The testing of your faith

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4

Yesterday was my birthday.  A few months ago I wasn’t sure I was going to make it to my 49th birthday. In June  I was informed by my first surgeon that I had stage 4 cancer and that the tumors were impossible to remove. Hearing this news was my biggest test of faith yet, and led me to fight the greatest battles yet in my life. 

Thankfully today the tumors that the previous surgeon said were impossible to remove, and who believed I only had a few months to live, are all out. My new surgeon declared me macro cancer free.  

God has turned things around.  I will be starting chemo in 3 weeks to kill any undetected micro cancerous cells that could be floating around. The battle is not over, but the victory is already won. 

One of my corner men, and beloved brother Ovi, who is an elder at MBC, sent me this insightful quote from a well known preacher:  

“Great faith is the product of great fights. Great testimonies are the outcome of great tests. Great triumphs can only come out of great trials” (Smith Wigglesworth).  

I’ve had some fierce battles in the last six months. The biggest battles have not been the physical ones, which have been very difficult, but the spiritual with the enemy on the battlefield of the mind. That's where spiritual warfare is waged.  I'm thankful for the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God that has enabled me to resist the enemy and see him flee (Ephesians 6:16-17; James 4:7). I can’t say I’ve won every battle, but I can say that after every round, win or lose, Jesus has been in my corner reminding me that, although the battle is not over, the victory is already won. He’s already taken the death blow on the cross on my behalf, which assures me that I’m not fighting for victory but from victory. 

There’s a movie out, Creed II. In the movie, Rocky is the trainer for Apollo Creed’s son. Apollo died in the ring fighting the Russian Ivan Drago, who also has a son. Now Apollo’s son, who is  much smaller in size, is matched up with Ivan’s son to fight the biggest fight of his career. They end up fighting twice. The first fight ends in disqualification. Drago was killing Creed, but a punched after the bell, which knocked Creed out, led to Drago's disqualification. 

In that first fight there was something major missing in Creed’s corner, namely Rocky Balboa. Rocky had beat Drago’s Father 3 decades before and he knew what it would take for Creed to beat the much bigger opponent. However, he was against the fight, believing it was to risky and refused to train him. But he was in the corner the second fight, which made a huge difference to Creed, who would win the fight, which turned out to be a hard fought battle.

I’m so thankful for my corner. It’s made all the difference in my fight with cancer that started 3 and a half years ago. First and foremost I have King Jesus in my corner, also known as The Rock. He’s more than my trainer, and sympathetic friend. He’s my Lord and Savior, who took the greatest blow on my behalf assuring me that, although I have battles to fight, the victory is already won. He’s not only in my corner, He’s in me in the ring in the person and power of the Spirit. I’m not fighting my battles alone. The undefeated and undisputed champion, who already knocked out my greatest enemy, lives in me and will never ever leave me alone. He will always be in the ring and in my corner. 

I’m also blesssed to have brothers and sisters in my corner who love me, pray for me and encourage me. What a difference they have made in lifting me up when I felt like I couldn’t go another round. 

The testings of my faith have made the reality of God’s riches in Christ more precious to me than ever. They’ve made my faith stronger and have prepared me for what I believe is a coming season of much fruitfulness. A faith that can’t be tested can’t be trusted. I’ve come to know more assuredly that we serve a God that can turn our tests into testimonies for our good and His glory.