A Faith and Health Journey Weekly Devotional Week 1
My journey of faith and health began in December of 2010. I had turned 60 in November and was in good health. My daily devotional time included reading my Bible, contemplating what I read, and time in prayer. My reading included reading the Psalms, along with other books of scripture. On this particular day I was reading Psalm 112, as I had done many times before, but this time when I read verse 7, (“He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord”), I had a strong feeling that I would be getting some bad news soon. It was not as though I heard a voice telling me this, but it was a very profound sense that bad news was coming. As I described in my essay “An Eyewitness to God’s Goodness,” The bad news was a diagnosis of Leiomyosarcoma, a rare and incurable cancer with an average life expectancy of 19 months from diagnosis to death. My immediate reaction was to think “Oh that was what God was telling me was on the horizon!” I immediately understood that God not only warned me of the bad news, but He was also signaling to me that He would be with me throughout my impending health journey, however long or short is was to be, thereby turning my health journey into a faith journey as well. Psalm 73:23-24.26 gave me the confidence and courage I would need to endure the rocky ground I would be walking from this point on:
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
The beginning of my experience might be different from those of you who are walking similar stony ground on your health and faith journey, but these verses are just as sure and powerful for you as they have been for me. God will grow our faith, giving the steadfast heart and trust in Him we will need for every step of our forthcoming journey.
