Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Some of you may know that my lovely bride of 30 plus years has cancer. She began her chemo program at the University of Minnesota Cancer Institute before Christmas 2018. As her husband and a survivor over the loss of a child many years prior I thought, "oh no, here we go again." Our Church, Adult Sunday school community and out Lifegroup have been phenomenally supportive of our journey. Not long after her diagnosis, we learned of another couple in our Life group going through struggling with their own recent cancer diagnosis. The lyrics to this song come to mine.
Every day they pass me by, I can see it in their eye
Empty people filled with care headed who knows where
On they go through private pain, living fear to fear
Laughter hides their silent cries, only Jesus hears
People need the Lord, people need the Lord
At the end of broken dreams, He's the open door
People need the Lord, people need the Lord
When will we realize people need the Lord?
We are called to take His light to a world where wrong seems right
What would be too great a cost for sharing life with one who's lost?
Through His love, our hearts can feel, all the grief they bear
They must hear the words of life only we can share
Yesterday, my wife called me from work to say she needed to purchase some books at 1/2 Price book stores and wanted to know if I could meet here there when I finished work. I said 'yes'. I browse the aisles of this store, a store we've to hundreds of times with our two young children. Occasionally, I would glance around this store and see people through the lyrics of this song- hurting people in private pain, living in fear with laughter hiding their silent cries, only Jesus knows.
Pain and suffering are everywhere in this life. Yet it is easy to fall into the 'Prosperity gospel' trap believing that those who suffer must have done something to make God angry, forgetting that pain exists because we live in a broken world.
When she was done shopping, I suggested we have supper at the Panera Bread restaurant next door. She asked, "you want to eat out again?" "yes". I said. Fast forward and now we are sitting down enjoying our meal while sitting side by side each other when a lady came over and asked my wife if she was going through chemo. For the next 5 minutes, this woman encouraged my wife with her own cancer survivor story and her reliance on the grace of God throughout her journey. She was the healing salve God sent to offer her an encouraging word at a time when it was easy to be discouraged.
If there is any motivation to prepare your heart with God's word it is this: God wants to use you to encourage others in the midst of pain and suffering. As you sojourn this life with unsuspecting diagnoses and occasional losses, remember that God is walking with you on this journey, preparing you so one day, like this cancer survivor, God can send you in to encourage another person who just recently received their own diagnosis.
We are called to take His light to a world where wrong seems right
What would be too great a cost for sharing life with one who's lost?
Through His love, our hearts can feel, all the grief they bear
They must hear the words of life only we can share
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