O taste and see that the Lord is good! (Breast Cancer post #1)

"If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."  Daniel 3:17&18

Oh, to have the faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! They knew God could deliver them, yet they could not be sure that He would. They acted in faith that whether or not they lived, they were doing what was right and just towards their God. 

"And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."   Daniel 3:23-25

Not only did God deliver them from Nebuchadnezzar's wrath, but He sent His Son Jesus to be right there by their side during the trial. Wow!!! (When I first read this passage I was also astonished at this being approximately 580 years before the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us! ("...he is before all things..." Colossians 1:17) The three Hebrews didn't even smell like smoke - that is one smokin' God!!!

My Trial

I would love to say that I trusted God and hopped into a fiery trial, instead I just found myself thrust into the thick of one. About three months ago, I found out I had stage 3 breast cancer. The conversation with my doctor went as such:

Me: "If I were to say 'I have cancer' would I be correct"? 
My Doctor: "Yes". 
Me: "If I were to use it in a sentence, could I use it this way, 'I have cancer' "? 
My Doctor: "Yes". 
Me: Should I tell my family I have cancer"? 
My Doctor: "Yes". 

(Jesus enters the room)

God Preparing Me for My Trial

I was afraid to go to sleep that night, knowing that I would wake up and think everything was fine and dandy for a few glorious seconds and then remember, correctly, that 'I have cancer'. After falling into a deep sleep, I did wake in the middle of the night feeling extremely peaceful. Then I remembered I had cancer, and my countenance did fall. Immediately I heard Jesus say to me "Every minute can be as peaceful as that one." Oh yea - Jesus was with me now! He has been with ever since I was six years old and trusted on Him, but now it is like I have special seating in the throne room; a special VIP pass. I believe these passes are handed out when you go through a trial, if you accept them - kind of like salvation. I accepted both!

My sister, Jan, found herself in the thick of a trial recently. Filled with the Holy Spirit (Because she accepted the pass!) she asked me if I have ever woke myself up singing to God. I was so very disappointed when I realized that I had not. When I am awake I almost always have a song of the hour towards Him. To my delight, the very first morning after finding out I had cancer that had spread to my lymph nodes, I did wake myself up singing to Him! The song was "Count Your Blessings (Name Them One By One)". Jesus picked one out for me! We only sang it a few times in church; not all that familiar with it, I set out to learn it on the guitar that day. It is my theme song through this trial, because it is not about the hardships, but the blessings. 

Later that day God gave me my theme verse: 

"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." Hebrews 13:5&6 

This indeed I needed to hear above everything else. Your 'conversation' in the Bible is not just what you say, but how you live. It would be so very easy for me to be jealous of others' normal lives...and not to be content with what I have. Bitterness could easily rear it's ugly head. I know that I need to look diligently toward Jesus! (Hebrews 12:15) The promise that comes next is awesome - not only will God never leave or forsake me, I will be able to proclaim without a doubt that He is my helper! And to wrap these verses up with a bow: "I will not fear what man shall do unto me." Man may have devised cancer and it's 'cures' may not be just that. But I need NOT fear man! Amen! 

Ready to Go! 

God has prepared me; I am armoured up and ready for the fight! Not only I, but many, many family and friends have got my back. I am on more prayer lists than I ever would have imagined. I will highlight these supporters, their prayers and Bible verses, gifts and cards that have so lovingly lighted my path, in posts to come. I want to use this forum to show off a bit - not myself, but Jesus! Once I get caught up on writing about the blessings that have already been bestowed upon me, I will keep you up on the new ones. My hope is that I make Jesus look even better to you than He did before. If you are not a believer in the one God sent, my hope is that your eyes are opened and your ears do hear of His goodness! 

O taste and see that the LORD is good:

blessed is the man that trusteth in him.     

                                                                        Psalm 34:8