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Cancer Without Fear

I still remember the look on the team doctors' face when he announced that I had Multiple Myeloma, a deadly cancer that had claimed the life of my sister only four years prior. Up to that point I had been pretty lucky in that I'd always been reasonably healthy. Now it looked like I would have to give up coaching. Worse, I probably had only two or three years to live.

Things looked pretty bad, but they didn't stay that way for long. My doctor told me not to worry about dying just yet. He prescribed a regimen of chemotherapy and arranged for a stem cell transplant.

"That will keep you around for the next four or five years for sure," he said. "By then, they'll have come up with some new things to help you."

I was really encouraged by this news, especially once I found out I could keep coaching for the next two or three months.

It's been a year now since I was diagnosed with cancer. I'm in remission and off all medication. The most important thing that got me through it all was my faith in God. Without that, it would have been extremely difficult. There were so many times when I was lying in the hospital wondering if I'd ever get out. I would cry out to God and ask for His help. And somehow, something always happened that made things better. I knew all along that the Lord was with me and that whatever happened, I could trust Him to get me through it.

That's been true in my life a number of times, not only with cancer.  I've been fired from eight or nine hockey teams. When you're fired in professional sports, it's a national thing; everybody knows about it. It's not easy, but knowing that God has a plan for my life gave me the ability to handle such disappointments. He didn't always make the difficult situation go away, but he gave me the grace and the wisdom to deal with it.

Suddenly finding out that you have cancer is tough. However, as a Christian, I know that no matter what I go through God is always with me. I know that if I trust in God then I don't have to worry about the future - it's in His hands. I've known the Lord since I was a young kid, and I've always felt that death is not something to be afraid of. Knowing Jesus means that when I die I'm going to heaven. I've got a place to go when it's all over.  And that's the only way to go.

What about you? Are you wondering what life is all about? Do you, like Roger, feel that something is missing in your life? If so, you can find fulfilment and peace through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Bible says (Jesus is speaking), "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him" (Revelation 3.20).

Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive us of our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of our will.

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here's a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.

If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you'll experience life to the fullest.

Article used with permission:  http://www.powertochange.com

On Saturday June 21, 2003, after battling cancer for three and a half years, Roger Nielson passed away and went home to be with his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.