January 5
… a time to be born and a time to die; …
Ecclesiastes 3:2a
Part of the healing journey is acknowledging the end of things that no longer serve us well. In all aspects of our lives there are natural and necessary beginnings and endings. It is vitally important as you live with cancer to take stock of what is positive and working in your life and also what is not. Perhaps some aspect of your medical care no longer serves you well. Perhaps your long established diet is not healthy. Maybe your exercise habits need re-energizing. Possibly certain cherished attitudes and opinions need to change. At times some relationships may need to be put on hold or even ended. Also, new ways of finding spiritual connection may need to be cultivated. Not everything on this earth lasts forever. To achieve authentic healing we need to assess what is vital and what is not.
Eternal God, your love and grace never end. Help me to know when things in my life are not based on your will for me. Help me to have the courage to make the changes I need to make so that my healing can be real. Amen.
January 6
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
Isaiah 60:1
The reminders are constant. They are woven through every book in the scriptures. Without fail we are reminded that God loves us. We are assured that God looks upon us with favor. The good news is told that God has created us for joy, for blessing and for peace. This message is especially important to remember when we are in the midst of disease and pain. It is essential to recall when we are struggling with our own survival. In the dark moments of our distress, we desperately need the confidence and certainty that come from knowing we have God looking only for our greatest good and perfect healing in every way. This we must not forget.
God of goodness and healing, in my impatience and anxiety I quickly forget the reassuring words proclaiming your love. In your devotion you show me over and over again how much you care and are doing to give me new and abundant life. Thank you. Amen.
January 7
For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you.
Isaiah 60:2
In this life there will always be times when difficulties and dilemmas confront us. Even when much is going well there is always something to bring darkness to our lives. All around us – and often within – we each struggle in our own ways with uncertainties, fears, unpleasant realities and regrets. In the darkness that descends when cancer enters our lives it often becomes impossible to see any light or any hope in our circumstances. But this passage reminds us no matter how dark or hopeless it may seem, that God is working to lift us, protect us, help us, deliver us and save from defeat and despair.
I can hardly comprehend how deeply you watch over me and how carefully you look after my needs. Yet even in my limited understanding of your deep love, I am reassured that your grace gives me everything I need, O God. Amen.
January 8
For a long time I have held my peace, I have kept still and restrained myself; now I cry out like a woman in labor, I will gasp and pant.
Isaiah 42:14
Many of us try to be tough and stoic when we are dealing with cancer. We don’t like to be a burden or we find it hard to accept much of the help and care we really need. While strength and resolve are certainly good traits to possess, there are times when we just need to let go of our toughness and let our feelings out. There can be nothing more satisfying than to just share what we are going through. There can be nothing more helpful than to pour out our frustrations, resentments, anxieties and deepest concerns to someone we trust. It is genuinely healing to be able to express what is truly on our hearts and minds. This kind of confession is truly good for our health and our souls.
In reality, dear God, I know you already understand my deepest fears and needs even before I do. You are already reaching out to alleviate my pain and direct my path. I’m so grateful you know me so well. Help to share my most intimate thoughts so that I will understand myself much better too. Amen.
January 9
Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it:
Isaiah 42:5
The creator of this world and our lives is the source of everything we have and all that we need. When God created this world God declared all creation to be good. God’s spirit of love, hope, peace, joy and eternity has been created within each of us. And within each of us there exists a wellspring of possibility and promise that we need to draw from as we live with cancer. Within us all there is already a power to heal that few of us realize exists. God has placed it there. Just knowing that we are made with God’s spirit within us gives us a tremendous built-in capacity to find renewal and restoration exactly when we need them most.
God of renewal, God of restoration, help me to see and use the power you have already created within me to find the strength I need today. Amen.
January 10
I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations.
Isaiah 42:6
Isaiah continues to reaffirm God’s deep concern and love for us. God creates virtue and goodness within us. God guides us by the hand and watches over us to protect us from the ravages of disease and pain. God has made eternal promises to us to always stay with us. God has made us to share love and hope to a world often plunged in darkness and despair. All this can serve as blessed reassurance that no matter how difficult our journey with cancer may be, we have God to help us deal with it, travel through it and rise above it.
To know that I am never left to face this – or any - day alone is of great comfort to me, O God. I know you have made a promise to always be with me and I am so grateful for that. Amen.
January 11
To open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.
Isaiah 42:7
Because God loves us so much, God wants us to see all that is best for us. Because God wants us to live in joy and peace, God wants us to be released from all the chains that bind us from living fully and well. Because God is a God of light and illumination, God wants us to come out from the darkness that clouds our thinking, restrains our spirits and inhibits our souls. God does not want cancer to blind us to hope, imprison us to fear or plunge us into distress. Please know that these things need not be the final word for any of us. But know that a clearer, freer and brighter day awaits – with God as our guide.
Open my eyes that I may see all the truth and healing you have for me, dear God. I need your vision and your perspective today. Amen.
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