Today was my PSA blood test, a ritual I must undergo every four months or so in order to check if the drug I am currently taking is still effective in controlling my cancer. I was always somewhat apprehensive when test day occurred even earlier in my 23-year history of prostate cancer. But now, as my therapeutic trail contains fewer options, this day takes on its own measure of stress. However, I received an unexpected message of assurance from Dr. David Jeremiah in his February 11th devotional message entitled “Stress and Thanks”. His message was based on three short Biblical verses in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 where it states “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks.”
“It’s not a law of physics, but it is a law of common sense: No two objects can occupy the same space at the same time. That makes perfect sense to us and we have no reason to try to prove that idea wrong. We move one thing if we want to set another thing in its place. Strangely, we are not as convinced of this law when it comes to spiritual things. For example, we are willing to worry about a problem and proclaim our faith in God at the same time. We don’t have a spiritual law that invalidates our effort, but our experience says it’s contradictory to worry and to praise God simultaneously. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, the apostle Paul says there are three things we can do simultaneously since they support one another—rejoice, pray, and give thanks. The prayerful practice of joy and thanksgiving leaves no room for stress or worry. At the first sign of stress, pray and give thanks to God for the joy that comes from trusting Him in all things. Not for all things, but in all things.”
So the next time I encounter a critical stage or testing, do I choose faith in a God and His promises (medicines), or will faith be supplanted with doubt? They cannot share the same space. As the Apostle Paul writes in 2 Timothy 1:12, “for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed.”
As always, if you are unsure of your own relationship with God, see the following link.