OFFER UP YOUR FEAR

“About 27 years ago, I went to the doctor for a checkup, and two days later I found out that I had breast cancer. That was the last thing in the world that I was expecting to hear, and I was absolutely terrified,” Joyce recalls to FIRST.

“I had been teaching other women about trusting in God’s healing, but after hearing a report like that, I realized it was easier said than done. I was so full of fear and wondering what’s going to happen in the future. But true to His word, God brought me through that in an amazing way.

“I remember it was about 2 or 3 o’clock one morning, and I wasn’t sleeping very well; my mind was reeling with anxiety. Suddenly, I just heard the Lord whisper in my heart, ‘I will take care of you.’ And I felt this incredible peace wash over me.

“We don’t always know how God will take care of us—in my particular situation, although I did have to have a mastectomy on one side, I didn’t have to have any further treatment. They got everything with the surgery and it hadn’t gone into my lymph nodes yet, so that was a blessing.

“But when you’re fearful for any reason, remember that multiple times in the Bible, God tells us that we don’t have to be afraid because He is with us (Joshua 1:9;

Matthew 1:23, 28:20; Hebrews 13:5). Offer your fear up to Him. We don’t have to know exactly how God plans to help us; all we need to know is that He is there.”

Joyce adds that a silver lining of such a scary diagnosis was that it brought her closer to God. “The only way you come to the point of saying, ‘I trust God’ is by needing to trust Him in hard situations. Those times drive us toward Him. So welcome Him in. He is already there waiting to get you through it.”