Nothing makes Bible doctrines come to life like desperation. While I was fighting cancer, I was reassured by three facts about God that buoyed my spirit and anchored my soul.
1) The Sovereignty of God
Despite pain, oppression, and confusion, it was comforting to know He was in absolute control over my life. Nothing was or can be stronger than Him, or stand in His way. Though man was powerless over the Stage IV metastatic melanoma which ravaged my pancreas, lung, kidney, stomach and lymph system, I knew God could remove every trace of cancer at any time. He would have the last word, because He always has the last word. Jesus expressed The Sovereignty of God this way, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God” – Luke 18:27. Does this begin to lift your spirit?
2) The Goodness of God
God is good all of the time. He proved this forever when He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for me while I was a sinner and enemy (Romans 5:6-8). After becoming a son and heir through Christ, how much more will He cause His goodness to sovereignly flow to me? Paul summarized The Goodness of God in this way, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” – Romans 8:28. He pours out goodness so we can conquer anything.
3) The Incomprehensibility of God
A big word, but there is much we don’t understand about His ways. Asaph, the Psalmist, described His Incomprehensibility in this way, “Your way was in the sea and Your paths in the mighty waters, and Your footprints may not be known” – Psalm 77:19. As with Israel at the Red Sea, God may carry us to a place that confuses and upsets us. We don’t always see the way through on this side of heaven, and He doesn’t always explain why He allows painful seasons. But we don’t have to trust blindly. We can be so certain of His Sovereignty and Goodness that we don’t need to understand now! We’re just confident He will produce a good outcome. We don’t need to figure everything out! This lifts a heavy burden from us. We can let Him navigate and focus on relaxing!
These truths work together to provide a supernatural peace and stability no matter what happens. So when in pain, don’t turn away from Him, turn to Him!
