Surrendering to God

This is a follow-up blog to the one written on 6/24 titled, “Dealing with cancer when there isn’t faith.”

Entering her room I sensed a little tension and soon discovered why. She was being prepared for a CT scan, which would mean that she would need to lay flat. Because of a couple of broken vertebra this would require being in a stage of a little more than twilight sleep otherwise the pain would be just too great. Getting everybody on board can be a little challenging, especially in a large hospital and the involvement of multiple departments.

There was an expressed fear of the unknown. A deep desire to fully understand each step of the process … knowledge is power and she definitely has the need to be in control. Here was the opportunity that I was praying for. I just hoped that I would have the wisdom to share what needed to be shared.

When the room was finally empty, we had a chance to talk about something deeper than just the medical procedure. I began to share that either she or God could be in control, but not both. She shared that she was “raised to be strong … and in control”. I said, “Surrendering your will into God’s control takes a lot of strength, but you can continue to be strong and fight this cancer, but the outcome is left up to God. In life or in death God wants the final word.” As the old gospel hymn states, “All to Jesus I surrender, all to him I freely give …”

As we continued to speak there came over her a very calming spirit. She began to relax for the first time that day. As her husband shared later … she is ready to make peace with God. I’m not really sure what that means for them (because I think he needs to find that peace as well), but that discussion is for another day.

Surrendering to God is a little scary for most people, especially since we have been trained from early on to be so independent. It is often seen as a sign of weakness and yet when faced with large or small life challenges we soon discover that no matter how “strong” we think we are … we really aren’t as strong and self-efficient as we think we are … we really don’t have all the answers – even with the vast amount of medical knowledge that is available to us and for us.

God must have the first and last word. I believe that she just might be ready to make the next step in her relationship with God … at least that is my prayer.

Quote for today: God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him. Andrew Murray.