When the Diagnosis is Cancer

Recently I was diagnosed with cancer. Up until that moment, it was always the other person’s life experience and not my own. I have not been writing new material in The Quiet Place while I have sought treatment and undergone surgery. The thoughts shared here relate to what I have found to be meaningful and helpful when the diagnosis is cancer. 

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The paralyzing grip of the phrase “You have cancer,” can render you powerless, and it can take away whatever reasonable control that you thought that you had in your life. Hearing such a statement will literally stop time, suck all of the oxygen out of the room, and leave you feeling stunned and transparently vulnerable.

You prefer the doctor to use another phrase, like, “You are fat, you need to slow down, or your blood pressure is too high.” The examination room falls into an uncomfortable silence, and you realize that he is waiting for you to absorb the full weight of what he has just said to you. 

The Uncertain Pathway of Change

He begins to speak and you see his mouth moving…forming words and giving you information, but it sounds like he is speaking underwater, and you think you understand what he is saying but only a few statements make it through the haze in your mind like, "...More tests.…oncologist…surgery…urgency…other options…” 

On a Personal Pilgrimage

When my doctor read the report to me and said, “It is in a very advanced stage right now. If we act immediately, we can attempt to get it all, or at least stop it from metastasizing throughout your body” it was surreal.

Life changed for me at that moment, and I realized that I was standing at a crossroad. The oncologist had not minced words. "Do this or the outcome will be terminal." I had decisions to make that would impact my family in immeasurable ways. I never thought that I would ever be diagnosed with cancer. 

The reality of unplanned Change

Cancer forces an uninitiated change into your life that you have no control over. Life becomes inescapably different now. An unspoken grieving begins to season your life, and time is now segmented into days and hours rather than months and years.

Holding on to the Essentials

Maintain your daily Walk with God

Time spent in The Quiet Place, seeking God and worshiping Him, will have established a solid Biblical foundation upon which to draw, as promises and truths become more real and precious. Prayer for healing can become the primary focus during this time, while He is desiring that we…draw near…find stillness, and the silent awareness of His presence and experience His comfort.

Family: The Shared Pilgrimage

It is hard to reach out during this time, as all of your energies are focused upon just surviving the treatments, and trying to get some measure of your health and stamina back. Unrelenting fatigue becomes your constant companion now, and it cloaks your steps like a shadow. However, it is important to not become self-absorbed, but rather do what you can to let them know how important they are to you. 

Remember that those closest to you are frightened, and may not tell you. A pervasive ever present grief can feel overwhelming as they go through your cancer treatments with you.

Monitor Negative Thinking

·  Understand that regrets about the past that you cannot change will become more pronounced. You will also drift to feelings of remorse regarding unattainable future dreams that you had for your life. There may also be an obsessive focus on the uncertain outcomes ahead, or your own death. It is important to process each of these, but always remember that while past memories are vivid and real, you cannot live in them, nor can your focus be upon that which is unknown regarding the future.

  Be Present in the Presence of God

Staying in the present takes discipline and focus. It is the only moment that is available to us. Begin to work on recovering, helping your body function in a healthy way, staying positive about recovery and be hopeful regarding possible remission. Your body will need critical resources to fight for your life that are difficult to access, due to the treatment and or heavy medications that you and taking. 

There are times when there are not any words that can express what you are going through in life. God does not need our words, as He can read our hearts. Worship God in those moments when you are all alone. He desires us to draw near to Him and just be real about our fears, our concerns, and our burdens. 

“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 32:7

God desires us to kneel in His presence and just …Be…. 

“He said, "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest." Ex. 33:14

God wants each of us to discover that precious place in prayer where there is nowhere else we would rather be than being present in His presence.

"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” John 15:9

The word abide is a verb requiring action on our part.


“A primary verb; to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy) abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, tarry.” Strong’s Concordance



When the diagnosis is cancer, God invites us to Be present in His love. Whatever else is happening, always remember that nothing can take you out of the love of God. 

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom. 8:38-39

Take a moment and listen to this beautiful rendition of Be Still my Soul" by Kari Jobe 

Between the Lightening and the Thunder

There is always a sense of uneasy anticipation when dark clouds, pregnant with rain, ignite the sky with a flash of lightening. According to the National Weather Service, it is estimated that

there are some 16 million lightning storms in the world every year. Nearly 1,800 thunderstorms are occurring at any one moment around the world.

Most of us pause and begin to count off the seconds, to see how far away the lightening strike was from where we are standing. There is something about that in-between moment where we are conscious of our finite vulnerability. You are aware that something is coming your way that could hurt you, but you don’t know exactly when that will be….only that it is coming.

Thunder can be heard up to 10 miles away from the lightening that creates it. Meteorologists and experts on weather have calculated that lightning can heat the air around it to as much as 60,000 degrees, producing incredible sound waves by the quick expansion of the heated air. That would be hot enough to fuse silica sand into glass channels known as fulgurites which are normally hollow and can extend some distance into the ground.

Light travels at 186,000 miles per second, so we see lightening the very instant that it flashes. Sound travels a mile in 5 seconds, if 20 seconds elapse between the lightning bolt flash, and the deafening boom of the thunder, then the lightning struck 4 miles away. Any closer would be a warning that the potential of a lightning strike hitting you could be imminent, and that it is time to seek immediate shelter. When there are successive lightning strikes, it means that they are often 2 to 3 miles apart, so it is wise to get to safety.

The 30 / 30 Rule

If you can only count 30 seconds before you hear the thunder, get into shelter for at least 30 minutes. When the lightning is very nearby, you can actually hear a snap or pistol shot sound that is followed by a sizzle that is followed by the smell of ozone. The snap-sizzle sound is not called “thunder” since it doesn’t really sound like the rolling, booming, thundering sound.


The Warning between the Lightning and the Thunder

Be Aware of the Coming Storm

A coming storm always begins with clouds on the horizon. Times of trouble will inevitably come our way. Trials have a way of confronting what we depend upon when times are tough: God or ourselves. When we let our guard down and become undisciplined in our seeking God in The Quiet Place, we tend to become careless in our lives and get caught unaware when a storm crashes down upon us. 

Prepare for the Coming storm

People sometimes spend an enormous amount of energy and money in their desire to be best prepared for a coming storm. The recent reports of hurricanes and tornadoes challenge everyone that lives within the storm regions to be prepared. Sometimes no matter how well you are prepared, storms can hit with very little warning. In a few terrifying moments, the destruction of a tornado can literally tear a person's world to shreds.

The best way to prepare for a coming life storm is to study, meditate upon and memorize the Word of God. The more we do it, the easier it is to lock those truths into long term memory.  The Spirit of God will bring God's promises into your mind before the full brunt of the storm hits. The more we are immersed in the Scriptures, the more prepared we will be.

Seek God’s Wisdom for the Coming Storm

One of God’s great desires is to see this characteristic fused solidly with our lives.


“Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.” Psalm 51:5-7

When specific storms are building upon the horizon of our lives, it is critical to seek God, and ask Him for insight and direction, as to how best to deal with what is coming our way.

“…that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." Colossians 1:9-10

People all over the world are facing intense and life shattering storms every moment of every day. Pending layoffs at work, threats of foreclosure, mounting financial pressures, and health related issues are common to everyone today no matter how prepared we may be. That is because in life, there is very little that we have any absolute control over. Between the lightning and the thunder one must seek God for wisdom as to how to respond Biblically to the coming storm and thereby glorify Him in the midst of it.

The Caution between the Lightning and the Thunder

There is a Tendency to Ignore the Signs

It is a strange phenomenon, but we often ignore the warning signs that a storm is coming our way. We reason that storms have happened in the past and we made it through, so why get so frantic about it. History abounds with examples of people who have ignored the warning signs between the lightning and the thunder to their peril.


“For wisdom is protection....the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.” Ecclesiastes 7:12

James wrote about the need to seek God for wisdom, especially when undergoing times of trouble:

“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.” James 1:4-6
  
There is a Tendency to be Unprepared

Procrastination: “to put off intentionally and habitually, the doing of something that should be done.” The Oxford English Dictionary identifies that at the root of procrastination is delay. “It is the postponement of something often with the sense of deferring though indecision, when early action would have been preferable," or as "defer[ing] action, especially without good reason." 

Sometimes the storm upon the horizon is there because we caused it. Impulsive decisions, acting on unwise counsel, and a stubbornness to do it our way, may have created consequences that are dire, and may have a negative and costly impact upon our lives. In times like this, we need to trust God’s merciful grace, and with a repentant humility, humbly ride it through, whatever it may be. God in His mercy may lighten the impact of the storm, but the hail will still do it’s damage.

The contrast between wise planning and poor planning is seen in the story Jesus told regarding the wise and unwise builder:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” Matthew 7:23-27

There is a Tendency to not seek God for Wisdom

Between the lightening and the thunder, there is a tendency for most people to respond without seeking God’s wisdom, and then wonder how things got into such a great mess.

“Do not be wise in your own eyes;Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.” Proverbs 3:7

Be Faithful between the Lightning and the Thunder

There is the Reality of Danger 

There is a free App for your smart phone that is called Lightening Locator, that allows you to accurately measure the distance where the lightening actually struck.

The issue is not necessarily where the last lightening struck, but to know how to respond to the one that is coming.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

There is a Need to Trust God

Between the lightning and the thunder, the test will be upon what it is that you lean on, to give you strength, other than God.
 
“When you get to the end of all the light you know and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of

two things shall happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly.” Edward Teller

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.” Psalm 28:7

There is a Need to Praise God
  
An attitude of thankfulness is intricately linked with trusting God, for it is the consequent act of praising Him in the midst of the storm.

“…Therefore, (because I trust in Him between the lightning and the thunder) my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.” Psalm 28:7

Don't be Afraid between the Lightning and the Thunder

God is Sovereign

“When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, You knew my path.” Psalm 142:3

God can be trusted

“From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalm 61:2

God is Faithful

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night.” Psalm 92:1-2

The psalmist understood this principle and wrote wisely:

“I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are righteous, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.  O may Your lovingkindness comfort me (be my comfort), According to Your word (or promise) to Your servant.” Psalm 119:75-76

Between the lightning and the thunder kneel in The Quiet Place, and give it to God, whatever it may be, and trust Him to walk with you though it.

Remember that the will of God will never lead you, where the grace of God Cannot keep you. He will be right there with you, between the lightning and the thunder.

Take a few moments and listen to this encouraging music video by Casting Crowns "Praise you in this Storm."

Healing Lonliness in The Quiet Place

Throughout time, there has always been a deep loneliness and an empty void in the heart of man that is painful, and it cries out to be met. It expresses itself as a deep yearning that is palpable. So profound is the loneliness that it is often felt as an intense desperation to find someone or something to take the emptiness away. 



In reality, that aching inner yearning is the heart cry of the human soul that is searching for God. It awakens in a child like a tender flower, but sadly, through time, it is quelled, suppressed within and often silenced throughout the growing up years. 

The Progressive Silencing of Inner Loneliness

The stress and strain of life often anesthetizes this yearning and most people find a myriad of things to sooth and numb the emptiness within. If we were truly honest with ourselves, we all need significant times in our lives where we can experience the peacefulness of complete and total silence…. blessed solitude. Those precious Quiet moments are where we can make a heartfelt exploration of our deepest questions and pose them before the Almighty God of the universe. 

The Gentle Whisper of a Loving God

God is timeless, yet He pauses, draws near to our hearts, and listens to what we are truly saying when no one else is really listening. 

With the tragic falling away from God that took place with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, man turned away from God and lost his pure and unhindered communion with his Creator. Mankind has since been left with a spiritual vacuum and a profound painful emptiness.

The Lonely Place of the Human Heart

The Quiet Place within the heart of man, where he walked in the cool of the garden with God, became instead, a lonely place. Every person who has ever lived has experienced the awareness of a profound inner thirst, deep within the heart. 

We discover in life that no amount of money, fame, possessions or power can satisfy the longing within or fill the emptiness. History has proven that whatever man attempts to use to fill that void never brings permanent fulfillment or genuine inner peace. Instead, there is an acute dissatisfaction with what was thought to be the solution to fill the emptiness within. Life is lived in a lonely Shadowland, unseen by others, but seen and understood by God. 

Only God can Heal the Lonely Heart

  

There is an unquenchable thirst that only God can satisfy, for it is the expression of the homesickness of the human heart for intimate communion with God. Sometimes you can be missing one person, yet it feels that your whole world is a lonely place. Why is that? It is because unrequited love has awakened the deepest need within, and that is a longing to find the Edenic innocence, and complete serenity of The Quiet Place, where God walks with you in unhindered communion.

David described this yearning as a deep thirst:

“Just like a deer that craves streams of water, my whole being craves you, God. My whole being thirsts for God, for the living God.” Psalm 42:1-2

God Alone Understands our Loneliness

Loneliness is the unquenchable thirst that nothing on earth can satisfy.  In spite of all of the sentimental poetry, romantic novels, tender musical ballads, or passionate love stories depicted in movies, there is no earthly relational experience that can truly satisfy the innermost loneliness of the human heart. 

We all need love and the companionship of intimate others, but the deep loneliness that abides within can consume us, and is a result of our soul being homesick for an intimate relationship with God.

The Human Heart is Thirsty for God's Love

Jesus identified the deepest need within mankind as an awareness of an inner thirst that cries out to be satisfied, conveying that every person knows that they are insatiably thirsty, and void of a lasting  true happiness.

 

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”John 7:37-38

God Reaches out to Each of Us

When God awakens our thirst for Him, He does so on an individual basis. When we  become conscious that He is drawing us to Himself, we are awakened to our inestimable separation from Him, and discover that it is on the basis of His grace and mercy, saturated by His love, that we are given access to His heart.

"By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." I John 4:8-10 


God Opened the Door to His Heart

God has sought us through His Love, and bought us through His Grace, for we had a debt that we could not pay so He paid a debt that He did not owe.


"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

God Invites us to be Near His Heart

When God brings us home to Himself, and He then lets us sit by the fire, and then He fills us with His comforting and all encompassing love.

 

"Come near to God and He will come near to you..." James 4:8 

The Only Way to Heal the Lonely Heart

Our deepest need is to bask intimately in the fullness of God’s love. There is nothing apart from God that can truly fill the inner void, because it was created by God, for God, and only He can dwell there. For Adam and Eve, the Quiet place was experienced in the external beauty of the Garden of Eden, and in their continual communion with God.

Jesus Christ has provided, through the sacrifice of Himself, access to the very heart of God. The Quiet Place has now become an internal reality where we, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, provide a holy place to commune with God alone. 

"That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the believer's what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:16-19

The Blessedness of The Quiet Place

The Quiet Place....a blessed time where you set aside a time of uninterrupted solitude to meet with God. Precious moments where you share with Him your love and draw strength from Him to do His will. Nothing on earth can replace what God has available for you, as you meet intimately in The Quiet Place.  

 Please take a moment to listen to this inspirational rendition of, "There is A Quiet Place" Just close your eyes and go there...