Running with perseverance

I have two acquaintances who are struggling with cancer. Both are mothers of young children. One just found out and has been told she only has a few months left, the other has been fighting for years. I can not stop thinking about them; as I work around the house, enjoy my own children, complain in my mind about how much I have to do. And I wonder what they are doing and what they are thinking as they work through each day with faith and trust that the Lord who brought them this far will continue to walk them through the valley of the shadow of death.

Several thoughts have been running through my mind. God, who is both great and good, designed these trials and their timing, for these women. Sometimes I think of disease and tragedy as nature running its course. God can certainly stop cancer from growing, but unless He intervenes, the cancer will do what it does and so I pray for God's hand to stay and heal. But this view is not giving to God His full glory, because if I truly believe He is sovereign over all things I can trust that He is Lord over every cell growth. He has given this particular trial to these women and He is giving them faith and grace to triumph over sin (sickness being part of the fall) and death. I believe full trust in God's goodness and greatness is the only way to survive in a world of hurt and sadness. I am motivated to keep all this in mind as I work through my own petty problems of the day. I look at these mothers and wonder how I would respond. I know I will not all of a sudden be a great woman of faith when great trials come; what I am will only be magnified under the lens of the trial. That really makes me want to trust the Lord today with my children, trust Him today with my marriage and extended family, and be faithful in the means of grace God has given to make my faith strong. Bible reading, prayer, meditation, the sacraments- all these are means God has promised to use if only I will approach them in faith. But do I or am I so distracted with the mundane and expect I will get around to those things later? Thinking about these women makes me understand the greatness of these means of grace I so desperately need.

So join me in enjoying what God gives for today, in trusting Him to perfectly provide what we need, and in loving Him for His sovereign care over all His children. And pray for Lindsey and Ashli.

This hymn has been on my mind for the last few days:

        Lord Jesus Christ, be present now,
    Our hearts in true devotion bow,
     Thy Spirit send with grace divine,
     And let Thy truth within us shine.

     Unseal our lips to sing Thy praise,
     Our souls to Thee in worship raise,
     Make strong our faith, increase our light
     That we may know Thy name aright;

     Until we join the hosts that cry,
     "Holy art Thou, O Lord, most high!"
     And in the light of that blest place
     Fore'er behold Thee face to face.

     Glory to God the Father, Son,
     And Holy Spirit, Three in One!
     To Thee, O blessed Trinity,
     Be praise throughout eternity!