Perfect Peace
Thursday, August 10, 2023
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Isa. 26:3, NKJV.
I've always loved Isaiah's promise that if we keep our minds on God and trust Him, He'll give us perfect peace. But I never thought I would have to see this promise fulfilled in one of my children. During a four-year period I watched Doreen struggle to live with a glioblastoma, an extremely fast-growing type of cancer in the right frontal lobe of her brain.
After her first surgery the physicians estimated that she would have six to 18 months to live. She was only 47 and had a 9-year-old daughter and a husband to live for, so she chose to go to the Livingston Clinic in San Diego, where they treat cancer by building up the immune system. She followed their program religiously, which included a diet of natural, unrefined, organically grown foods, vitamins, and a multitude of herbs.
Soon after her first surgery she followed the biblical instruction of anointing and prayer for healing. She searched her soul and made sure all things were right with God and fellow human beings before the anointing, and the result was that an incredible peace spread over her face. Her comment was "I may not be cured or made well, but I am healed."
For two years she enjoyed a good life, until the growth caused a condition similar to a stroke. Following a second surgery she came back remarkably, and another year was hers. Then the third surgery and radiation. But time was running out. After the fourth surgery she was partially paralyzed and needed full-time nursing care. Four months later she died.
But throughout it all she was such a patient, quiet, long-suffering person and continued her careful diet until she could no longer take nourishment. She continually witnessed to all she met, and more than one doctor shook his head in disbelief that she could still be alive. Then she would point them to God and say, "It's called divine intervention!"
As I think about it, God intervenes in many ways, sometimes with miraculous healing. But perhaps the greatest intervention of all is that of perfect peace in the face of death.
If you are troubled and facing an unsure future, or even if you aren't, ask for God's divine intervention of perfect peace. He has promised it to all, if we have faith and will keep our minds focused on Him.
I've always loved Isaiah's promise that if we keep our minds on God and trust Him, He'll give us perfect peace. But I never thought I would have to see this promise fulfilled in one of my children. During a four-year period I watched Doreen struggle to live with a glioblastoma, an extremely fast-growing type of cancer in the right frontal lobe of her brain.
After her first surgery the physicians estimated that she would have six to 18 months to live. She was only 47 and had a 9-year-old daughter and a husband to live for, so she chose to go to the Livingston Clinic in San Diego, where they treat cancer by building up the immune system. She followed their program religiously, which included a diet of natural, unrefined, organically grown foods, vitamins, and a multitude of herbs.
Soon after her first surgery she followed the biblical instruction of anointing and prayer for healing. She searched her soul and made sure all things were right with God and fellow human beings before the anointing, and the result was that an incredible peace spread over her face. Her comment was "I may not be cured or made well, but I am healed."
For two years she enjoyed a good life, until the growth caused a condition similar to a stroke. Following a second surgery she came back remarkably, and another year was hers. Then the third surgery and radiation. But time was running out. After the fourth surgery she was partially paralyzed and needed full-time nursing care. Four months later she died.
But throughout it all she was such a patient, quiet, long-suffering person and continued her careful diet until she could no longer take nourishment. She continually witnessed to all she met, and more than one doctor shook his head in disbelief that she could still be alive. Then she would point them to God and say, "It's called divine intervention!"
As I think about it, God intervenes in many ways, sometimes with miraculous healing. But perhaps the greatest intervention of all is that of perfect peace in the face of death.
If you are troubled and facing an unsure future, or even if you aren't, ask for God's divine intervention of perfect peace. He has promised it to all, if we have faith and will keep our minds focused on Him.
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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