08/08/2023
When do we rejoice and when do we mourn? Is there really a spiritual separation or difference? Are we meant to give God the glory for the good times and ignore or blame Him for the bad or painful ones?
I received an email one morning from a very dear friend who had been praying that a pain I had been experiencing in my right mid-back was not the return of cancer. Then, upon hearing that I only had a small disc herniation, she wrote me an email that began with these words "Joy, joy, joy, joy, joy!!!!!!!" and she followed them immediately with this expression of thanks... "Yes, Praise God!!!!!" When good news like this comes our way it is easy to thank God, but what of those times when the news isn't so good? Do we thank Him in the midst of our travail?
My mind goes back to October of 2015 when I was first diagnosed with cancer and a tumor was removed from my body. That news was not good for me as a human being, but I knew that God had a plan for me and that no matter the outcome in this body and in this world, His will for me would produce remarkable treasure in heaven. I think of a certain passage of scripture that comforts us in times such as this and here it is...
“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Romans 5:3-5 ESV
Don't get me wrong... I am not a masochist who loves pain and suffering, but when it does come I know that God has a purpose in it... I know from whence my help comes, and I trust in God as I praise Him and rejoice in His will for me... then I Grit my teeth and suffer bodily, mentally, or spiritually through it.
“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.”
Psalms 121:1-3 ESV
After being healed of my first cancerous tumor, I was counseling a young man who had the same form of cancer I had experienced... testicular cancer. I hope I was able to comfort him in some way, but in the process, he blessed me without even realizing it. He was young and engaged to be married, but was now facing a cancer that could leave him unable to father children. What happened next blessed me beyond my anything I had expected... He and His fiancé moved up their wedding ceremony and were immediately married. That is an amazing act of love, but it was not what blessed me... my blessing came from the reason for this rushed wedding. You see, he was going to deposit sperm at a fertility center just in case the worst worldly scenario became real, and he viewed his donation as part of the covenant of marriage he was making with his wife... they had to be married quickly so that the deposit would become the consummation of their union and evidence of His promise to her.
I would never have been able to counsel this family, and would never have known the details of their marriage if I hadn't first suffered through this cancer myself... and you wouldn't have known about their story either. Even in our suffering God leads us to His blessings. This young couple was blessed, and gave me one that was powerful. At the time I could only imagine the blessings that might lay ahead for them, but since then I have witnessed them and praise God for each of them.
I wrote my thoughts yesterday morning and they were titled "I Want What He is Having!" In this message I wrote about aligning ourselves and our prayers with the will of God. I also spoke of the fact that all things come from His hands. If that realization is coupled with living within His will for us, then there is no hardship so severe that it can defeat our faith, and if we are in His will then there is no suffering that is in vain or that won't bless us.
As for my dear friend who had emailed me, and had served as such a prayer warrior while I waited to hear the news about whether my cancer had returned? Well, she understood yesterday's message completely; she "got it", and sent me another email regarding what I wrote yesterday, and this is what she said...
"Very cool. To want what He is having! And I’m very glad He is having you made well through the skilled hands of a physician whom He has so gifted. Yes, Father, may I please delight in what delights You and want the most whatever pleases You to bring about."
So you see, regardless of what is happening in our lives, whether we are rejoicing, or mourning, our focus should remain fixed on God's perfect will for our lives and in that perfection... there is no difference between our suffering, rejoicing, or mourning. God's goodness is in them all, in us, and with us, always. His purposes will guide us through every trial we face, and lead us to rejoice as we give the glory to Him. As we face each day are our trials welcomed just as completely as we welcome the happy times?
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the peace and calm I find in you when it appears that my world is falling apart. At the height of my dismay you are with me, and I rejoice in your presence. You lead me beside the still waters, but even when the storm descends upon me, you are there with me, and restore my soul. I praise your name Father, and I trust in the promise of your goodness in the midst of all things... easy and hard. No suffering can take my hand from yours, for you are my rock and strong tower; you go before me in the most uncertain of circumstances. I call on the name of Jesus and He answers; I am filled with fear and your Holy Spirit leads my soul to speak with you, and I feel you there... firmly grasping my hand and calling me your child, and friend. You deliver me from the midst of my enemies; you stand before me in times of trouble, and you shield me from the influence of evil and sin. Father I lift you up and revel in your many blessings, for you are my God and constant Companion in the good and the bad times of my life. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who walks with me beside the still waters, but also walks with me through the shadow of the valley of death. I praise you always and in all things give you the glory.
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Psalm 118:24 ESV
Rich Forbes