“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18 NIV).

As a pastor, nothing gave me a sense of greater sorrow and yet inner compassion than when someone would say words to this effect: “I’m afraid God is using this to punish me for all that I’ve done wrong in the past.” 

Fear of punishment.

Christian, Jewish and Muslim oncology organizations who serve cancer patients, survivors and their loved ones.

It’s hard to fill a need when you don’t know there is a need. Have you noticed that many newly diagnosed cancer patients tell their church “I’m fine.”? One reason this happens is that at diagnosis, most cancer patients have little or no symptoms, pain, or even discomfort. They just woke up one morning feeling fine and went to a cancer screening. Or, they have a small symptom, like a persistent cough, which led to a chest X-ray. Then, when the results come back that they have cancer, they are thinking “How can I have cancer? I feel fine.”

I REALLY need some feedback from you stupendous Cancer Companion Volunteers AND your participants to find ways to improve the Bible Study.

Your weaknesses do not eliminate you from your calling to serve the Lord, they merely define it. Study the interactions between Jesus and Peter to learn how Christ can use your weaknesses for His strength. Discover not only how to discern Christ’s path for you but find the focus and strength to follow through.

Think about today’s verses. Often, God brings joy to our lives not by substitution, but by transformation. His illustration of the woman giving birth makes this clear. The same baby that caused the pain also caused the joy. In birth, God does not substitute something else to relieve the mother's pain. Instead, He uses what is there already—but He transforms it.

Whether we’re physically alone or surrounded by people whose love is loud and tangible, cancer can be a lonely place. No matter how much our friends and family love us and are with us, they can never truly understand what it feels like to be where we are. If you’re feeling alone, even wondering where God is and if He might just have forgotten about you or abandoned you for some reason, I get it.

When we are so busy that we don’t even have time to eat, it might be that we are just too busy. Our society rewards working long hours until exhaustion. Yet, our God felt it necessary to rest on the seventh day after creating the heavens and the earth. (See Genesis 2:1-3.)

I guess I’m like most women; I love getting flowers. It’s kind of silly, really. It’s not like flowers are good for anything. Yet, my grandmother told me that flowers are the most gracious of gifts because they don’t do anything except make you happy. It’s true. Flowers don’t have to do anything for me to love them. I just love them because of what they are.

It’s hard for us to hear that in 2023 about 43,700 women will die from breast cancer. (1) It’s immensely more difficult for a woman to hear the doctor say “You have cancer.” Martha, a professional woman and mother from Minneapolis, says the time after her diagnosis was “one of the lowest points in my life. I was floundering. I was struggling to understand what was happening and I was fearful for my life.” Before she knew her treatment path or prognosis, Martha found the Cancer Companions Bible study group at her church.

Our scripture for today says, “Be angry, but do not sin.” It can be confusing.

It may be that along with a cancer diagnosis, you find yourself feeling more anger and frustration. You may become angry and impatient when lab or test results are delayed. You may feel angry with healthcare providers who are emotionally distant or seem unsympathetic. It can be irritating, frustrating and exhausting when therapy schedules interfere with your family life, your social life and your work life. Cancer is not only inconvenient, but life-altering!

As a pastor I’ve said it plenty of times to people asking for prayer, only to find that quite often they scarcely feel reassured. Faith that “God’s got this” when it comes to the results of their cancer test tomorrow, next week or even next month may seem like a bridge too far. What I meant to say is that no matter what happens, God is going to be with them through it and will provide for all their needs. To them, saying that God’s got this cancer is like promising He will prevent or eliminate it, and that is too much. As a pastor, I’m then asked to pray God will forgive their “lack of faith,” about which they now feel (inappropriately) guilty.

For some, the awareness of cancer may come via the announcement of our primary care doctor. Others notice their body begins to fail them in some capacity, forcing them to seek an answer from a noted authority. At some point, your deepest fears are realized. It's cancer.

Before Mark’s diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, he was terribly sick and admitted into the hospital to have a stent placed in his bile duct. During this time, I reached out to my dear friend, JoAnne. She is full of God’s love and not afraid to share God’s story with anyone open to listening.

When my husband, James, and I married, we knew we wanted to have children someday. Several years later, we decided we were ready. After eight months of hoping and praying and starting to wonder if something may be wrong, I was pregnant. The hope of this child was quickly shattered.