He was mortified when a father described the horrible details of his daughter’s cancer. He stopped by my upholstery store after a 14-hour work day to purchase a piece of foam. Through his mouth she spoke of the cancer that was consuming his twelve-year-old daughter. During the fight for his life he lost his left eye, his left breast, both ovaries and his uterus. He explained that he worked all the time to be able to pay for chemotherapy. Her wife stopped working so she could stay with her son and she refused to leave her house for fear of what would happen to her daughter next.
The man in front of me looked exhausted and almost defeated. The description of his daughter sent chills through my body as I realized how horrible a disease like cancer can be. A quickening in my heart opened my mind to the revelation that I was describing the slow and painful death of her beloved son. Without hesitation and with a renewed sense of determination, he said, “I believe in God!”
The statistics of this ferrous cancerous disease is mind-boggling. One and a half million people get cancer every year. Thirty percent diagnosed are people who choose to smoke. There are currently tens of millions of people suffering and even more millions of people dealing with the pain of watching a family member slowly die an agonizing death from this horrible disease.
Cancer does not discriminate, it attacks everyone, from newborns to older adults. Chances are, if you are in your seventies, you will eventually die of some form of cancer. This is the reality of this disease. It is a truth that makes all people wonder “Why would a loving God allow Christians to suffer from cancer?”
Doctors, parents, and society will do their best to fight cancer through research, cancer awareness programs, and regular checkups to catch the disease before it spreads. From new medicines to operations that eliminate the disease have been improved, but still the disease is ranked as one of the leading causes of death among people.
Why has cancer taken such a strong hold on the human race? If doctors and medicine cannot protect us from disease, then what can? When the cancer epidemic is so widespread, who will be next? If God loves people, why would he allow cancer?
All of these questions can only be answered when we look at the purpose of our world. Why are we here in the first place? If all we are here is to suffer and endure pain, I want to leave this world, now!
Many Christians, all over the world, look the cancer demon in the face and feel helpless and scared. They are filled with fear and dread as they wonder how they will ever overcome such a terrible disease.
It is very important when we face difficult trials in life that we understand why we should stand firm and fight! Jesus came to save people by teaching them lessons on spiritual warfare. When you are a Christian you are different from those who do not have Jesus in their lives. Jesus opens our eyes and gives us battle plans so that we face all obstacles with faith.
Matthew 10:34, “Do you think that I came to bring peace to the world? No, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
We as Christians must be prepared to fight for our lives. We must cling to God’s principles and understand that our greatest enemy is Satan. Satan is the god of this world and his goal is to destroy the lives of good people. When we are aware of who we are fighting, then we must raise our shields of faith and fight!
We live in a world where we must learn the difference between good and evil. In order to understand right from wrong, we must be presented with the opposites: good health and sickness, war and peace, love and hate, and clearly the difference between God and Satan.
Most people, when faced with a deadly disease, blame God and hate him for allowing them to get this disease. They are not responsible for smoking cigarettes that gave them lung cancer. They don’t think about how they don’t read the Bible, go to church or pray. All they can think about is finding someone bigger than themselves to blame.
God did not create cancer! God is love! He loves people and wants the best for their lives. Unfortunately, when you walk away from God, you take away your ability to fight.
2 Kings 17:25-28, “When they first settled there, they did not worship the Lord, so he sent lions, which killed some of them. The emperor of Assyria was told that the people settled in the cities of Samaria. They did not know the law of the god of that land, so the god had sent lions, which were killing them. So the emperor ordered: ‘Send back one of the priests we brought as prisoners, make him return and live there, to teach the people the law of the god of that land.’ So an Israelite priest who had been deported from Samaria went to live at Bethel, where he taught the people to worship the Lord.”
When you don’t understand why you need God, then you lose your fight against anything that wants to destroy your life. Satan is the god of this world and when we do nothing to prevent him from harming us, then evil reigns supreme. This simple illustration of how the lions were killing people shows how our lives can be filled with chaos if we don’t have God on our side.
Jesus came to teach people to fight. We must activate our faith in God through prayer and Bible study. Pray the Our Father. Pray for protection from Satan. Pray for strength during your struggle and ask for the Lord’s will to be done. When you know what you are supposed to do to fight the evil that wants to destroy your life, then you have a battle plan.
Romans 12:12, “May your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your tribulations, and pray at all times.”
God loves you. Fear is Satan coming in to corrupt your thinking and keep you from activating the power of God. God defeats all evil. He believes in miracles. He believes in Jesus Christ as your Savior and you will be saved. Believe in the saving power of grace and how God forgives you for the mistakes of your past.
Our world is full of traps and temptations that lead us away from God. But with Christ you can do anything. You can endure cancer victoriously when you put your faith in Jesus. God loves people and is by your side during every procedure you go through as you fight for your life against cancer. When you are in the midst of cancer, He will give you joy. Joy that he allowed you to be worthy to suffer for his sake. Joy that assures you that you are his testimony to doctors, nurses, friends, and everyone you come in contact with that Satan can kill his body, but he cannot destroy his faith in God.
Everything we endure in this world is meant to teach us the difference between right and wrong. When we have this knowledge, then we know for sure how to fight Satan. Pray for protection from Satan. Be positive as you cheer on those suffering from cancer.
You are a light to the world. A light that can only shine when you are passing through the fire of trial. Tests reveal what a person is like in their heart! The tests when they are over will give you the power to testify to others of what you can overcome when you have Jesus in your life. The tests show us that we are more powerful than the god of this world.
The statistics are staggering on how many people are suffering from cancer in our world today. But with the help of God you can overcome the world. With Jesus by your side you can walk any path you must walk with the confidence that you can do it! God loves people and will never fail you. Trust in God and you will win your game of life.