Jan Sluiter
No one wants to hear the verdict "you have a terminal illness". I have been given that verdict twice. Thirteen years ago I heard it the first time at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. I had gone there because my hands and arms were failing to function properly. When I was told that I had ALS or Lou Gerhig's disease, I was given two to five years to live. I was also told that there is no cure and no treatment.
The second time I received that verdict was in January 1998. A needle biopsy of a large lump in my breast indicated cancer, and the breast was removed. When cancer was also found in the lymph nodes, I received chemotherapy. Both verdicts included diagnoses that are terminal. The first one I still live with, and continue to deteriorate. The second appears to have been defeated by treatment.
How do I feel about these verdicts? Even as I continue to struggle physically with ALS, I have been, and am, filled with peace. "How can that be?" you ask. The answer is God. I am a child of God because I belong to Him. The Bible teaches that we are sinners from birth. We need to be saved from those sins and the penalty of them - eternity in Hell without God. I was saved or born again when I was ten years old. While reading Isaiah 53:6, All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all, I realized that God laid upon His Son, Jesus Christ, all of my sins - that when Jesus Christ died on the cross, He was punished for my sin. John 1:12 states that as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. Before God, I am free from the punishment of my sins and I belong to Him! With that knowledge, and knowing where I will be for eternity, I have PEACE! People fear a terminal illness because they are dying without knowing where they are going. Knowing one has had his sins forgiven and he is right with God takes away that fear and gives PEACE!
When I mention God as my way of coping, many think that I have great faith. Faith is only great if the basis for that faith is trustworthy! God is trustworthy! The Bible states that God thought about each of us before the world was ever created. He created the world and all its systems by speaking a word! That is the God we can trust and in whom we can put our faith. With that faith comes PEACE!
Another common response to the mention of God in my life is "Why does a God, who is supposed to be loving, allow a person to go through terrible things?" In Hebrews 13:20 God is called "the God of peace". It also states that God is forming me through every good work, doing in me what is pleasing in His sight. Since God has a plan for my life, He is developing my character to do His work. Through the process He has promised to never leave me nor forsake me. God also promises that His PEACE passes understanding about what is happening in my life. How can I go wrong to trust Him?
Do I ever become discouraged? I would never say it is easy not to be able to bathe, dress myself, or participate in physical activities, or to walk with assistive devices. One day, my hair was a catastrophe, my knee socks fell down into my plastic leg braces, and my dress was disheveled. I could correct none of them, due to the weakness of my arms and fingers. Frustrated, I shed a few tears and cried to God. The passage He gave me was Psalm 73:26: My flesh and my heart faileth: BUT GOD is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever". My flesh - my body - certainly had failed. My heart failed with the frustration I was feeling. BUT GOD does not! No matter what our circumstances, we can say BUT GOD. He is able to meet every need. HE IS THERE! My thoughts turned to Christ on the cross as He cried out, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" He was forsaken by God because of me, but God never forsakes me!
I know that this disease could take my life before the Lord returns. However, God has promised me strength for each day, His constant presence gives endless joy within, and the ability to accept all of these things through Jesus Christ, Who gives me the strength to do that. I can cast all my cares upon Him because it matters to Him about me. I have a never failing Friend I can trust. That gives me PEACE!
This kind of peace can be yours when you know God as your Father and Christ as your Saviour. God wants every one to be saved - to know his sins forgiven and be in Heaven with Him.
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