companion.
The opposite of love is not hate, but apathy or indifference. Cancer wants you to grow numb. It wants you to lose the power to connect in love. Indifference will want to be your companion.
You will feel fear, despair, and indifference, but there are three companions that are always walking with you—even in the darkness, even when you cannot see them. These three remain: faith, hope, and love.
As our verse today says, the greatest is love, so let’s start there. Look for love in your heart. Who do you love? What do you love? Think about family and friends that you have loved. Imagine and re-imagine the love you have felt towards others. Imagine and remember the love others have shown you. Remember true love, selfless love comes from the love of Christ within us. Rest in this love that you have shown others. Rest in the love that others have shown you. Rest in the love that you have, and you will notice that hope is also your companion.
Pray: Jesus, I want to trade my fear, despair, and indifference for faith, hope, and love. Help me to make that choice today through the power of Your love within me. Amen.
Your Turn: Take a moment now to recall love in your life. Whenever you feel despair, fear, or indifference, hold the thoughts of this love in your mind. Rest in the love you have experienced and watch as hope emerges within you.
Justin Wood, Childhood Cancer Survivor
Justin lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky with his wife and six homeschooled kids. Through his life, Justin has become a wonderful mix of entrepreneur, English teacher, and foreign missionary. He is a survivor of childhood cancer. Justin is very grateful for Cancer Companions and the opportunity to be a part of this devotional writing process.
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.
