By: Kacie Starr Long
I keep thinking about writing but never get around to it. The last message I wrote was about receiving news that a very rare form of cancer was found in my husband's body, and how we are committed to trusting God throughout this process.
Last week, Alfred had surgery to remove the cancerous tumor and our specific prayer requests were:
* The doctor's hands would be steady, as the surgery was quite complicated
* No follow up procedures would be needed; that all the cancer in his body would be removed through the surgery and chemo and radiation would not be necessary
* There would be no complications from the surgery. No facial paralysis, as this cancerous tumor was in Alfred's neck, and that all would be well with him mentally, emotionally and physically.
Alfred came out of the surgery with flying colors! He was coherent, joking with the nursing staff and quite hungry. So many people were praying (including many of you that read this blog -- and we are so grateful!)
Unfortunately, less than a week after surgery, we learned that there remains tiny, microscopic cancer cells in his lymph nodes.
Talk about disappointment.
Have you ever prepared for a battle? Put on your clothes, rallied up your friends and family for such battle, stayed on the field to fight the battle....and think the battle has been won, only to find out a few days later, that this battle isn't actually over?
If so, it can be quite disheartening.
God is doing something through this trial, and Alfred and I are committed to trusting Him throughout the entire process. We do understand that Alfred's healing has already been made possible through Jesus dying and being raised from the cross; and our responsibility as believers is to trust God through the process.
All of this bring me to our study scripture for the week which is a great reminder for how God has all of us:
"Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall." Psalm 55:22
I'm sure like myself, there are probably many things that are on your heart that you may feel unsure about.
Maybe its your adult children, and you worry about their future. Your job, or business and you wonder how everything is going to fall into place, or perhaps there are personal goals that you want to accomplish -- like writing a book, losing weight, keeping your house more tidy....all of these things are burdens, and God wants us to give them to Him.
This morning, I wrote all my burdens down and visualized myself, dropping every burden into God's lap.
- The burden of wondering what the next steps of Alfred's treatment will look like.
- The burden of co-leading a mission trip to Africa this summer while much of the next steps regarding Alfred's treatment is unknown.
- The burdens of being a wife, business owner, and trying to remain sane, emotionally healthy, and full of joy and faith --- because this is the state of where I really want to be.
Usually, I rush through moments like this, and say a standard prayer where I clump all of my burdens together, but this morning, I am so grateful that I cast every, single, burden I could think of to God.
When we give God our burdens, the scripture tells us that there is a promise:
"...and He will take care of you."
I thought it interesting how the scripture doesn't promise how He will take care of the problem, but it assures us that:
"...He will take care of you"
and
"...He will not allow the godly to slip and fall."
As believers in Jesus Christ, we are the godly. We aren't perfect, we don't always do everything right, but we are counted as the godly (so don't allow Satan to make you think that this Scripture doesn't apply to you).
This week, let's meditate on Psalm 55:22:
"Give your burdens to the Lord and He will take care of you. He will not allow the godly to slip and fall." Psalm 55:22
Although, we may not know how God is going to take care of every detail in our lives, we do have a promise.
That if we give our burdens to Him, He is going to take care of us. He will not allow the godly to slip and fall.
Friends, that is good news today.
Let's chew on this good, delicious word throughout the week.
I would love to hear how this scripture impacted your heart today. Feel free to share in the comments!
Praying for you!
Kacie
PS: This year I really want to fall in love with God's word. Therefore, I am committing to memorize scripture each week. I invite you to join me on this journey, where I will email you the scripture for the week along with a short devotional. To receive these emails, please subscribe to my blog and receive an email from me each week. Let's go deeper into God's Word this year!
Hi, my name is Kacie Starr Long. I am an author, and speaker and I love to use my voice to point people to Jesus. When I'm not writing, I'm either working out at Orange Theory Fitness or sewing. I'm in recovery from compulsive overeating and I have a sewing ministry, called the Sew Hope Community Sewing Room. I am the proud wife of Alfred T. Long, Sr and together we lead a non-profit that serves prisoners and their families. Connect with me at www.InspiredOverflow.com and via my YouTube page for Christian teachings and encouragement.