Walking Through Life’s Hardest Storms with Jesus
What began as a day of household chaos for Angie and her husband – flooded drains and leaking windows – ended with a devastating reminder of life’s fragility: an aggressive return of Rob’s cancer.
In the shadow of uncertainty and fear, they’re leaning on their faith in Jesus Christ as their refuge and strength. Surrounded by prayer, Scripture, and the support of their church family, they’re finding courage and hope, trusting that whether healing comes now or later in eternity, God is present and carrying them through every trial.
Within this moving and very personal Guest Post, Rob shares his story of faith in Christ through one of life’s hardest storms.
Today was my turn when that saying ‘Problems come in threes’ came to my door, but it could be worse. The first two are trivial but sucked up all our time and energy that morning.
Problem #1 The whole bathroom had suddenly flooded due to a blocked drain and water was seeping into the bedroom. A frantic time ensued of bailing water down the sink until we thought order had been restored but eventually the problem was discovered to be a flood in a sub-station down the road which thankfully got fixed that day.
Problem #2 After our frantic time in the bathroom another problem revealed itself. The lounge window had let in a significant amount of water from last nights storm. Everything on it was soaked. Something else to fix. These 2 problems were all consuming in the moment but ultimately are trivial diversions that will quickly fade in our memories.
Problem #3 is the kicker and will not be quickly forgotten. Cancer comes in many guises and for years I had lived with something that had been more of an annoyance but under control. Recently my cancer woke up from its long slumber, aggressively attacking me. A letter from the hospital that was treating me admitted they weren’t sure how to proceed and laid out a series of possible interventions they were considering but each one came with significant mortality risks. The letter cast a long shadow over my future. Where do you turn to at times like these?
The possibility of death really does focus the mind. Both myself and my wife have a personal faith in Jesus Christ and we trust him to walk with us through both good and bad times. We can honestly say, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble”. Psalm 46:1. What does that look like for us right now? It looks like Christian friends rallying around us, visiting us, supporting us emotionally, praying with us and sending us messages and Bible verses that encourage us. It looks like the elders of our church praying over us and anointing me with oil. It looks like reading the Bible and having verses jump out at me that tell me regardless of the outcome, because the outcome is out of my hands, God is in control and whether I survive the cancer or not, ultimately I will be in my eternal home in heaven.
Multiple times the following 2 Bible verses have consistently come to us through our friends, as part of our church sermons and lastly through our daily Bible notes:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Pr 3:5,6.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you.“ Joshua 1:9.
Right now, I admit that life is really hard, and outcomes are uncertain. But if I didn’t have a real faith to give me hope for the future, and a totally loving and supportive wife, life would be intolerable. Like the ‘Footsteps in the sand” I know Jesus is carrying me. When I do get to heaven whether that’s sooner or later, life will be very different. In fact, it will be perfect. I won’t have to deal with backed up drains, leaking windows or a life threatening cancer. Thank you Lord. Hallelujah!
About The Author
Rob worked for an IT company in the UK and USA. His final job before retiring was teaching in a High School in the USA.
He enjoys art, gardening, baking, chess and fine food! Growing up in a Jehovah Witness family, Rob chose to trust in Christ when he was 21.