How Much of Christ’s Light Do You Need?, December 18
By Karen Tripp
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” (Matthew 2:3-6 NIV).
A typical attitude when a person is diagnosed with cancer is, “I’m not going to let cancer get in the way of my life.” It might sound like this: “If what I usually do is wake up and make breakfast for my kids and drive them to school, do you know what I’m doing tomorrow? I’m making breakfast for my kids and driving them to school!”
As a counselor, I have to tell you that’s a pretty good attitude to have, and it works—right up until it doesn’t. There are days you understand why people say cancer is a battle. We’re human, so there are days when the darkness can creep in, making Christ harder to see—even at Christmastime. Did you know that there was a BIG GLOB of darkness at the first Christmas? It’s true. Its name was King Herod.
Herod was a puppet-king appointed by Caesar in Rome.1 You see in today’s verses that “everyone in Jerusalem” was disturbed. With good reason—you might say, “If Herod ain’t happy, ain’t nobody’s happy.” Herod was wildly paranoid. Tormented by fears of assassination, he killed many of his own family members.1 So, when the wise men start asking around about where is this king of the Jews, crazy paranoid King Herod must have flipped.
This is where the star led the wise men. They followed the star to worship the Messiah, and along the way the star made a pit stop at a crazy guy’s palace.
Did the star get it wrong? Did God lead them to the wrong place?
Let’s look at another verse. We read in Matthew 4:16 that hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah said this of the coming Messiah: “The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”
Do you think that by meeting Herod, the wise men saw Jesus in a new way? Does darkness help us see the light? If you light a candle outside on a sunny day, then take the same candle inside a closed closet, where does it shine brighter?
Each of us prefer to gaze at Jesus from a place of blessings, joy, and light, but perhaps we see His vibrance most clearly when we are sitting in the darkness. Cancer journeys seem to always have some amount of darkness.
How much of Christ’s light do you need? Amid the darkness of your cancer, you can kneel at the feet of Jesus and say, “I’m good, thanks.” Or, you can say, “The darkness is pushing on me and bringing frustrations, loneliness, stress, and fear. Please Christ, I know you have conquered this darkness, so please shine Your light on all this and bring me relief.” In this prayer, you have acknowledged the darkness, so you may watch His light push back the darkness of cancer. When we place the darkness at Christ’s feet—these are the prayers that leave us with more than renewed faith. They leave us in awe.
Pray: Lord, You are so good. You shower us with blessings and light and love and You call us to come to You. Let us overcome our hesitancy to humble ourselves before You and acknowledge the hard things that are pressing on our lives. You do not ask us to use our own strength on this cancer journey, but to use Your strength. Continue to push back the darkness and flood our lives on each new day with Your light. In your Son’s name I pray. Amen.
Your Turn: Choose a worry, stress, or frustration that keeps coming into your mind. Perhaps it’s a thought that you barely acknowledge because you keep pushing away these thoughts for fear that they will overwhelm you. They will not overwhelm Jesus. Bow your head and share this burden with your Heavenly Father. He’s waiting for you.
1. Paul L. Maier, The First Christmas: The True and Unfamiliar Story (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2012).
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.
