“You have cancer.”
“You are going to lose the house.”
“Today is your last day at the job, we are letting you go.”
“I don’t love you anymore.”
And just like that you go from being healthy to lying on a hospital bed.
To looking for a place for your family to sleep at night.
To finding a new job.
To saying good-bye.
Today, as I was reading Christine Caine’s testimony of being healed from cancer tears filled my eyes because it reminded of another woman living in a different country many years ago who had similar words spoken to her.
Words that brought so much darkness into her heart.
Words of a sickness that could end her life.
Words that brought her to many nights stay in a hospital bed wondering if it would be within those walls that her end would come.
That woman was my mom.
By the time she was my age (25), with three little children at home she had to leave my dad in our tiny little village in Ukraine to get treatment at a hospital in a big city where she was seen by specialist doctors who only treated the worst of cases, the terminal diseases, and the sicknesses that no one could find a diagnosis for.
My dad would write her letters that she would keep under her pillow and through tears re-read every night.
Letters of love.
Letters of hope.
Letters of encouragement.
But even those letters of love and those promises of God that she would read from the Bible every day made it hard to face the cold, hard truth in such a painful, dark and lonely place.
She would become friends with the other women she shared her room with only to wake up too many mornings to the news that the new companion she had made, the one she talked with just the other day didn’t make it through the night.
Death wasn’t a foreign concept to her because she was surrounded by it every single day.
And every single day was a fight to make it through alive.
But she did make it through.
Through family members who never stopped praying.
Through the hands of the surgeon who operated on her.
Through the mercy of an Almighty Father who healed her.
And even though to this day scars remain, even though memories of that season are painful to recall, even thought she still has to take medication every day because of the surgery that was performed on her, her story is a testimony of God’s power and love.
And it’s a reminder to each of us that your doctor doesn’t have the last say.
Your banker doesn’t have the last say.
Your boss doesn’t have the last say
Your significant other doesn’t have the last say.
God alone has the last say in your life.
He determines the outcome of your story.
And He’ll get you through if you have faith.
I love these powerful words from Christine Caine.
“The same God that was with me before the phone call was the same God that was with me after the phone call. He had not changed, but I now had an opportunity to walk through a trial that would forever change me.”
And that same God is with you today.
The same God that helped her fight cancer.
The same God that helped my mom fight her own sickness.
His name has power over your diagnosis in life.
Whether that diagnosis is physical, medical, or relational.
Whether it leaves you fighting for your life in a hospital bed, looking for a breakthrough as you job search, or searching for healing from a broken relationship.
The disease, the break up, the loss that is meant to cripple you will only help you rise above with Christ.
It will only give you a testimony to tell.
Whatever your bad news is today you take it straight to God.
Hold on to His promises and truth in your life.
Saturate your mind and your heart with His love.
Get your family and friends involved and pray with all your might.
Put your battle gear on and fight.
Because no situation, no person, no sickness, and no bad news has the power to bring you down and destroy you.
Not when God is by your side.
Today, don’t look at the diagnosis that the doctor gave you.
Don’t worry about the amount showing in your bank account.
Don’t get depressed over the relationship that fell apart.
No matter what is going on in your life God is in control and He cares.
No matter your story.
No matter your battle.
No matter your bad news.
You have a God who heals.
A God who loves.
A God who provides.
A God who makes a way even in the impossible situations in life.
No weapon forged against you will prevail. (Isaiah 54:17)
Your trial may be hard to walk through.
It will change your life.
But if you allow God to fight for you, it will change for the better.
Because you will come out stronger and braver.
You will know that the God who was with you when that bad news came never left your side.
And when you have your victory you will be a beacon of hope to those struggling in their own darkness to keep on trusting God.
To never stop praying.
And to fight on.
If you are going through a hard time and need prayer know that you are always more than welcome to email me. I would love to join you in your battle and pray to God for what you are facing today.
Be blessed and stay strong in Christ. -Anna… ♥
“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” – Exodus 14:14
So true! Our God has the final say. My mom too had cancer… What a time God showed us many things. He is always good.
Yes, He is always good, even in the midst of our suffering and pain. It’s in the darkest seasons of our lives that we learn to trust Him the most!
You nailed it. It’s in those moments we are not blinded by the fog of this world we see Him most clearly! Trying to rely on him that much during the good times! 🙂
So perfectly worded! Thanks for sharing this beautiful post!
Thank you Gail! Hope you have a blessed weekend!
Just what I needed to hear today. Thank you.
Glad it was! Be blessed!
Beautiful post. I never tire of a testimony of just how great our God is!
Thanks Lilka! Me neither! It’s always good to share testimonies of God’s faithfulness and power whether in our lives or in others!
Thanks Anna, I also found Christine Caine’s recent testimony very encouraging and have shared it with others who have also been blessed by it 💕
It’s an incredible testimony! I’m so glad she went through it and made it through victoriously, it’s such an encouragement to anyone facing a similar battle!
Wow! Powerful, amazing post! I had read Christine Caine’s testimony which was just amazing, but felt very blessed to read such a powerful and raw testimony about your mum! Bless you both!! Loved how you wrote this and love “doesn’t have the last say”!
Thanks Philippa. No one wants to go through trials but like she said so well, you don’t come out the same person after you do. And in the end they are worth walking through because we not only grow closer to Christ through it but we also have a testimony to share to encourage others!
Thanks for this encouraging post it comes at the right time Be blessed x
Beautiful. Thank you for sharing!
‘God has the last say in your life’.
Those words mean a lot to me. A lot of people are trying to have the final say in my life but that doesn’t count. The enemy is trying to have the last say but once again, it doesn’t count, I won’t allow it. Negative situations are trying to have the last say but they don’t count…..so many things trying to say something, finalize things but GOD HAS THE LAST SAY IN MY LIFE and that is what counts!!! Thanks for a great post Anna!
Rolain
Amen Rolain! Those are some powerful statements! It’s up to us to allow who has the last say and I choose God’s over anyone else’s! I will believe His promises over the circumstances and negatives of this life. He is Almighty and His Words count most against any others that we hear every day!
Hope you have a blessed day!
Wow. Thank you so much for writing this post. I’m going through a lot right now, but hanging on to God’s promises, knowing that he will bring me through and will use this hard season for my good. God bless <3
Hi Maddie, He will most certainly bring you through to the other side and use all of the hardships of this season to strengthen and prepare you for He has in store for you. Never give up on trusting Him no matter how dark it gets. He is always closest when He seems farthest away. Be blessed! ♥
aw thanks 🙂
Powerful and so encouraging ! I have had to quote scripture many time in my own battles and others!!! HE IS ABSOLUTELY THE ONLY WAY !!! Thank you for posting this !! Continue being blessed in THE MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS!!! ;0))
Yes, scriptures are our mighty weapons in battle and when we use them against the lies and attacks of the enemy with Christ’s help we will have the power to stand strong and overcome anything that comes our way. May you continue to fight on and remain strong in any battles that you face. Be blessed!
So powerful. Please keep my friends mother in law in your prayers. Her fighter spirit and story is here: https://www.gofundme.com/2cg8tg4
Thank you so much sis. This brought tears to my eyes <3
God is good!
Yes He is!! Have a blessed weekend Deborah! ♥
Thank you for this wonderful faith-building post, Anna- Awesome!
Your mum is truly a very special woman. Thank God for Godly parents as a living example of His power and faithfulness.
This is story is incredible, your mother’s story is the power of God among us. We’re living through hard times, where there’s no faith anymore and when we find persons like your mother and people who walk through a bad situation and kept trusting in God, it teaches us to trust Him no matter what kind of situation it is.
Thank God for this post, thank God for the miracle of your mother.
God bless your life, your words blessed me too.
Thank you Isa! God is powerful and faithful and I am so glad that He came through for my mom and family as He always does. May you continue walking strong in faith and trusting Him to fight your own battles as you trust Him to take care of you. Be blessed!