(Please, please read this message.) God has given to each of us life—a physical, earthly life. God has also given each of us free will—He allows us to live our lives as we choose. God does not force His commands on anyone. In His Word, the Bible, He commands everyone to love Him and to love one another, but He doesn’t force us to live that way. Instead, God allows each of us to choose to live for himself or to live for God through Christ. It’s that simple.
We all know there’s an end to this physical life. We know that, but we don’t like to talk or think about it. Instead, we live like death is a long way off, like we have time to “work” on our faith in the future, we have time to get around to that, we have time to change. We live as if we have control over how life unfolds. But in fact, we have no control over how anything in life unfolds. And, maybe life is shorter than you think. Things happen, right? For me, this has happened. I have pancreatic cancer. That’s my situation. This is what I’m facing. Hm.
So, Rick and I have cried a lot of tears over it and wondered how this could be. I wonder how I can possibly be talking about myself and cancer in the same sentence…and yet it’s true. When the emotions of coping subside, I can honestly say that I’m truly not afraid. I am not worried. Yes, of course, I’m concerned with what the treatment might mean, how life will change, how much life I have left—those are natural thoughts to have in mind. But more than that, I truly believe that this is an opportunity that the Lord is using to somehow reach others with His truth. The calm and peace the Lord has given me is unnatural. It’s straight from Jesus Christ who said to His disciples, “My peace I give to you…let not your hearts be troubles, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:28). My daughter-in-law asked how I could be so calm. It’s because, while I may not know what my immediate future looks like, I know what my eternal future is and my faith in Jesus assures me of this truth. That truth based on my faith is the source of my calm, my peace, and my hope. For the last couple of months as pain has been so much a part of my days, my mind continually returns to James 1:3: “Count it all joy when you face trials of various kinds for you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance.“ And in persevering through the trials, God matures me, making me more like His Son. How could I want anything else than to be changed to be more like Jesus?
So. You. Now what? What do you do to be assured of peace and calm, no matter what the storm? You pray that the Lord would work the miracle of spiritual life in you. You confess and repent of your sin, turn to Jesus, and seek to know and receive Him that you might find life in His Name. This is the number one priority in life. Jesus will turn no one away who comes to Him, genuinely seeking to know Him (John 6:37). Some of you may be close to believing, but for some reason, can’t quite believe yet. This is my daughter-in-law. I pray you will not give up, but will pray that Jesus would give you spiritual life. Pray this today. If you need prayer or a Bible, let me know.
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