For Christians, Cancer, Arthritis, and aging pains can make you feel like you got punched in the face by God. Now, that may sound blunt, and depending on where your relationship with God stands today, you may or may not feel that way right now.  Either way, for most Christians battling diseases is a chaotic vortex of emotions that needs resolving. There is pain that is desperately in need of healing. There are some serious questions that need answering. What am I supposed to do now? How do I cope? What’s the truth? What does the Bible say?  What am I supposed to believe? Ultimately, what is the secret to winning after getting a diagnosis?  Christians know these questions because we all are going through it.  Many have gone through it – and you can too. Christians are here to support you!

First, realize that you are not alone.  The way many are able to navigate this painful chapter in our lives is because christians offer their help. We usually don’t know we need help but we get the help we need.  People come alongside us and support us. People pray for us.  People equip us with knowledge, wisdom, and guidance.  My mission is to equip you with provision through your journey of suffering as I am following just behind you. 

As Christians, a disease diagnosis – whether for ourselves – or for someone we love – is difficult to accept.   There is a temptation to feel as though Christians are somehow entitled to exemption from sickness, disease, or hardship.  Without knowing the truth, and surrounding ourselves with healthy support, the default reaction we may experience is fear.   Our secret weapon in the battle against fear is nothing less than God’s love. The apostle John knew and experienced God’s love in such an intimate way that he could say, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear” (John 4:18). He knew, deep in his soul, that God loved him-regardless of how he felt at any given moment and regardless of his circumstances. 

Often when we are in the midst of pain, suffering or tragedy, we find ourselves struggling to answer the nagging question of “why?”  We fall in a state of being in our weakest moments.  Perhaps we believe that if we had these answers, we would be comforted. If we could just make sense out of what is happening, we could know who or what to blame.

Looking for Answers

Sometimes in the midst of a storm we find ourselves so blindsided and consumed with fear, that we can’t see God, and we wonder if He has left us. Where is God in Cancer? Where is He when we are suffering?   In our search for answers, it’s easy to draw our own conclusions based on our limited understanding. Those conclusions may provide us with temporary comfort, but are often not the truth, and they often prevent us from moving forward in our journey to healing.   We have wrestled with these same questions. We don’t have all the answers. But we have come to understand some truths about God, suffering, and His promises to us. We hope you find encouragement in these words through your own journey too.

It’s okay to ask questions

When I lay these questions before God I get a silent, certainly not uncompassionate, gaze. As though He shook His head not in refusal but waiving the question. Like, “Peace child; you don’t understand.” C. S. LEWIS, A GRIEF OBSERVED

It’s okay to ask questions, to search for answers, to seek to understand God and His character. Matthew 7:7, 8 says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Suffering is part of life.  This truth is found in John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

God promises that He will never leave us, even in our suffering.  Hebrews 13:5 reminds us to “…be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”

Suffering refines our character.  The beneficial results of suffering are explained for us in Romans 5:3- 5: “But we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”  This process is only a glimpse of how we can manifest the holy spirit.

Our pain is not without purpose.  In Romans 8:28 and 29 we read, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. . . . to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.”  Mindful of Jesus’ pain when he was sacrificed.

These are just a few of the answers to some of the questions you may be asking yourself…  God is Love – What does love look like?  When we look at all that God did for humanity over the years, we realized and believe, God is Love.  The next statement gives you a glimpse of what Love looks like,  “A cada quien de su manera”  — Translation:  “to each his own” — Luke 15:4, The lost sheep — when you read this verse, in addition, ask yourself the, “why”.  Allow me to explain the term, “to each is own,” and its intention.  Have you ever been in a relationship where either you have given someone a directive or someone has given you a directive and you are expected to 1) understand the directive and 2) execute successfully the directive –without given the training or the rationale as to how and/or why?  Then if you can not perform what was expected of you then you get labeled irrationally.  

We only have to believe in God and all the values God represents.

May you find peace in your hearts and may the love of God draw your hearts near to that perfect-love to help you draw out your fears…  Amen.