Among the Chaos

I was reading Genesis chapter 1 the other day and something jumped out at me which never had before.

In verse 2 it says “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

Why this jumped out at me is because it reminds us, even in the beginning, the Spirit of God was there. Before God created order in the world, there was the opposite of order – chaos. And the Spirit was already there.

Jump ahead to John 14:16 & 17a where Jesus says “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever – the Spirit of Truth.” Jesus promises us the Spirit to come be with us.

2020 began a pretty tough time in my life. Finished a diploma in January, found out I had cancer in February, the world went into COVID 19 lockdown in March, we had a baby in June, found out my Cancer was back in July, major surgery in August, began treatment in October, hospitalized end of November throughout much of December, and then in February I was told I was in remission. 2 weeks later my dad was diagnosed with ALS, and we watched this ugly disease take him from us in just 6 months.

Our world was quite chaotic indeed. And yet we know, the Spirit was there, in the Chaos. Just as He was in the beginning of time, He was there through our Chaos. Even though life was (is) hard, He is still with us in the chaos. And just like the beginning of time, where God makes order out the chaos, He will again make order out the chaos of our lives.

It may look different than we can imagine of want. Like me, He can give me the strength to fight through cancer with the support of Him, my family, and countless others around the globe and heal me of my cancer. Or, like my dad, he can take him home where his body is no longer broken. Where he can talk again, sing again, laugh again, and walk again. You may get order in one area of live (remission) only to be thrown into more chaos (dad’s diagnosis)…but He is still there.

Even though we may not like or understand it “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) It may not look the way we want, but we know, throughout out struggles, God will ultimately be glorified through it.

How can I believe this? Well, God promises to send us the Spirit and He delivered on that promise. He promised to send a Saviour to the world, He delivered on that one too. He promised Abraham would have countless descendants, He promised Jesus would come from David’s line, He promised He would defeat death…check, check, and check. So when he promises He will never leave us and He promises to send the Spirit and when He promises He will work ALL things for His good, I can believe those promises to.

I believe He is continuing to make order out of the chaos of my life. I have seen it. I have felt it. Just as we know the Spirit was there in the beginning of time, I know the Spirit is here with us today…amidst the chaos.

Joy in Strife

Christians are supposed to be happy, right? We have faith in something far greater than ourselves and a hope that is so beautiful in an everlasting and abundant life in heaven. So really, nothing should get us down, right? And doesn’t the Bible tell us we should be happy in all things – our trials, our suffering etc?

Well, no. No, it doesn’t. The Bible calls us to JOY. Our society usually uses joy and happiness interchangeably but they are very different.

Happiness is a feeling, based on our current circumstances. Joy, on the other hand, is described as part of the fruit of the Spirit…it is fruit…it is a trait which grows out of a heart which is in tune with God. It is essentially a defining characteristic of who we ARE, not what we feel.

So how do we have joy when we are suffering? Can we still feel sad and be joyful at the same time? How does that look?

Cancer is tough. It takes a toll mentally and physically. There were many days I was sad, and scared. It was most certainly not a happy time. They physical pain of the treatment was at times unbearable. The thought of leaving my wife and kids behind if I didn’t make it made me incredibly sad. Being apart from them while in the hospital for almost a month at the end of November and into December, and again over Christmas and Jenelle’s birthday, made me feel incredibly sad and alone.

And yet, I knew I had so many people praying for us, supporting us, and loving us through this time. I knew God had us in his hands. Just like in yesterday’s post, even Jesus wept. He had human emotions like sadness. But there is joy in being assured of where I am going when it’s all done. There is joy in knowing how loved I have been – even though I most certainly don’t deserve it.

Because of that joy, I am able to spread joy and confidence and strength throughout my trials. Because of this joy welling up from within, I can endure all things and hopefully encourage others to do the same.

So, if you’re struggling – if life has hit you hard and are feeling so defeated and sad, remember a few things. First, you are not alone. This is very normal. Second, it’s okay to be sad and vulnerable. Finally, there is still joy within you. It’s not a feeling…it’s part of who you are. There is joy because God is within you.

If you are struggling and need someone to chat with, send me a message. I will be here to listen. I have been through a lot and could be a good sounding board.

Please, be well and bless you!

Strength Through Weakness

When you go through tough things in life, quite often we tell people to just be strong. “Be strong, keep fighting, you got this!” I heard this a lot throughout my cancer journey.

I get the sentiment, and all the support helped me get through cancer. I was as strong as I could be…and I put up a tougher front than I actually was because I didn’t want to show that I was actually feeling quite weak.

Jenelle heard this phrase a lot as well during my treatment. “Be strong for Dave!” “He needs to see you being strong!”

While these statements are well-intentioned, and sometimes they do help give us that extra bit of strength we need to keep going, they can also be quite damaging.

You see, sometimes we need to be weak! Sometimes, when things happen to us in life, we need to have time to break down and process things. We need to have time to cry. Even Jesus did when his friend Lazarus died. The Bible says “Jesus wept!” Jesus didn’t just cry, he wept! He felt so much love and compassion for his friend, when he died, he cried.

Further, Paul reminds us “my grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

This could mean so many things. First, there is no question, in the end, both Jenelle and I are both stronger for having to go through our trials. Stronger mentally for sure.

However, I also believe there is a place to just be weak…to let ourselves be taken care of…to be cared for by others…to be prayed for…to be lifted up by others. In order for us to do that, we need to allow ourselves be vulnerable…to show weakness.

It will definitely be tough to know when to tell someone to be strong and when to let them be weak. This is something that comes with time, patience, wisdom, and prayer.

But my encouragement, when someone is going through a tough time in life…no matter the situation, is to be prepared to allow the person to be weak. Sometimes being strong is just too much. Be that friend who allows others to be weak. Then, perhaps, when you are going through your own tough times, you will allow yourself to be weak. Perhaps then, you can be made strong, you can be lifted up in your weakness!

Be blessed and have a great day!