Always give thanks to God the Father for everything. Ephesians 5:20; Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. I Thessalonians 5:18.
This morning my soon to be 94-year-old sister, Betty called me. She has been a widow for many years and suffers from different bodily complaints as an older saint. But she still is amazing! Betty called to remind me that Jesus is faithful and we should never forget, in our own suffering situations, what our dear Savior went through for us. She is always so encouraging and if you ask her how she is, her usual reply is: “I am thankful”. It was a great reminder.
It just so happened that after I finished my conversation with her, I read Matthew 27, the story of Jesus’ Crucifixion. What a horrible death he endured for us. To read about the mocking, jeering and the nailing made me feel so very humbled and small. The interesting thing to me is that Betty’s own daughter, my niece, has been enduring a horrific battle with her health. She had a knee replacement about May or so, and during a followup appointment, the doctor noticed she was very yellow. Subsequent tests revealed she has pancreatic cancer. But during this medical journey, the doctors missed gall bladder issues, so hers ruptured. They put in drains and she kept getting infections…in an out of the hospital. She was too weak to have the chemo at times. Every issue has been painful and difficult, but she, like her mother, finds things to be grateful about. I don’t want to keep sharing all the ugly bits about this journey, but nothing about it has been easy. She is now on TPN. It is a nutrition program taken via her blood vessels. We are praying she will be strong enough in a few weeks for the surgeon to remove what is left of her gallbladder, take out as much of her pancreatic tumor as possible and correct a fistula that has developed. Our family is standing with her. We are still trusting that God is moving and listening to our prayers. Anne is the kindness, most wonderful woman you could every meet, and yet she is dealing with these ongoing struggles with a rest and trust in her Savior.
About the same time, Anne’s pancreatic cancer was discovered, my sister Mary was diagnosed with cancer as well. She has had 12 chemo treatments and 1 infusion treatment. Tomorrow she has surgery to remove the rest of her tumor and get some lymph nodes checked. Then she has about another year of infusions to complete her journey. It has not been easy, but compared to what Anne is dealing with, it has been a walk in the park! But neither of these family members and their suffering has ever come close to what Jesus went through for us.
After they finished nailing him to the cross and were waiting for him to die, they whiled away the time by throwing dice for his clothes. Above his head they had posted the criminal charge against him: THIS IS JESUS,THE KING OF’s THE JEWS. (Matthew 27:35-36 MSG). People passing along the road jeered, shaking their heads in mock lament. You bragged that you could tear down the Temple and then rebuild it in three days–so show us your stuff! Save yourself! If you’re really God’s Son, come down from that cross!” The high priests, along with the religion scholars and leaders were right their mixing it up with the rest of them, having a great time poking fun at him; He saved others—He can’t save himself. But, of course, that wasn’t the worse of it, I believe. Eli, Eli sambachthani…which means, ‘My God, my God, what have you abandoned me?” This separation from the Father and bearing our sins must have been excruciating for him. He suffered physical pain, but also emotional and spiritual pain. The amazing thing, He was able, amid his own pain, to pray for us as Luke 23:34 declares: then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing”. Oh my friends, as my sister reminded me, we too often forget the cost and suffering our Savior actually went through for us. Can we, amid our struggles simply be grateful we have a Savior?
No matter what you are going through or facing, please know you are not alone. Our wonderful heavenly Father is with you, helping and working on your behalf. I am going to keep praying for Anne, that she will get on an easier path, but until then I can only trust our Savior with her. Right now, I don’t have time nor the energy to ask the Lord for the “whys” of Anne’s situation. I simply press on believing that He that has begun a good work will complete it, that is why he suffered and died for us.
Let us not forget to be grateful and thankful for Him in our life. It is challenging to hear of the obstacles and challenges that keep coming to Anne. But instead of growing weary in fighting the fight with her, we are praying even more. Don’t shy away from any fight you are in, spiritually speaking. Stay in it. Keep on trusting, releasing your faith and waiting for Him to show up. He will. Pray with me for Anne, please, our family appreciates it!
Let’s not let the work Jesus did and suffered for be in vain. Struggles and difficulties will be had in this life, but it is so much easier to walk and work them through with Him than without, amen? What do you really think about during communion? It is the great reminder that was instituted to help us remember what price was paid for our salvation.
Father, I thank you for loving us, caring for us and being patient when we forget the significant cost you spent for us. Forgive us for taking it so lightly and complaining about our lives. Help us press on and run the individual race you have called each of us to run, this day, In Jesus’ Name, amen.
Faith Encounters 