For several years, a woman in our church has had a form of cancer, which requires her to periodically drive two hours to a major medical center and have her entire bloodstream filtered through a big machine. It’s both painful and exhausting, but she never complains about it. She speaks instead of the opportunities she had to share the Gospel with her nurses. She rejects depression and embraces God’s mastery of her life, and she becomes both refreshed and refreshing to be around.
“It’s Mr. Chemo” by IndyDina (2007), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution license
Lately, her doctors have tried chemotherapy. The last time she did it, she had a life-threatening allergic reaction, which required immediate aborting of the treatment. The next day her mother had a heart attack. The day after that, she was in a car accident. The following Sunday in church (yeah, she still came to church), she praised God for sparing her from the normal side effects of chemo – since it hadn’t worked – so she could care for her ailing parents better.
Ask this woman if she’s disappointed with how life is shaking out for her, and she’ll weep. You’ll probably weep, too. She shows how the disappointment never goes away until Jesus comes back.
But at the same time, she reflects the wisdom of Christ. She refuses to feel sorry for herself. Her disappointment drives her closer to God, through the grace of Jesus. I’m a wuss compared to her, but God loves me and won’t let me stay there. What about you?
Our study of Proverbs 3:1-12 has shown us how disappointment works, and how the wise will refashion it for God’s glory. Are you willing to view your disappointment as God’s intentional love?
Leave a Reply