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Have you ever had one of those seasons in life when nothing seems to go your way? Maybe it started small and then grew until you felt like you would be crushed under the weight of all the bad news. All you wanted to do was find a place to hide, but you just couldn't seem to find a way to escape, there was just no place to hide!!!
My wife and I just went through a very difficult, emotionally tumultuous season in life! It was a year that was marked by turbulent news and an overwhelming upheaval of our family. It all started with my wife's father, “Garland” struggling with his blood sugar levels. He was in his mid seventies and pleasantly plump and so we didn't think much about it. We thought a change in diet, medication and all would be well. Little did we know how it would turn out! He did his best to follow the doctors advice, changed his diet and took medication but it just didn't seem to help. More medical test were done and the doctors found a small cancerous tumor on his pancreas. The doctors assured us that they had caught it early and with a little surgery he would be on his way to recovery. Of course all of this took place during the height of the COVID pandemic so only Joyce's mother was allowed in the hospital during the surgery. Myself, my wife Joyce and her sister sat in our vehicle during the surgery which last over 8 hours, which was followed by another 4 hours in recovery. I must say I think it was one of the longest days of my life. After the surgery we were told by the doctors that they had removed the tumor and several other limp nodes, but they felt confident that they had removed all the cancer. As a precaution they were going to proceed with chemotherapy just to be on the safe side. A few rounds of chemotherapy soon revealed that Garland also suffered from congestive heart failure and his heart was not strong enough to continue with the chemotherapy. All the compounding health issues caused him to be place on hospice. This cascade of bad news began in August of 2020 and on May 11, 2021 he passed away. During this time the outpouring deluge of bad news made the entire family feel like we were drowning. Worry filled our everyday! So what does God's word say about worry?
Matthew 6:34 NIV Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
So how do you deal with these seasons in life when you seem to be crushed under the weight of all the bad news? Who do you turn to when everything around you seems to be crumbling down? Where do you turn when there seems to be no place to hide? There is a song by “For King and Country” that really helps lift me up when I seem to be drowning in difficult times. The song is titled “God only knows.” The chorus goes like this: “God only knows what you've been through, God only knows what they say about you, God only knows the real you, There's a kind of love that God only knows. God only knows where to find you, God only knows how to break through, God only knows the real you, There's a kind of love that God only knows!!!
Fear is one of Satan's most popular weapons that he uses against us. The most common lie that Satan uses to instill fear in us is that God is far away or absent from our presence. We've all felt at some point that God is distant. But nothing could be farther from the truth! In the midst of the worst days of your life, in the midst of sickness, war, famine even in the midst of death of a loved one, God will be with you, never leaving you.
Joshua 1:9 NIV Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
