Isaiah 54:10 "'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,' says the LORD, who has compassion on you."
Do we believe those words? Do we really trust that God has compassion on us when someone like my friend Mary finds out she has cancer? Why Lord? Why would You let this happen to our beautiful, full of life, loving, joyful Mary?
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Mary is one of those people that EVERYONE likes and you never hear a negative about her or from her. She gives everyday all she has, serving her God, her husband, her family and anyone in need. She takes every opportunity to love and encourage others. Her smile and enthusiasm are contagious. She is one of those dear Sisters who has more time for you than you have for yourself.
Hearing her news hit me like a ton of bricks... It brought up that age old question for God, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Surely, God loves us! He doesn't want us to suffer and He wants good things for His children... Right? This is certainly true, but where is the bridge from this truth to the other reality that Mary has a life-threatening disease?
Unfortunately, as we are readily aware, we live in a fallen world. Sin and corruption can often seem closer in everyday life than God Himself. Plain and simply, the culprit of all the bad things is sin. Sin, the decision to satisfy the flesh instead of being obedient to our God, has put our dear Sister in this perilous position. NOT her sin, mind you. I am talking about the fall, when mankind decided to sin against God and this world changed from one of perfection in paradise to a mere shadow of all He intended it to be.
God, acting in His disappointment in mankind, could have wiped us out right then. But instead, acting in His love for us and knowing that He would have to make the ultimate sacrifice for our selfishness, decided to give us free choice as we live out our days in the "bed" we make for ourselves. God gave us the opportunity to choose between sin and Him, so that we might come to Him of our own free will and know His goodness despite the evil that surrounds us in this fallen world. So, even if we choose to live our lives for God and walk with Him spiritually, we still physically walk in a world that has wandered far from Him and are temporarily trapped in bodies that desire to go their own way. The consequence of sin leaves us in this fragile condition of susceptibility to the unhappy things of this world. (John 16:33)
However (and here comes the good part), our hope lies in that God sent His Son as a ransom for that sin. (Romans 6:23) So that, if we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, we are forgiven and can expect to live with Him for eternity as He intended (Romans 10:9). When we turn our lives over to Him, He sees us through the sanctifying lens of the sacrifice of His Son and promises to use ALL things for good in our lives because we love Him... YES! He can even use Mary's cancer for good. (Romans 8:28) God does not promise that living this life will be easy, even if we are walking with Him, but He does promise it will be fulfilling. (John 15:5, 16, Ephesians 2:10) If we open our hearts to God, He is able to fill us by His Holy Spirit with His deep indwelling peace and joy, giving us strength and hope as we follow Him, even through the midst of tragedy.
Source: ChristianWomenOnline.net
Jen is married to Marty, with a daughter and two step-sons. They share a Hobby Farm out in the Mississippi Valley of Wisconsin. It is a fitting place to land since her entire life has been littered with stray animals and birds, tame and wild, that wander in or are brought by friends. She works as a nurse in a small hospital ICU and deeply enjoys the privilege of caring for those fighting to live or navigating their last moments in life. Her favorite memories seem to be centered on cooking and long conversations with friends and loved ones around the dinner table. Jen is a middle aged chick who tries to remind herself daily of God's amazing grace.
