Today I am writing to ask for
your help. We have a friend in Christ who has just been diagnosed with advanced stage cancer. The prognosis is not good. I know she would be encouraged to hear
a thought or a Scripture from many of you who have also faced dark or uncertain
times.
Please use the comment feature
and write something you would want us to pass on to her. Please keep your comment
or passage from Scripture to 100 words or less. That is about the length of
this post. Thanks for your help.
(If you have a problem posting your comment on the blog site, please just reply to the email you received and we will post it for you.)
(If you have a problem posting your comment on the blog site, please just reply to the email you received and we will post it for you.)
Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." This psalm gave me comfort when my dad passed away 15 years ago. My prayers are with your friend and for you as well. I hope this helps.
ReplyDelete"A bruised reed he will not break,
ReplyDeleteand a smoldering wick he will not snuff out." (Isaiah 42:3)
"When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple."
Jonah 2:7
"... he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)
"I am your shield, your very great reward." (Genesis 15:1b)
Without knowing the situation personally, my first thought is if the fear of death is erased, that changes EVERYTHING about this diagnosis and the future for this sister. Hebrews 2:14-15 is particularly helpful for me, when I am faced with fears about death.
ReplyDeleteI'll also mention that a couple of years ago, God used my oldest son and a choir retreat to help change my perspective on what it might be like to enter heaven. Because of space constraints, I'll simply link to a blog post I had written about it, in case it might be helpful. http://www.davenespilled.com/2012/09/how-choir-retreat-prepared-me-for-heaven.html
I pray for God's peace to blanket this sister and her loved ones.
Isaiah 41:13 For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear;I will help you.
ReplyDeleteRomans 8:38 (NLT) And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.
ReplyDeleteIt's a hard one. This comes to mind at the most difficult times including when my daighter was born 10 weeks premature struggling to breath and now has a diagnosis of mild cerebral palsy: "8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,[a] about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many."
ReplyDeletePsalm 28:7 New International Version (NIV)
ReplyDelete7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.
Add to Heb 2:14-15, Heb 10:14 t's easy for me to "fear again" when I if I'm committed enough, doingenough, evangelistic enough, and etc. because my answer could never have been
ReplyDeleteA confident yes. But by ( His) one offering I am sanctified!!! You shine! I became an incomplete quad five years ago. This (His) security
ReplyDeleteSurely I cannot compare my grief to your friend's grief. But I will share that I have faced many health challenges including lung cancer 3 years ago. This verse often helps me to persevere and put my hope in God: Psalm 73:26 "My flesh and my heart may fail but God is the strength of my heart and portion forever."
ReplyDeleteRomans 8:28 (NIV)
ReplyDelete28 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
Jesus says in John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
ReplyDeleteWhen I am in my darker times and Satan is trying to fill my head with lies, I remember this scripture and it helps me to recognize that my enemy is trying to steal me away from the Good Shepherd. It encourages my soul to remember this promise from God that Jesus came to give me life to the fullest! Another scripture that I love so much is found in Isaiah 49, quoted below starting in the second part of v13:
For the Lord comforts his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands...
I pray that you will enjoy life to the fullest as you are guided by our God's beautiful hands...
From Ben Burnett:
ReplyDeleteI have always had trouble posting comments on your site, but I am very happy to send you this email today.
About a year and half ago, my 3 year old daughter was diagnosed with brain cancer. The very next day she went in for brain surgery. I remember looking at her in the waiting room after her scans came back, with tears in my eyes, seeing her laughing and playing with her friends, knowing full well I might never see her again, or that she would never be the same again.
Fast forward to today, her chemotherapy is finished, but she can't walk, eat, or play with her friends like she used to. This has been a dark time in our lives. However, God has encouraged me with these words; "Even though I walk through the darkest of valleys, my God's rod and staff, they comfort me." I know God is leading me, I just need to follow. Going through a dark, cold, scary valley is part of God leading us to greener pastures on the other side. With Christ, there is no death. There is no fear of punishment, gloom, or sadness. "God always leads us to triumph." Encourage your friend in this; don't try to see your way out of this, don't try to ignore feelings of suffering, but, most importantly, do have FAITH.
Thanks, so much to all of you for sharing your thoughts and encouraging passages of Scripture. I will be passing all these on to our sister and her husband and brother who I know will be helped by what you have written.
ReplyDeleteDon’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
ReplyDeletePHILIPPIANS 4:6-7 NLT
He will see you through this, sister! He loves you as the PERFECT parent!
2 Cor. 4:7-11, 16-18 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed... For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body... Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes, not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal!
ReplyDeleteI am always impressed that Paul could refer to his struggles as "light and momentary" his writing encourages me to stand firm in the midst of the battle, knowing that in the big scheme of God's plan my struggles are light and momentary both in the present and in the age to come!
Psalms 37:23-24 The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.
ReplyDeletePsalm 37:39The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
These are scriptures that always help me in my darkest hours of hopelessness. My prays are with you and your family.
When going through some challenging health fears, I have held on to my go-to passage, Psalm 62:1:
ReplyDeleteMy soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
He is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
When I am feeling stressed because of my MS this passage always brings peace to my heart.
ReplyDeletePsalms 94:18-19 - When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.
Praying for you,
Kathryn
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteto the friend in christ - open up your heart as wide as possible and go in resonance with the godly unconditional love - let the love flow into every cell - alles Liebe
DeleteFrom Darla Rowe:As I was overwhelmed with my loss during a time of great pain and resulting disability, I realized I was continually crying out to God in my heart, "I can't!" He answered me gently as I lay in my bed crying one night with words I had loved for many years but only now was beginning to understand:
ReplyDelete"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."