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In my previous post, I wrote about the roller coaster ride that I was on last week, and the anxiety that I experienced. I believe that there’s much more to speak about on this subject of anxiety. For one, when we hear the word cancer, doesn’t anxiety often pop up in the pit of our stomachs? It has for me, for sure. Anxiety causes such feelings as “worry, fear, apprehension and nervous feelings” but what is it. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/anxiety) Googling anxiety and we find anxiety defined as “a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. ” Often anxiety comes because we don’t know the end result and we can’t control the outcome.
At one time or another, we’ve all experienced anxiety. Maybe it was something like an algebra test in high school or a soccer tournament with our greatest competitor. Maybe anxiety comes as we go on our first interview, or maybe it’s that dreaded phone call from our doctor giving us the bad news that the tumor was cancer. A cancer diagnosis certainly brings an uncertain outcome and unease about an imminent event such as surgery or other treatments such chemotherapy or radiation or even uncertainty about the prognosis.
Anxiety may be a simple case of butterflies or it might be a terror that overwhelms us in the night. In either case, it’s not comfortable and may be quite painful or even terribly fear provoking. No matter what the case, as I mentioned in the earlier post, God speaks to us about anxiety, and we can clearly hear His word as Paul writes in Philippians 4: 6 & 7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” These were the first verses that I wrote on a note card as a new believer and carried around in my pocket. I struggled with anxiety as a single mother with two small children, and this verse brought me great comfort. Every time I felt anxious, I would pull the card out of my pocket and read these verses over and over. I began to receive peace, healing and deliverance. But really, how do we get this peace and how can we overcome anxiety?
The answer, I believe, lies in the verses right before 6 and 7: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.” Here’s our answer: the Lord is at hand, He is right here with us and we can trust that He is working good! We are to rejoice always no matter what our circumstances are and no matter what trials we are facing because —- THE LORD IS AT HAND! He is right here with us, guiding, directing, providing, protecting, loving, and caring for us. He is holding us up. There are many scriptures about God holding us with His hand but look at Isaiah 41:10: “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” He is here; He is close at hand; He is holding us up and strengthening us. We need not be afraid. He is our God and He loves us so. He is near, we can trust Him, and we can be anxious for nothing!
The question becomes, do I really believe this? Have I really decided to place my trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and believe Him: what He says and His promises? Have I decided to make Him the Lord of my life, surrender to His will and His ways, and follow Him no matter what? Will I worship Him in bad times as well as the good ones? It’s easy to say yes to Jesus and praise Him when things in my life are going well, but what happens when things aren’t going so well? What happens when now, at this point in my life I receive a cancer diagnosis after battling Lyme Disease for 25+ years? Will I say yes to Jesus and praise Him now when things are tough? Will I praise Him in the good and bad times? At some point as Christians, we have to confront this question: no matter how rough, no matter how scary, no matter how painful, will I choose to believe Jesus Christ, His Word and His promises.
My battle with Lyme Disease and other issues brought me to this point a few years ago. Things in my life just weren’t going well. I had hopes and dreams and yet, disappointment, pain and illness abounded. I had been a Christian for many years, but this seemed to be the hardest place I had been in since I was saved. I had been in the wilderness before, but this wilderness was different. For one, it was lasting way longer than I thought it should or that it would, and God seemed silent and far away. In this wilderness place, I was confronted with this question: would I REALLY believe Jesus? Would I REALLY believe His promises in this hard place? Would I say yes to Him, even in the midst of disappointment, heartache and illness? By the grace of God, in this wilderness place, I said “Yes, Lord, I will believe You and I will worship You”. But truly Peter gives us the answer in John 6:68 & 69, and it is the answer of my heart, “Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. Also, we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”
Peter got it right! When we come to believe and know that Jesus is truly the Son of God and that He died on the cross so that we may live and have eternal life, there is no other place to go and truly no other place that we would want to go. There is such love, security, and safety in knowing that Jesus is the Son of God and that as believers, we are in Him. If today, you find yourself in a really difficult place, make that decision to believe Jesus, believe that His promises are true and amen, and decide that you will not waver no matter what comes your way. In the midst of this cancer diagnosis, I MUST choose every minute of every day to believe that Jesus’ words are true, that He is faithful and that I can trust Him no matter what things look or feel like. When the anxiety comes, I can abide in His peace that surpasses understanding because He is right here with me; He is at hand. This is the truth!
Many blessings to you, dear friend!
Prayer: Dear Father, I thank You that You are at hand. You are right here with me and I can reach out, knowing that You are so close. You are loving and protecting me, watching over me and upholding me with Your righteous right hand. Even in the midst of this really difficult trial, You are here with me. You will never leave me nor forsake me, and You will cover me in your peace that surpasses understanding. You are my rock and fortress and I will ever praise You. Please Father, pour out your grace and mercy on all who are hurting and afraid, strengthen us all and give us extraordinary faith by the power of the Holy Spirit to believe You and believe that Your word is yes and amen. You are the great physician, please heal and deliver all who are sick and all who are hurting and broken. We love you so. We pray in the precious name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
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