Cancer-it's not about dying, it's about living

Cancer-what is it about that word? There are lots of "terminal" diseases capable of destroying this vehicle of flesh in which we live. But to many of us the "Big C" speaks as a voice of judgment and doom. When we hear it in the doctor's office' we imagine all sorts of future things-rapid progression, hospital, chemotherapy, sickness and death.

How do mere mortals deal with that? How can we find courage and strength to run this race; to "walk it out" to the finish? One blessed friend told me something that I have found to be profound and useful. That is that you empower what you focus on. And she proved it by giving me something powerful to focus my attention to. For the mortal mind can only really focus on one thing at a time.

The problem is that most of us are hardwired to focus first on safety in Maslowe's hierarchy of human needs. When the fight or flight response is triggered and the adrenaline kicks in we drop everything and either run or prepare for battle. But how does one battle this enemy within our very cells? This can result in a state of panic or even giving up and curling into a fetal position like a cornered opossum. 

We need something truly profound to get us out of this type of reaction. A way to stand in a spot of safety where we can catch our breath and regroup. In my book, I explain how that went for me four and a half years ago on learning I had stage four cancer. Fortunately my doctor was a Christian and got me to re-focus on the life of the spirit instead of the potential death of the flesh.

Able to breathe, I was put onto a profound faith journey that led to a deep relationship with Jesus Christ, and a new life focused on Him. I have found peace and joy in the Holy Spirit and the shift of my energy from death to life. See John 5:24. 

A Western fan, I recalled a line from Lonesome Dove, where Old Gus tells his lifelong friend, "it ain't about dyin' - it's about livin!"

You see, it is a matter of focus. Focused on death and the real or imagined possibilities of future events, we tend to live in a state of anxiety and depression. Or we might also be focused on regrets about the past, our failings and weaknesses, temptations and mistakes. 

But Jesus Christ died on the cross to save us from the chains of the past and the fears of the future, not to have us held captive! By His death He set us free from the law of sin and death and saved us from the fear of judgment and condemnation. Therefore we are empowered to walk in the Holy Spirit, to do His calling. We are able to live one glorious day at a time; to enter God's Rest TODAY. (See Hebrews Ch. 4)  All we have to do is surrender our lives to him and the riches of the kingdom will be ours for the taking TODAY.

Too many of us spend our whole lives focused on the past and the future. These are thieves and robbers! Because if we are focused on them, we cannot focus on what is here now! We save for the future and the future comes and we have no time left to spend it. Or we get depressed over our missed opportunities and "what might have been." People fall to drink and drugs to medicate the empty places in their hearts. None of it works. 

But Christ is the medicine that works for the sin sick soul. God chose not to cure my cancer. His purposes are beyond my understanding. But He sees all and I do not. I accept His judgment. Instead He gave me eternal life, which I count as a far greater gift than anything in this world; and I have the promise of Jesus that He will raise me up at the Last Day (John 6:40). I happy every day and receive blessings in the spirit of a value beyond reckoning. Come on this journey and join with me. Amen.