I sit in a Houston hotel room in the sound of silence. Cancer brings me out to this massive city once again.
I’m half way finished with chemo, and it’s time for a follow-up appointment with my oncologist at MD Anderson.
From the time one steps foot on the MD Anderson campus, it is clear that their mission is to end cancer. That’s why I’m here, to end my relationship with cancer. Cancer is an unwelcome stranger in my body, and I’m ready to bid it farewell.
I’m so very thankful to be at one of the world’s leading cancer centers, as the team here is on the cutting edge of cancer treatments, research and clinical trials. However, this morning, as I considered doctors who can help me be rid of this awful disease, God reminded me through Psalm 54:4 that He, and He alone upholds my life.
Behold, God is my helper;
the Lord is the upholder of my life.
Psalm 54:4
I did some digging and discovered that this word “uphold” when literally translated from the original Hebrew language, means “to place or lay something upon any thing so that it may rest upon it and be supported by it.”
My life, and your life is upheld by God.
When we place our life in His hands, we are held by His loving and capable hands.
He allows us to rest in His care.
He supports us, carries us, protects us, and pleads our cause.
How can we reconcile these truths when our life is intersected by pain, suffering, or heartache?
It’s trusting and believing that nothing comes into our lives that has not been filtered by the loving fingertips of God.
Psalm 139:5 says “You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.”
Imagine His Perfect hands holding your life, a hand both cupping and covering your future, present, and past. The cupping hand carries, and the covering Hand filters the good and the hard, and only that which pleases Him passes through.
As I type, my body is still weakened by the ravages of my most recent chemo treatment a week ago. Traveling through the airports yesterday was harder than I thought. I write from the valley, where these truths of His perfect sovereignty aren’t merely pat, Sunday school answers. But it is also here in the valley where I feel the most carried by His upholding Hands.
It’s where He teaches me to rest in Him and to let Him hold me.
Whatever hard thing you’re walking through today~ Don’t try to squirm out of His perfect embrace. Let Him hold you.