Man’s greatest question to God is “Why?” This is expressed in many ways: “Why this?”; “Why me?”; and “Why now?” I voiced a mix of these to the Lord during my Stage 4 battle with metastatic melanoma cancer. As a young pastor, I thought my ministry path required good health, and being alive! So it was puzzling to me that God allowed a life-threatening detour. Yet His detour led me to His comfort and my new calling.
Sometimes people confidently say, “I never asked God why throughout my entire cancer battle.” To which I wonder, “Maybe they should, because God may wish to enlighten them with His amazing thoughts.”
Comfort Received
In the thralls of my nightmare, I desperately clung to God. I had felt His comfort before, but never like this. He walked me through each moment of fear and sadness. Like Paul, I found He is indeed the fountain of all comfort:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).
Through His tender comforts, I was able to weather the pain and onslaught of negativity from the doctors and the devil. At times, I felt all was lost and I would become a victim of a fate greater than God. Yet I was made strong by His power despite my weakness. He truly showed up and showed off!
Comfort Released
Then I traded my plans for God for His plans for me. In my case, and results may vary, His plan was a miraculous healing. Read more on healing here on our FAQ webpage. Later, as I shared what or Who I experienced, I realized I had the ears of others fighting cancer. The Lord recruited me to be His mouth, hands, and feet to comfort hurting people. He is always looking for those who “get it,” those who understand His intent to comfort us in our trials so we can testify of His goodness! I definitely did not get it at first. How about you, are you receiving His comfort and passing it on? It’s never too late to start! More here.
Whether you’re a cancer survivor, abuse survivor, or a caretaker of one who survived – or not, we all have a “God story” to tell. Our Comforter is more important than our circumstances, so let’s focus on Him and use our stories to shout His praises!
Perhaps the greatest comfort is to know that whatever happens to us, we can be confident we’ll be in heaven with Him forever. Find out how here!
