Cancer Blog Post 6

And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance  and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.  Romans 5:3-5 NASB

One of the greatest challenges in this life is finding meaning in the difficulties we face.  And life experiences teach us that meaning can be found in even the most difficult moments of life as Pam and I have come to realize.  In the passage above Paul makes the connections that lead us as believers from tribulations to hope and meaning.  Tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance produces character, and character produces hope. 

So, in the midst of tribulation how do we get to hope?  First, we must not give up; we must persevere.  Through perseverance the character of Christ is revealed in us by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Once we grasp hope it does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit.   Therefore tribulation is the starting point for hope that never disappoints.

Jesus promised that tribulations will come our way but we can have hope because He has overcome the world (John 16:33).  This verse is a great reminder that as trials or troubles (tribulations) come our way we must persevere as Christ did, and when we do the character that emerges will include the hope we seek.

Like Jeremiah, we can have hope because of the surety of the Lord’s faithfulness.  Just as in Jeremiah’s day the world can seem quite chaotic and hopeless at times. 

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! 

His mercies never cease.

Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;

therefore, I will hope in him!”  Lamentations 3:22-24

As believers our hope is secure because we know the mercies of the God of the universe and we are confident that we are pilgrims passing through, on the way to our heavenly destination. 

The Scriptures repeatedly assure us that our gracious God has a plan for us, even in those challenging seasons when we face hardships and we are overwhelmed with the difficulties: 

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

By faith we know that He is our Protector and Redeemer.  He is also our Rock and our Fortress:

O Lord, I have come to you for protection; don’t let me be disgraced. Save me and rescue me, for you do what is right. Turn your ear to listen to me, and set me free. Be my rock of safety where I can always hide. Give the order to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. My God, rescue me from the power of the wicked, from the clutches of cruel oppressors. O Lord, you alone are my hope. I’ve trusted you, O Lord, from childhood.  Psalm 71:1-5

Some days are just hard as we continue to deal with Pam’s ongoing challenges in rehab.  Her hip has healed but we can tell that the PSP is progressing at a much faster pace. Thankfully the Lord continues to faithfully provide us strength in the midst of dealing with this uncurable and untreatable disease. 

Regarding my ongoing cancer journey, the Lord continues to be merciful.  The latest CT-Scan and labs are showing that the growth of the cancer has been stopped.  In order to maintain the cancer in a stopped state bi-weekly chemo treatments will continue for the foreseeable future.

The health challenges Pam and I continue to face reminds us that the adversity we face in this life helps us to keep a heavenly perspective.  On many days I recall this verse of Scripture:

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. Psalm 73:26

Dr. David Jeremiah wrote, ‘There are two kinds of victories in life: the ultimate victory and the victories along the way.’  He goes on to write that the ultimate victory is described in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57: victory over death through the resurrection.  Then he notes that John wrote of those victories along the way – And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. 1 John 5:4.

It has been said that it’s often the case that we grow closest to the Lord during our suffering because it is only when we have no strength to overcome our situation that we have no choice but to fully rely on the Lord.

When suffering in this life we can have confidence that the Lord will continue to be faithful and provide us with the strength to deal with our circumstances.