READINGS – Part 4
“Ron, the news isn’t good. You have leukemia … a slow-moving form of cancer.”
He needn’t have explained. A pastor friend of mine in Minneapolis had just died of the disease. I knew about leukemia; I just couldn’t believe that I had it. It was like someone had grabbed my life’s book out of my hands, flipped through the pages, then handed it back to me. And I found myself staring at The Last Chapter—long before I’d ever wanted or expected to. If this was a surprise ending, I didn’t want to read it.
Receiving that kind of news is like a punch in the stomach. It knocks the wind out of you. So many things flash through your mind. Where do I turn? Who do I tell? What should I say? What shouldn’t I say? So many questions. So much confusion. People gather around you to support you in prayer and speak words of faith and hope. Some come with the right remedy at the wrong time. Still others are just plain wrong.
I’ve heard of every cure under the sun. I have a file full of them. Everything from jumping into a pool with dolphins to bizarre diets to coffee enemas. Some well-meaning people seem to have the clear word from the Lord for me:
“It’s just a test of your faith. A pathway to growth.”
“Your problem is a lack of faith.”
“There is sin in your life.”
“You shouldn’t be a Pastor.”
“You’re out of the will of God.”
“How can you minister to someone who’s sick when you need
healing yourself?”
During that first barrage of formulas, cures, counsel, and remedies, I remember a very quiet moment when my wife Joyce and I sat together on the couch in our home. I remember her arms around me.
I said, “How are you doing and what do you think?” She said, “The servant of the Lord is indestructible until God is through with him.”
Her words were a strength to me—a comfort when so many things seemed so wrong. We turned to the Lord and His Word, finding particular encouragement and help in the psalms and the Gospels. We were reminded that peace and rest don’t come from understanding everything, but from trusting the Lord with all our hearts even when we don’t understand anything.
In this the biggest Bad Thing of my life, I was beginning to see some Good Things. The Lord’s Mercurochrome was still burning in my wound like fire, but it was working.
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Surprise Endings, Ron Mehl, Multnomah, pages 15-17.
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Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about?
Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?
David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Saturday or Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions.
We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.
For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.
You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.
