Prime the Pump

Cancer is an awful disease.

I have watched several people whom I have loved dearly suffer and die from this terrible disease, and yet I know that this too shall pass.

Suffering is something our human minds cannot comprehend, yet God allows it.

Jeremy speaks of how his wife succumbed to the cancer and how that affected him, he struggled with real emotions and real anger. There were times he felt disconnected and distant from God. Grief does that. He said, “Anger and coldness slipped back in as if they wanted to stay a while. I didn’t like it, but I sensed that facing the anger welling up from within would be a necessary part of the grieving process.”

Any Christian who tells you that you can’t be angry, or that to question God when you are suffering, in my opinion, should not be trusted. God created us with all of these emotions, and while we are not to be ruled by them, we are not robots. 

We must learn to master our emotions.

Recently I heard David Jeremiah preach and he spoke about when he struggled with his own cancer. During his recovery as he would prepare sermons he said his mind would not be on the task at hand. It would be anywhere but where it needed to be. Worry, doubt and fear clouded his heart and mind. He said sometimes he had to “prime the pump” and just write out scripture, not read it, write it. Something about writing it down helped him.

For me, when I went through what I consider my biggest trial to date, I was angry, I was cold. I became a completely different person than I was, but like Jeremy and Mr. Jeremiah, I continued to push through the pain, doubt and uncertainty because I believe that Jesus IS the bread of life spoken of in John 6:58 and if anyone would ask if I would leave my Lord I can reply as Peter did:

To whom shall I go? He alone has the words of eternal life. (John 6:68)

David Jeremiah said, “When you get over the hurdle and you lose yourself in the study of the Word of God, it’s like an island of joy in the midst of the challenges.”

I don’t know what your challenge is today, but I do know this, what David Jeremiah said is true. If you are angry, then be angry, tell God. Kick scream, yell, cry, then prime the pump; or as my old friend Elisabeth Elliott used to say “Do the Next Thing”. Don’t STAGNATE; don’t stew in your anger.

To whom shall you go? Who else possesses the words of eternal life?

XOXO