OPINION —
You are 94 and your days are numbered. Does that not trouble you? No, that does not bother me. Yes, my days are numbered, but they are numbered by the Lord, and He has given me peace about his plan for me.
You have been undergoing treatment for prostate cancer for three years. In February you almost died following surgery for the removal of another cancer in your stomach. Does this mean that God has forsaken you in your old age? No, I live in a world that has been broken by sin and sickness. But God’s love for me has never been more real than during my struggle with cancer. Once again, I am convinced that God hurts when I hurt.
If God really loves you, why does he allow you to suffer. Surely suffering causes you to question his love for you. No, it does not because the Bible has taught me that God uses suffering for our good and His glory. God Himself suffered when His Son died on the cross, but God used Christ’s suffering to save me from my sins. All people suffer. The Bible, my most treasured book, is a book about suffering. God uses suffering to make us more aware of what truly matters. He may even use my suffering to draw someone into the arms of Jesus. In fact, it is through suffering that God provides the greatest joy our hearts can experience.
Doesn’t the thought of drawing your last breath and dying frighten you? No, because I believe the minute I die I will begin a new life in a new home. I have enjoyed the peace of my earthly home, but God has promised me a more glorious Home blessed by His presence. In that eternal Home there will be no more death, no more pain, crying or sorrow.
You have decided to be buried in a grave beside the grave of your wife and your son David. When that happens, will that not be the end of your life? No, my body will decay and turn into dust and ashes. But I am not a body; I am a soul that will continue to be alive in a new body, a spiritual body. So I will be more alive than ever. I will serve Jesus and see His face and sing with a new voice of His love for me.
You have been preaching about Jesus since you were 18. Don’t you think you deserve something better than a struggle with cancer as your life ends? No, God is in control. He controls all things. He controls my life. He allows whatever I experience, and He has a purpose for all things. Why should I deserve comfort and ease at the end of my life? Jesus suffered as His life ended. In light of the cross, suffering may be viewed not as punishment but as purification. Salvation is all about grace, undeserved grace. When I surrendered to Jesus, I was an unworthy sinner, but He forgave my sins and adopted me into the family of God. The constant remembrance of God’s mercy helps me endure suffering. I must not resort to self-pity. I must trust God and believe my suffering can be meaningful. Believing there is a purpose in it can drive me into a deeper awareness of God’s love for me.
Since you cannot see God, do you sometimes wonder if God really exists? Of course doubt often knocks on my door. But, years ago, I arranged for faith and doubt to battle each other in my heart and faith won. I told doubt to depart, and he left in despair. Since then, I have guarded my mind and refused doubt’s attempts to take up residence in my life. When doubt shows up, I invite the Lord to say to me what He once said to his servant Isaiah (41:10):
So do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
That gives me the confidence to say to doubt, no, I do not wonder if God exists because through His living Word He just told me He is with me. And I also hear my Lord Jesus saying, “Walter, I am with you always, so ignore doubt and get busy loving others into my Kingdom.”
Once you have said yes to Jesus, He gives you the strength to say no to everything the devil brings up.
