Week of March 9 - 15

March 9


"But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked."

Luke 6:35

Often our natural tendencies are to focus on the negative. We are quick when it comes to finding fault, to assessing blame and to judging unkindly. We demand justice for others, but always expect leniency for ourselves. But God doesn’t treat us that way. God hasn’t created us to live that way. God has made us to give, to share, to be generous and to care. Our joy will never come in focusing just on what we see as wrong. Our joy will never be complete unless we realize what God has created us to do. The state of wellness we seek will be made easier to create when we refocus on why God has given us life. Our most important task is to find the goodness around and within us. By using that goodness as the impetus for all that we think and do we open ourselves more fully to the healing power of God.

 As I focus on the wonder of your creation and grace I am transformed into a person who sees life and its challenges in a new and different way. I become more positive and I see more possibilities for renewal and healing. I am grateful for that, O God. Amen.
 

March 10


"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

Luke 6:36

When we judge and react harshly to ourselves and others we place burdens on our hearts and souls that we don’t need. When we hold onto and keep mental lists of weaknesses, slights and faults we diminish ourselves and others. It takes entirely too much energy to focus on imperfections and failings. It weakens our spirits and inhibits our healing. God gave us the command to forgive and show mercy because God knows it is best for us. We are strongest when we can release tension and pain, when regret and disappointment can be lifted and when we can move on forever from bitterness and hostility. Cancer is a message to change. The most significant of the changes can occur when we clear ourselves of everything that eats at our souls. We need that energy instead to focus on getting well and being whole again.

 Merciful God, I know I need to learn so much from you. Your gracious and forgiving nature toward me shows me how I need to live my life with others. I pray that I will have the strength of conviction and purpose to do what I know is best. Amen.
 

March 11


"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven;"

Luke 6:37

We can scarcely be reminded enough how essential it is to apply forgiveness and mercy and to create an atmosphere of peace every day. Our souls will be well, our lives will far less complicated and our healing journey will have more power when we practice with purpose the acts that relieve us from the burdens of bitterness, resentment and anger. In order to be as healthy as we need to be mentally, emotionally and spiritually we need to learn to let go. We need to learn to release the poisons that corrode our thinking and cloud our judgment. We need to come to understand how vital it is to our physical health that our spirits, minds and hearts are healthy too. This realization is a daily decision. The journey of healing is too hard if we don’t do this. It’s too important to ignore.

 No matter how many times I am reminded of the call to forgive, I still struggle a lot with doing it. But you remind me, dear God, that it must be a way of life, a choice that will heal me deeply within. Please help me to do it better beginning today. Amen.
 

March 12


"Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back."

Luke 6:38

What we put into our healing journey is as important and as vital as anything anyone else or any treatment may offer. Our attitudes, our reactions, our faith, our expectations and our approaches are pivotal. They are vital and transforming. We each have the power within us to affect our health for the better. We each have the power to control how we react to the challenges before us. We each have the power to live in hope. We each have the power to envision a present and future filled with joy and peace. This power of renewal and restoration comes from God, whose very nature is about inviting us to experience the wonders and delights of new life and wholeness. But God doesn’t just do it all for us. God gives us opportunities and options to pursue. But we have to make the choice to accept those opportunities. Choose them today.

 God of promise and possibility, you constantly offer me a way to experience healing and hope. I ask for the wisdom to recognize all that you offer and to accept it and use it for myself. Amen.
 

March 13


Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!

Luke 12:24

A basic dilemma for so many of us is that we do not realize how very much God cares for us. We can scarcely comprehend God’s grace, mercy, affection and love. God’s understanding, compassion and kindness are so deep, so vast and so infinite that we are unable to grasp just how encompassing they are. We know all too well our own faults and failings. We are incredibly familiar with our own weaknesses and negativity. And we wonder how can God possibly love us when we are so imperfect and flawed? But God does. We have a hold on God’s heart that knows neither bounds nor limitations. One vital key to healing is in knowing and believing that our worth is beyond compare, that our lives have meaning and purpose in divine and eternal ways.

 Compassionate and generous God, even though I cannot begin to know just how much you love me, I do understand that I am precious in your sight. Help me to start to recognize my worth to you, my value, so that I will value myself and my health to realize better days. Amen.
 

March 14


And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?

Luke 12:25

If there’s one thing cancer brings to our lives it is certainly worry. We worry about pain. We worry about medical tests and results. We worry about doctor visits. We worry about how we will pay the bills. We worry about the future. We worry about our limitations. We worry about how we look. We worry about where all this will lead. Our worries are endless. Worry is part of the human condition. It’s natural and normal. But it does not have to control us. It does not have to define us or our spirits. We need to acknowledge our worry, look at it directly, address why we are worried – and then move on. Worry must be put in its proper place. It must be given no more influence and power than it deserves. Hope is bigger than our worry and we need to allow hope to define us instead.

 I allow worry to control my time, my energy and my thoughts, dear God. You know that as well as I. So, I’m appealing to you today to help me recognize when worry has gotten hold of me and to show me how to manage it for my greatest good. Amen.
 

March 15


Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.

Luke 12:27

We are doubting people. We are impatient people. We are often unbelieving people. It seems to be our human nature to not trust as much as we could God’s promises and abilities to help us. But when we take the time to stop and to consider the intricate beauty of this world and the goodness that comes into our lives, we can begin to see how much God has already done to make life special and full of wonder. We are indeed created out of immense and infinite love. We are indeed made for a special and profound purpose. We are indeed here because God wants us to experience and enjoy the glories of creation. When we recognize and remember that, this life takes on an entirely new meaning. Our daily walk becomes more precious and valued. It is in discovering this that we also discover the will to know healing and wholeness in ways we’ve never known them before.


The intricate nature of this world you’ve made is a joyous wonder and mystery to me, O God. I know I am wonderfully and intricately made too. Help me to hold onto this knowledge so that it may remind of the deep worth of my life here and in you. Amen.