I watch horse racing a few times a year. I’ll watch the Kentucky Derby, maybe Belmont or Preakness if there is the possibility of a Triple crown winner. As you look at the picture of the horses, I want you to imagine the announcer in a close race shouting, “And down the stretch we come.” The suspense is building! Who is going to win the race?
I’m in week 5 of 6 weeks of radiation and chemo. Down the stretch we come. I had been told about the side effects of chemo and radiation. At week 4, I was doing great. I was gaining weight from the steroids. I was eating like a pig. I had plenty of energy. I was working from home and loving the work I was doing.
In week 5, I met two new friends, Fatigue and nausea. These two tough guys kicked my butt. I was told about them, but under estimated how tough they are. Think of Mike Tyson, the two toughest MMA fighters or baddest bouncers at bars. Of course you never go to bars!! Good thing there is Zofran for nausea. It really helps. A good nap helps with the fatigue. I’m still not able to sleep through the night. They have prescribed some sleep medication to help with my sleep during the night. It’s helping some.
Prayer Requests:
I. Less fatigue and more energy
2. Less nausea
3. Uninterrupted sleep through the night
4. Treatments would be successful and the Glioblastoma would shrink
5. Fruit of the Spirit from the passenger seat. (Galatians 5:22-23)
I rarely ride in the passenger seat of the car. Some men have their wives chauffeur them around. I don’t understand how they can do that. I want to be control. Maybe that tells you more about me than you need to or want to know. I’m having to learn how to be at peace in the passenger seat. I can’t control the outcomes of this cancer treatment. God is at the wheel, and I must trust him and rest in him from the passenger side.
. He does whatever pleases him.
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
I don’t understand why God does what he does, but Matthew 28:29-31, and the song Jireh have brought me such comfort as I ride in the passenger seat, and God has the wheel.
Sometimes knowing too much about the Bible doesn’t help. It hurts. I’ll let you inside the head of a theologian. There is some cancer in there too, but here are some thoughts that I have. God why did you allow this? I know the theological answer as to why there is cancer and evil in the world. Evil exists because God is a loving God that gave humans freedom. For love to be love it cannot be forced. It must be free. Adam and Eve freely rejected the authority and rulership of God and with that sin, evil came into being. There was also cosmic rebellion in the divine realm where elohim rejected the authority and rulership of God. (Genesis 3, Psalm 82) I don’t believe cancer is from God. It is a result of the fall. I also know that God is all powerful and in control of the universe. (Colossians 1) There is nothing He can’t do, but there are so many people that I have prayed for as a pastor that have suffered and died. I know that God is good and can do anything, but will he? I don’t stay in those questions for long because they don’t help, and they ultimately can’t be answered. There is a reason that God is God, and I am not!! Where else would I go for comfort and direction in my life? John 6:68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
According to Romans 8:28 God works all things together for the good. It doesn’t say that all things are good. Maybe we don’t have the right perspective on our pain. Maybe God cares more about our maturity, our faith than he does about our circumstances. Maybe it is our circumstances that deepens our faith.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
1 Peter 1:6-7 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuinenessof your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
1 Peter 4:12-13 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
There is purpose in our pain. God is refining my faith through this trial. Riding in the passenger seat, l’m learning how to trust God more than ever. I am praying for the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) to be manifested as I ride in the passenger seat. I’m not always patient, gentle or kind while barking out orders from the passenger seat.
Through this trial riding in the passenger seat, l’m learning how to trust God more than ever. I am praying for the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) to be manifested as I ride in the passenger seat. I’m not always patient, gentle or kind while barking out orders from the passenger seat. Help me Holy Ghost!