A Man's Struggle with Prostate Cancer

The oil of joy for mourning- A Man's struggle with prostate cancer

Isaiah 55:9
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

The Problem

Recently, a friend of mine was diagnosed with prostate cancer. To make my point for this brief essay it is important to know his personality. My friend, I'll call him Phil, is a joker. He is constantly trying to make people laugh and is seldom caught without a smile on his face. It was always a joy being around him because he knew how to make light of every situation. He could turn any circumstance into a comedy. Needless to say, I always looked forward to our weekly meetings.

Not surprisingly, when Phil was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he wasn't his chipper old self. You could tell that during our meeting his mind was somewhere else. His joking mood just wasn't there. To sum up his attitude, I will quote him, "Nothing has changed, except now I know that I have cancer."

After our meeting, I enquired into his situation. He mentioned that he has undergone several tests and will undergo more as time goes on. He did not make one joke. He wasn't smiling. His demeanor was such that I felt a solemn type of melancholy coming from him. Phil, being the trooper that he is, told all of us what he has been going through, and how tough it has been on him and his family.

The Solution

Immediately after our meeting, while the group was chit chatting, someone quoted the verse from Isaiah. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. Another person wisely said, "You never know how God is going to use you to fulfill his plan." And yet another quoted Psalm 119:71; "It is good that I have been afflicted, that I may learn thy statutes". The group attempted to look at Phil's situation from a God point of view. What if something good could come out of this, something that could help someone else?

Phil's countenance immediately changed. I could sense a beaming peace coming from him. He was not concerned with his situation any more. His smile came back to his face as he told of us his travel plans. A true Christian knows that God has a plan for him and that God treats him as if he was his child. Hebrews 12:6, & 7 state, "For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every one that he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

Upshot

The knowledge of God can bring peace to any situation, no matter how bleak. Faith in Jesus Christ can bring acceptance of any situation, no matter how dire. The love of Christ can heal the emotional ailments that inevitably come with a physical disease. So many people suffer from tragic diseases such as Cancer, Parkinson's, and HIV. Aren't the damages to their bodies enough? Let God's power relieve the sufferers of these awful diseases from the mental distress that inevitably comes with them.