My dad has been diagnosed with cancer. It was caught very early and very treatable. Probably not deadly, but it’s still a factor in his life now. Hearing that he will hire a neighborhood kid to mow the lawn this summer made the reality of something I can’t see hit home in a whole new way. And I won’t be there to help at all. God, are you loving and keeping him?
My uncle’s fatal-yet-vanquished leukemia has reappeared in his body. The miracle of his recovery is no less potent as a testimony of God’s control and power, but to know how hard it was and to face the same yet again is terrifying. God, are you loving and keeping him? Are you loving and keeping my aunt as she returns to the grief-ridden valley of the shadow of death?
The answer, of course, is yes. God loves and keeps my father, my mother, & my brother. God loves and keeps my uncle and aunt. God’s love doesn’t end because of the situations we find ourselves in, nor does it end because we’re no longer strong, able, or healthy. God’s love is a predetermined decision to set his affection on us, to throw our sin behind his back, to run to us, to carry us, and to bring us home. Whether we are going though the valley of the shadow of death or living in peace all our days, our situation will never negate the affection and joy God has for us. Through the last few months I’ve found that when I feel sad, anxious, angry and helpless, God’s power and love remains. When I doubt that I’m kept and loved by God, the truth of the Scriptures reminds me that God’s love is never ending, always hoping, never breaking or giving up, always and forever. I cling to the truth of His Word.
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”