Comfort From the Psalms
Posted by Hal in Uncategorized

After we got the preliminary diagnosis of my cancer in December, Melanie began posting on my Carepages site. After a few messages, though, I realized that my silence was worrying people, so I picked up the thread and began writing. 

This is my first post in the series; I will include links at the bottom so readers can follow the series if they’re interested.

A friend from Colorado sent me a passage from Psalm 107 to encourage me to remember God’s care in our distress. I told him it was doubly appropriate, because this summer we named our new family business from a later section of the same psalm. I had thought at the time that we would probably experience some of this, but admittedly I was thinking “business” rather than “health.”

Psalm 107:23-31 (NKJV)

“Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters,

They see the works of the LORD,
And His wonders in the deep.

For He commands and raises the stormy wind,
Which lifts up the waves of the sea.

They mount up to the heavens,
They go down again to the depths;
Their soul melts because of trouble.

They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,
And are at their wits’ end.

Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He brings them out of their distresses.

He calms the storm,
So that its waves are still.

Then they are glad because they are quiet;
So He guides them to their desired haven.

Oh, that [men] would give thanks to the LORD [for] His goodness,
And [for] His wonderful works to the children of men!”

John Piper’s essay, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer,” encourages believers to remember that God not only heals our situations, but also places us in them to begin with. It’s all under His sovereign plan and providential care for His children. What a comfort!

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First chemo post == Next chemo post