DISCOURAGEMENT

I Was Just Thinking About – DISCOURAGEMENT.

In our journey through life, there are times of uncertainty, fears and discouragement. When these times occur, and they will, it might be good to reflect on the lyrics of an older Hymn - 

“Why should I feel discouraged; Why should the shadows come…?

His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me.”

The words of Psalm 56:3-4 also come to mind: “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid…” When the disciples asked Jesus about their inability to perform a miracle, He said to them (Matthew 17:20), “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain: Move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Questions: Do we really believe what Jesus told His disciples? Do we believe that is a functional possibility for today? Did Jesus place any restriction when he said, “nothing will be impossible for you”?

Currently, my family is facing one of these impossible situations. Our Great Grandson who has been treated for Leukemia since he was two and a half years old, is now seven years of age and was being prepared for a stem cell transplant. His baby brother, who is one year of age, was a perfect match and he was being prepared for that transplant of his stem cells to his older brother. This was all to take place next week. That is, until yesterday afternoon. After one additional test, it was discovered that the Leukemia had returned. As you can imagine, everything is in a state of flux.

One glimmer of light is the following that occurred on August 29, 2017: “In a landmark decision for the field of cancer immunotherapy, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved a personalized cellular therapy developed by the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for the treatment of patients up to 25 years of age with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that is refractory or in second or later relapse.” One of the Hospitals qualified to administer this treatment is in Dallas, TX. The cost is horrendous - $475,000.00 – IF it works. One ray of hope is: “in larger trials, we’re seeing overall remission rates over 80 percent, which is a remarkable improvement upon previous treatment success rates.”

Most of the members of our family take God, Prayer and the Word of God seriously. There is a quaint saying from the past: “God said it! I believe it! That settles it.” Quaint or not, this is a great place to be in the moment of crisis or uncertainty. I love the words of Isaiah 12:2 (NLT), “See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord God is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.” The place where I want my family and me to be is in Psalm 52:8-9 (NASB): “But as for me…I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever. I will give You thanks forever, because You have done it, And I will wait on Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.”

Prayerfully – consider these things with me.

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