And the Truth Shall Set You Free



Before I can really finish telling the rest of my little cancer story, I think its important to stop and take time to explain a very personal side of my journey.  I know the people who have followed my blog are coming from many different beliefs, experiences, and perspectives, and what I am about to write what may seem pretty radical to some.  But I promised to give you an honest account of my story, and well...this is part of it. 

I believe God heals.  In fact, I believe that healing and divine health are part of the inheritance we have in Christ, and a part of our identity in Christ.  Along with all the sins of the world, Christ bore our sickness, our diseases, and every single ailment we suffer from, and He paid the price for it, defeated it for good on the cross, set us free from the power it has over our lives.  2 Peter 2:24 says "He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."  The NKJV translates the last part "by whose wounds you WERE healed."  When God created the world, He finished His work on the seventh day.  His work was done, and everything the world needed to function was provided for by His design.  It was lacking no good thing, and it was able to operate on it's own. Then, He gave man dominion over everything, and well....things didn't turn out so well.  But my point is God's work was finished, His design was flawless and complete.  Much in the same way, He finished His work in Christ.  In John 19:30, Jesus says "It is finished" before He gave up His spirit in death.  Jesus is the FINISHED work of God, and He made all things new for those who believe.  2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (For more about these truths, I encourage you to read through Romans for a greater understanding.)

Jesus said Himself in John 8:36, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be absolutely free."  Did you catch that?  ABSOLUTELY FREE!  Do you believe it?  To be honest, it's not very easy to believe, is it?  Or perhaps, in some areas we'll believe it, but it can't possibly apply to everything!?  Can it?  Galatians 5:1 says, "Christ has freed us so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom. Therefore, be firm in this freedom, and don’t become slaves again."  We can believe we're free from sin, because practically every church teaches that, but from sickness?  We take on the "if it's God's will..." mentality.  Well, guess what!?  It's His will, and He is willing!  (Matthew 8:2-3;  Mark 1:41; Mark 9:23-27; Mark 11:22-25; Luke 5:31)  Everything we need is already provided for, we just need to activate the blessing and the promises of God with our faith!

What is faith?  Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE of things not seen.”  The Lord told me to think of faith through the analogy of pregnancy.  When a woman first finds out she is pregnant, she only has the “word knowledge” it is true, whether she knows it through a home test, a doctor’s report, or other avenues.  Something on the inside of her has changed, her body knows a conception has happened, and it omits little indicators and signals throughout her body to prepare it for change.  The body produces more progesterone, and the hCG levels increase, so the body can go into a purging phase, or perhaps more tenderly known as “morning sickness.”  Once conception happens, the mother is solely responsible to nurture the development of her baby, even during the period of time when her pregnancy is simply based on "word knowledge."  And if she does so, she will begin to feel the life inside her moving and growing into a little miracle.  She now has an "acting knowledge" of something conceived months ago, and she goes from "I'm told I'm pregnant" to "I KNOW I'm pregnant" phase.  And yet, she still must continue to nourish her baby for it to continue to develop and grow healthy until what she knows about the life on the inside of her is finally produced on the outside.  And don't you know that even after a baby is produced, it never stops needing to be nourished and fed!

Much in the same way, faith to the believer is like a baby in the mother's womb. You need to get rid of all the preconceived ideas, and mentalities...all the doubt, disbelief, and the like, in order for your faith to be properly fed.  You have to feed your faith to use your faith!  And even after your faith has produced results, you still have to feed your faith!  Why?  Because there is an enemy out there whose whole purpose is to rob, kill and destroy the work that God has done. (But don't worry about him...Christ gave you authority over him, too!)  Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."  When you continue to nurture your faith with the word, you go from having a "word knowledge" about God and His promises to having an "acting knowledge."  James 2:17 says "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."  Just like if that baby doesn't move after a period of time, something is very wrong.  Faith moves forward in the will of God, and in accordance with His Word.  Now Romans 12:3 says God gives each person a “measure of faith.”  You can't just try real hard to make it happen; no, it something God places on the inside of you, in your spirit.  Much in the same way you can't just will yourself to be pregnant...it starts with a seed.  You have all the faith you need at any given moment for whatever circumstances you face; however, if your faith is malnourished, then it becomes weak from a lack of knowledge, and it doesn't know how to act.

Don't get me wrong...you do NOT need to have it all figured out to take a step of faith, or do something in faith.  God meets you where you're at, and provides grace for all the areas we fall short in, because it's not about how much we know or accomplish anyway!  It's about who HE is, and what HE has done in our lives.  Don't have faith in your faith, have faith in God.  Faith is not your own ability to play God, but rather your avenue to please Him, to know Him, and to understand the life He gives.  Faith is about trusting in God to lead you and guide you.

So...to bring it back to MY story...

Before I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I had a "word knowledge" about healing.  I believed it, I counseled other people by my belief, and I even went through the motions of standing in faith for others.  And yet, I never before had to act on what I professed to believe, at least not for myself and not with such "do or die" factors at stake.  I had knowledge, but not an understanding.  And since being diagnosed, I've had to take a real look at this area of my faith, and determine where I stand with it all.  We were faced with difficult decisions from the very beginning, and I knew I had to be real, I had to be genuine with God with my faith, and where it was at in my process.  I didn't share a lot about this side of my experience, well, for one, I didn't know how to put words to my process, and also, because I didn't want a lot of opinions about how I should see it, what I should believe about it, and what I should do.  I wanted God to guide me through and teach me what I needed to understand, and not just to get on the other side of a cancer issue, but to finally understand what He has provided for me to live my life in freedom.

I am no expert by any means, but I do have a testimony to share about what God has done in my life in this journey of battling cancer.  So I hope in the days that follow, you will read my posts with an open mind and an open heart to be encouraged, to grow your faith in whatever area you may need a miracle in.  I'll be posting some tools that were useful to me throughout my journey of faith.