I’ve had this blog idea on my mind for weeks now, and the subject has been on my mind longer than that. I haven’t been sure how to write this. I may not answer the question in the title, but I do have something important to say. Sometimes we meet the best people in our lives, and then things happen to them that we just know they don’t deserve. We wonder why God would let these things happen when these people were serving Him so well.
I know a wonderful, dear man who is in charge of a unique ministry. He is the best fit for it, and so far seems to be the only fit for it. He’s done a very good job, and he has a great heart for what he does. But he is on hospice, dying of cancer.
At first everything looked hopeful. Then treatments weren’t working. But he was still doing fairly well physically, and we hoped and prayed that he would get well with or without treatment. He tried another treatment that sounded like it might work. It did, but only for a little while. He has recently gone downhill quickly. Unless God sweeps in with a miracle – for which many are praying – this man doesn’t have very long to live.
I know God isn’t surprised by this man’s cancer, and God has something in mind for this man, those around this man, and this ministry, no matter who is in charge. Yet it is very easy to say that this is not fair. It’s very easy to question God. Why would God let this man get cancer? Why does God let bad things happen to good people? Why does God actually let some of His wonderful servants die of cancer, among other things? Asking these questions is okay. You are allowed to ask, and you are allowed to talk to God about how you feel and what you think. We also need to be aware that God knows things that we don’t. God has a plan, a very good one. But it doesn’t feel good to us. It hurts, and we don’t know what the plan is. But God can still give us peace.
This man with cancer has peace. He knows God is in control. He knows that if he dies he will go to Heaven. He knows that if he lives he has more to do. He knows God is good. He knows God loves him. He knows God loves his family and friends. He knows God will take care of everything with or without him. He knows that God will get the glory, no matter how this turns out. He knows God has the best in mind.
I don’t know what God is doing or why. But I do know that He is doing it on purpose. There are lessons to be learned. There are faith and trust to be strengthened. There is glory to be shown. There is peace to be provided. There is power to be known. I am waiting and watching. I am praying for God’s will to be done. I am also asking God to heal this man, yet whatever it God’s will is, we will all be comforted by the same God who gives peace beyond understanding. With or without the miracle we would like to have, God has it all under His good, loving control.
If you want some more reading: Talking to God About Anything; God’s Healing; Sometimes You Don’t Know; God Controls Change