"You will waste your cancer if you spend too much time reading about cancer and not enough time reading about God.
It is not wrong to know about cancer. Ignorance is not a virtue. But the lure to know more and more and the lack of zeal to know God more and more is symptomatic of unbelief. Cancer is meant to waken us to the reality of God. It is meant to put feeling and force behind the command, “Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord” (Hosea 6:3). It is meant to waken us to the truth of Daniel 11:32, “The people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.” It is meant to make unshakable, indestructible oak trees out of us: “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (Psalm 1:2). What a waste of cancer if we read day and night about cancer and not about God."
When you are diagnosed with cancer, it is difficult trying to refrain from spending time on the internet researching and trying to learn all you can know about the disease. Now, there is nothing wrong with being informed. However, if it begins taking time away from time reading about God and if it begins taking time away from being able to cherish the special moments I do have here on earth with my precious family, then it can become a problem. Honestly, I have not been looking much up about this cancer, because I am fearful to see certain grim statistics about life expectancy, etc. Another important part of Jon Piper's article states, "You will waste your cancer if you seek comfort from your odds rather than from God." For me, that means not even seeing my "odds". To be completely honest, my stomach hurts when I think about my odds. I need to rely on the comforting thought that God is Sovereign and has designed this cancer for me.
We missed church on Sunday, because I was pretty ill with bronchitis. I went to the doctor early Sunday morning to get an antibiotic. A friend in our small group said that it was almost like the sermon we missed was directed at our current situation. So, Drew and I watched the sermon on youtube with his parents on Monday night. It is such an awesome message and I truly did feel it was directed at me. The title is, "Jesus, the Person of Power--Raiser of the Dead". Here it is in case you are interested:
Heather & Drew, we are so sorry to hear about this. I'll send contact info, in case you need another local friend in Houston. Our church (Palmer http://palmerchurch.org/) is right down the street from the med center, and they are very welcoming to medical visitors.
ReplyDelete-- Dave & Molly