The Good In Cancer
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
And I can’t think of a better time to be aware of the importance of the Word of God, especially when you’re dealing with cancer. It is the best kind of awareness. And what does the Bible say about this disease? Well, some people look at cancer and wonder, you know, what good could come of it all? When we think of cancer, we think of loss and grief; we think of pain and discouragement. And, yes, all these things will happen – and they do happen. But, there’s something else that happens. And it’s best described in Jeremiah 29:11 where the Lord says – okay, you got cancer? This is what Jesus says, “I know the plans I have for you … plans not to harm you, but to help you; to give you hope and a future.” Oh, friend, even in the midst of cancer, God intends to help you and give you hope. Now His idea of good in the midst of this dreaded disease is not loss; it’s not grief and pain. God’s idea of good is to use that cancer to bring out the best in you, in your family and in your friends.
God’s idea of good is to help you to persevere. Romans 15:5 puts it this way, it says: “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind.” When does God give endurance? When we are going through a tough trial like dealing with cancer, how ‘bout that? When does God give encouragement? When we’re despairing and feeling the weight of loss and grief. The God of the Bible is the God of all endurance and encouragement, and these are the very qualities He wants to instill within you when you struggle with cancer. This is the good that is found in this difficult disease. God has no intention of harming the you that makes up who you are; that is, your soul. The affliction and the trials He may allow will cause harm to your body, sure; harm to your lungs; people will get cancer like me and, yes, it’s hard on my physical body. But God never intends that it should harm your soul. He only designs that your soul be stretched through your suffering. Stretched to receive more of His grace, more of His wisdom, more of His ability to endure, to persevere, and then to pass on that encouragement to others.
If you have cancer, God wants to give you a deeper faith; He wants to give you a confidence in His sovereignty, a larger trust in Him. When you have cancer, God wants to give you profound peace and settled-ness of soul in Him, an iron-fisted joy that comes from walking alongside your Savior through that awful valley of the shadow of death. This is the ‘good’ God’s talking about in Jeremiah chapter 29. With His grace, hard, awful things ultimately produce good in your soul. Because God is always interested in the well-being of your soul, sometimes more so than He is in your body. Christians who get this, who understand this, are people of Psalm 112. “How joyful are those who fear the Lord … Such people – get this – will not be overcome by evil … They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly.” Wow!
If that insights has blessed you, I’ve got more to share in my booklet “Finding Joy in Trials,” and I’d like to send it to you as my gift. It’s yours for the asking. Just go to joniradio.org – that’s J-O-N-I-radio.org – and request “Finding Joy in Trials.” Share it with someone who’s struggling with cancer. And help them see that cancer doesn’t determine their attitude; cancer should refine their attitude, making it courageous. See you later at joniradio.org where we celebrate the good things that God can do, even in cancer.
© Joni and Friends
When You Hear the Words “You Have Cancer”
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and today Crystal is talking with Amy Brands, a young woman for whom this topic hits very close to home. As a busy 34-year-old mother to a school-aged daughter, Amy was stunned to hear her doctor say the words, “You have cancer.”
