Allow the Light of My healing Presence to shine into the deepest recesses of your being—cleansing, healing, refreshing, and renewing you.
Jesus Calling,March 17
The year2020 proved difficult for manywith unforeseen challenges, setbacks,and turmoil. Despite living in a fallen world,the yearcaughtmany of usoff guard andshookupour faith.God never promised us a lifeabsent of difficulty, but He did promisetonever forsake us, and thatHe would work all things together for our good.
As I embarked on the year 2020,I had lostsight of God andwasliving underanillusionof securityas IassumedI hadcontrolover my life.I’m not talking aboutcontrol over theday-to-daychoices we make—weall have free will,andour choices do matter.I’m talking about not consulting Godfirst, and notseeking His guidanceover those choices and the trajectory ofourlives.
Isoon discoveredmy way was not better than His.
A hefty cancer diagnosis
In June of 2020,while in a season of stress as a new, young lawyer, Ireceived aheftycancer diagnosis—Stage IVmelanoma. Despite the obvious,I had no idea the magnitude of what was just up ahead.Beyond the valleys and mountaintop giantswas opportunity:achance to discover the deeper meaning to this life.
Interestingly, whenthingsare goingsmoothlyin our lives, ouregomay operate under the falsepretensethatweare the reason for our success. But whenour plans arehijackedand we are taken offcourse, we suddenly blame God and lose faith in His promises and abilities.We are not made to face life absentofGod, but to lean on Him for guidance and to trust Himinstead.If we attempt to face giants alone, the weight becomes unbearable, and we are surely to crumble beneath it. By consulting our flesh, we never meet God on the other side of that mountain with our answer—our victory.
From self-destruction to self-reflection
Looking back, no wonderI was exhausted, riddled with disease,and not living up to my full potential.At some point along the way,I traded my faith in God for“control.”Clearly, mylifeplanswerenotinalignmentwithGod’s, and sobeganmyjourney fromself-destructiontoself-reflection.
Finding ourselves in the thick of a battle reveals an opportunity tolook within,overcome,and glorify God.Heblesses the broken road by equipping us with all we need to see victory on the other side.But wemustalsoseek to learn all we can in the valleys.We open up a healing dialoguewith God when we ask Himwhat wecanlearn from ourtrialsinstead of blaming Him.This isa way toattach meaningto our pain.These trialsbecomedivinetools designed to grow us into His image. While thisgrowth mayfeel like a burial, we are merely planted, and then shaped under pressure to eventually bloom.
We are most useful to Him in our weakness
As we cry outto Godin the depths of ourbrokenness,He meets us right where we are.This isexactlywhereHe wants us—not because He isn’t good, but because we are most useful to Him in our weakness.There,we realize our great need for Him. There,His power is perfected.There, a beautiful exchange of our weakness for His strength takes place.
Theveilnowtorn from our eyes, we begin to see His light shine through all of thosebeautiful,once-brokenpieces.In this moment of rescue and renewal, I discovered cancer is happeningforme, nottome.HadInot experienced theshadows, Isurely could not appreciate the light. And Icertainly could not reflect His light onto the world.
This year, may we all begin to see trials in this life as nudges from God towards our truth, and to bring others to wholeness in Jesus Christ.
Amanda Hunt is a skin cancer and sun safety advocatewhois sharing her spiritual healing journey through writing. Having discovered her love for writing in law school, she is now using that passion to not only aid in her own healing from Stage IVmelanoma, but to share Jesus’ healing power with the world. On her blogLove & Sunblock,she shares her personal experiences and provides hope for those affected by cancer and beyond.
“I discovered cancer is happening for me, not to me. Had I not experienced the shadows, I surely could not appreciate the light.” Your insight and honesty touch me deeply. You are an inspiration to our BEAUTIFUL sisters1 Thank you!
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Thank you for writing this.
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Thank you for your continued support! ☀️
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Thank you for reading, Juan! God bless. ☀️
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Thank you!! ☀️
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Yes indeed Thru the trials in the past & the present they have drawn closer & closer to my Savior. No theyre not fun but definitely worth was on the other side. Thank you so much for sharing
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Thank you for reading, Leesa! God bless. ☀️
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God bless you and heal you. I’ve had many major health challenges in the decade and a half. I’m still developing a relationship with God…there are good days and really bad days. Chemo is a challenge for me to accept that God has a higher purpose and reason for me. Am still trying to decipher His mission for my life.
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Thank you, Gelly! Prayers for your strength and healing. Remember, God takes what the enemy tries to harm us with and turns it into something good. Something beautiful. Keep your eyes on Jesus! ☀️
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Jesus was with me in 2013 when I went thru myleod cancer treatment, which involved chemo & a stem cell transplant. I owe it all to him! I am cancer-free to this day!
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Glory to God! So happy and hopeful to hear. Thank you for sharing. ☀️
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Beautifully written. This sentence continues to embrace me with acceptance and understanding.
“There, a beautiful exchange of our weakness for His strength takes place.”
Thank you and God bless you.
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Thank you, Jamie. I’m so thankful my writing spoke to you and can be a conduit for God’s great love. May God bless you abundantly. ☀️
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