Oncology and Good Health
Cancer Patients – Blindsided
It is typical for cancer patients to respond with shock and disbelief when first diagnosed. Suddenly there’s an urgency to distance ourselves far away from the unimaginable. . .we were personally attacked without warning! We long for fairness so we cry, “Foul! Cancer hit me when I wasn’t looking. Life’s unfair!” We’re too young, we’re rarely sick, or we’ve already lost a dear friend or family member to this disease. We react as if blindsided and become confused.
Life’s unfair. Cancer’s unfair. We become confused when we associate God with either one. God is sovereign over cancer and what He accomplishes surpasses life itself. In Disappointment with God,1 Philip Yancey writes about a man named Douglas whose wife was battling metastatic breast cancer. During this period, a drunk driver permanently disabled Douglas, leaving him in pain and unable to work full-time. Instead of expressing disappointment in God, the husband told Yancey:
“I have learned to see beyond the physical reality in this world to the spiritual reality. We tend to think, ‘Life should be fair because God is fair.’ But God is not life. And if I confuse God with the physical reality of life -- by expecting constant good health, for example -- then I set myself up for crashing disappointment. If we develop a relationship with God apart from our life circumstances then we may be able to hang in there when the physical reality breaks down. We can learn to trust God despite all the unfairness of life.”
Cancer Patients – Shortsighted
Cancer places everyone on equal ground. Regardless of education, finances, or lifestyle, we are all candidates for cancer. Cancer is neither a punishment for bad behavior; nor is good health a reward for good behavior! The disease, however, does “reward” every individual with the opportunity to concentrate on the important things in life.
In the midst of treatments and tests there is time to focus on promises, resolutions, and
It is typical for cancer patients to respond with shock and disbelief when first diagnosed. Suddenly there’s an urgency to distance ourselves far away from the unimaginable. . .we were personally attacked without warning! We long for fairness so we cry, “Foul! Cancer hit me when I wasn’t looking. Life’s unfair!” We’re too young, we’re rarely sick, or we’ve already lost a dear friend or family member to this disease. We react as if blindsided and become confused.
Life’s unfair. Cancer’s unfair. We become confused when we associate God with either one. God is sovereign over cancer and what He accomplishes surpasses life itself. In Disappointment with God,1 Philip Yancey writes about a man named Douglas whose wife was battling metastatic breast cancer. During this period, a drunk driver permanently disabled Douglas, leaving him in pain and unable to work full-time. Instead of expressing disappointment in God, the husband told Yancey:
“I have learned to see beyond the physical reality in this world to the spiritual reality. We tend to think, ‘Life should be fair because God is fair.’ But God is not life. And if I confuse God with the physical reality of life -- by expecting constant good health, for example -- then I set myself up for crashing disappointment. If we develop a relationship with God apart from our life circumstances then we may be able to hang in there when the physical reality breaks down. We can learn to trust God despite all the unfairness of life.”
Cancer Patients – Shortsighted
Cancer places everyone on equal ground. Regardless of education, finances, or lifestyle, we are all candidates for cancer. Cancer is neither a punishment for bad behavior; nor is good health a reward for good behavior! The disease, however, does “reward” every individual with the opportunity to concentrate on the important things in life.
In the midst of treatments and tests there is time to focus on promises, resolutions, and