June 26, 2024
“The LORD preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me."
~ Psalm 116:6
Last week’s post was all about raising an Ebenezer, recognizing what God has accomplished in our lives in order to build up our faith for the future. In that post, I was thanking the Lord for helping me through phase one of my treatment. I was sincere when I wrote it last week and I’m still thankful, even though the day after that post was published I experienced my hardest day yet.
In cancer treatment, it can be difficult to predict exactly when a few too many side-effects will collide to create a perfect storm. The same is true for life in general — it can be difficult to predict when a few too many challenges will collide to flatten us to about 15% of ourselves. And that’s where I was last Thursday — about 15% of myself.
Before we go on, I want to mention a few things: 1) I’m back up to about 90% as I write this, 2) My oncologist told me yesterday that the first phase of chemo I took was probably the most difficult of all therapies across the entire cancer spectrum — glad he didn’t tell me that up front, 3) I never wanted to drag you through the grit of treatment and I still don’t (however, I am available to share with anyone who might be a few laps behind me on this path — message me), 4) I tend to turn everything into a learning experience and that’s why I titled this post, “When Life Leaves You Flattened.”
As I’ve been living in the Psalms this summer, one thing I’ve grown to re-appreciate about the Psalmists is their ability to both lay out the gritty truth of their situation and apply their trust in the Lord over the top of the grit. Here’s a good example that happened to be in my reading line-up last Thursday:
I cry to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me! Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! (Psalm 142:5-7)
If you lay that petition over the top of your current troubles in life, it might seem a bit over-dramatic at first; but I think we should resist that notion. When we are the ones suffering — it is dramatic, we are brought very low, we do need God’s deliverance, so that we can give thanks another day.
Here are two thoughts in the midst of suffering through a current battle that has brought you low:
God never grows tired of us asking. He actually delights when we ask for deliverance, or help, or healing, or sustaining, or whatever word seems to fit. On my bad day, my eyes wouldn’t cooperate to either read a book or look at a screen and my body wouldn’t cooperate to move, so I sat in the recliner and prayed more that day than the whole previous week combined. A lot of my prayers were for me (like the psalmist), but I prayed for others as well — because we tend to recognize or remember the suffering of others when we are brought low.
Consider exactly who your enemy is and isn’t. My suffering was largely due to chemo drugs — but chemo is not my enemy — chemo is actually an ally in this battle, but in the moment everything I was suffering was a direct result of its presence in my life. Isn’t that the truth in our regular life battles? Your spouse is not your enemy, your teen is not your enemy, your toddler, your mother, your car repairs are not your enemy. But your suffering might be the direct result of their presence in your life. Still, they are not your enemy.
The temptation exists to delete painful things out of our lives, even if they are not our enemy, just to get some relief. But this option is misguided. There is a remedy for pain and suffering and it’s the same remedy the Psalmists always employed — cry out to the Lord for help!
Again, I want to say that God was gracious to sustain me through a very low dip and I’m trusting He will do that in the future, should the need arise. I’m trusting He will also do it for you when you face pain or suffering, particularly from something or someone who isn’t your real enemy.
Yesterday I made the stop at station 5 of 16, which is the beginning of Phase Two for me and I’m assured from many advisors that this next phase will be kinder. I’m trusting the Lord through good days and bad days!
My Love,
Sue
sue@ccontario.com