Bruce's Cancer blog - Post 4

For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 2 Corinthians 4:17

In the midst of this cancer journey I’ve been constantly reminded that in the present we live in a broken and fallen world. The reality of life in the here and now is that diseases such as cancer are but symptoms of that brokenness. And praise be to the Lord that for the believer, as Paul reminds us above, the troubles that we face this side of heaven won’t last very long.

We struggle to understand why the Lord allows troubles (i.e., suffering and infirmity) in the lives of His children. And Paul’s reminder carries with it the idea that when the Lord allows troubles in the lives of His children it is an opportunity for us to grow in our relationship with Him. Those same troubles produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

In a recent devotion entitled Hope in God, Dr. David Jeremiah made this observation: The topic of suffering is frequently left out of the Gospel message, so at times new believers are surprised to learn that it is part of the Christian experience. Jesus Himself said, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). And Paul noted, “It is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22).

Dr. Jeremiah continues: Regardless of the trials we face, Scripture consistently teaches that those trials for the believer always have a godly purpose: to ultimately conform us to the image of Christ (Romans 8:28-29). Trials produce perseverance, character, and hope – with hope being the anchor of our soul (Hebrews 6:10).

While no one would knowingly invite hardship into their life, as Jesus tells us in John 16:33 above, tribulation is a given for everyone in this life, regardless of our relationship with the Lord. If we truly believe what Paul states in Romans 8:28-29, when those tribulations come, should we not embrace them as opportunities to become more Christlike and reinforce our hope in a Sovereign God?

Saying that one should embrace the trials and tribulations that come our way is one thing, but actually doing so is quite another thing. Honestly, there have been days when, in moments of weakness, I have out of hand rejected the idea that there is a godly purpose in this struggle with cancer. Thankfully in those moments the Lord continually reminds me of this passages of Scripture, written by Paul in his letter to the Philippians: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7 NASB).

The Lord has been faithful and patient as He has walked with us through twelve rounds of chemo treatments and an extensive surgery to remove the cancer. Now that the pancreatic cancer has been taken care of, there is yet the matter of bladder cancer to deal with and treatments for that will begin on May 4.

While I have not been pronounced cancer free, the prognosis is good. To say that we are thankful is an understatement and we give credit to our Great Physician, to an army of faithful prayer warriors, and to the men and women of faith on my medical team who have taken care of me through all those chemo treatments and surgery.

God is good – all the time! He has given us the gifts of faith and hope. In his letter to the Roman believers, Paul wrote: Therefore, having been justified by faith,we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we also have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we celebrate in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2). By faith we cling to Him and because of our hope we know that He never disappoints. Our faith and our hope are grounded in His character and His never failing promises!

Indeed, our faith is strengthened as we day-by-day live with the secure hope that is the anchor of our soul. To God be the glory!