In both 2018 and 2019 I had a cancer scare. Both turned out to be benign issues. However, during both of those times I was feeling almost exactly what I am feeling now in 2023 as I am faced with a third possibly of a cancer diagnosis. Therefore, I went through some of my older blogs and here are some excerpts from one I wrote in 2018 titled, "Fear Not" and one in 2019 titled, "He Stands Beside Us." May these words comfort and encourage you as they have me.
From May 2018:
I am writing this short blog not just for my readers, but for myself as well as I am facing a fearful situation. I had a medical procedure last week that requires further tests, and I am worried about the next step. I have to wait at least a month to have the next set of tests. Ugh, it seems like such a long wait. It is very difficult for someone like me who walks by sight much more often than I walk by faith to be expected to wait for anything. It is far too easy to think of all the worst-case scenarios. During such a time as this, I try to dwell on all the promises of God that He is in control of every situation of my life.
My words are not enough to comfort me, but ONLY the scriptures can help keep me calm. Therefore, if you are going through a frightening situation right now, I want to encourage all of you also to dwell on all the same verses to which I am trying to cling. May they bring you peace.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. II Timothy 2:1
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:26-28
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord. Jeremiah 29:11-14
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-41
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1
From January 2019:
I have a tumor on my right ovary and am having surgery on the 25th of this month. The doctor insists the tumor does not look, as she says, “scary.” Yet, I am afraid. I have no control over whether this tumor is cancerous or not. (Note: Fastforward to now, April 2023, and 4 years later, I am facing the exact situation. This time the tumor is on the left ovary - because the doctor did not think it was necessary to remove both ovaries back then. This time, my current doctor is not so confident that cancer can be ruled out quite so casually.)
However, through it all, I have a peace (mostly, some days I panic). God is continually reminding me that He is always in control of every situation – even the scary ones. He does not promise we will have a stress-free life, but He promises to be there with us. There is no One better to be by my side!
It was waking up today, I was reminded that even though Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace, God was with them. Had these men merely been rebellious against authority and refused to bow to King Nebuchadnezzar’s idol, I do not believe God would have saved them. They were not simple anarchists; they were men full of conviction prompted to do the right thing as well as having faith in God’s power to protect them. Jesus stood beside them because they were righteous men and because they had faith; that is the perfect combination! They also knew that if they perished, that at least they stood up for the Truth.
Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?" Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up." Daniel 3:14-18
God sent Jesus to stand in the fire with them, not outside the fire to watch. Jesus does not stand on the sidelines to watch us suffer; He is next to us, holding our hand. We may not always come out unsinged as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, but just knowing Jesus cares and is with us as a comforter makes even the hard and uncontrollable times more bearable.
"Look!" he answered, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here." Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came from the midst of the fire. And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king's counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them. Daniel 3:26-27
Also, yesterday while Mel and I were listening to a book (read on the Kindle), the main character is asked to read aloud from the Bible. The passage she is asked to read is from Isaiah 43. As we got to that point in the story, Mel was astounded as he says to me, “I was just reading that exact same passage in my Bible a short while ago.” It was another clear sign from God that, no matter what happens, God loves us, He has called us by name, and He will walk beside us, no matter where we walk (as long as it is down a righteous path).
But now, thus says the Lord, who created you… He who formed you… "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel… Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you… Fear not, for I am with you; Isaiah 43:1-5
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