You have had a hard word spoken into your family today, and your heart is aching. A mass on the pancreas, the very sound of it is enough to make the bravest soul tremble. I know the questions that are running through your mind right now, the fears that crouch at the door. But do not let them master you. The Lord Jesus is no stranger to houses where trouble has taken up residence; He does not wait for us to tidy up our sorrows before He steps over the threshold.
Think of Peter’s house. It was no palace, just a fisherman’s simple home, yet it held a great fever that was burning the life out of a dear one. The Lord had been teaching and healing all day, wearied in body, yet He went straight into that house where the sickness polluted the air. The fever did not keep Him away, the Great Physician walked right in and stood beside the bed. He took her by the hand, and the fever left. He is the same tonight. He is not put off by a mass on a scan, by grim words, by the uncertainty that makes the hours feel long. He comes where His people are stricken, and His presence is itself a medicine.
You are praying for a clean report, for something that medication or surgery can mend, for healing that lets this dear one hold onto life and laugh with his family again. It is right to pray so, the power of the Lord is first and foremost a power to heal. When Christ walked our dusty roads, He did not come with an avenging rod but with mercy in both hands. The blind, the lame, the paralytic, the fevered, they all found in Him a tenderness that rebuilt what sin and frailty had broken. He is still the same Jesus. Go to Him and speak plainly: “Lord, he whom I love is sick. Touch this mass. Turn it back. Let it not be the enemy we fear.”
But while you pray, remember this too, for it may steady you when the waves of dread rise high. Before He said, “Take up your bed and walk,” He first said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” The deepest healing He ever wrought was peace with God. That does not mean the body is unimportant, He cared for every aching joint and fevered brow. But it does mean that the soul’s safety is already secured in His wounds. Nothing that could ever appear on a scan can unsay the word of pardon that the Lord has spoken over one who trusts in Him. He is held. He is kept. The ultimate cure, the one that outlasts all others, is already finished.
Now, in the waiting room of the next weeks, you will need to do battle with fear. The Scriptures are full of “Fear nots,” strewn like meadow flowers across every page, and their sweetness is for you. “Fear not, you worm Jacob, I will help you, says the Lord.” That is a promise for the small, the wriggling, the one who feels crushed underfoot. When your own strength is nothing, then the Holy One of Israel steps in with His own mighty hand. A sense of weakness is not a disqualification for receiving help, it is the very preparation for it. So let your need be great, because His supply is greater. Let your prayer be importunate, like the friends who tore up the roof to get their paralyzed companion at Jesus’s feet. He did not reprove their desperation; He answered it with forgiveness and wholeness.
Whatever the report turns out to be, and we join our hearts with yours, asking God that it will be a mercy, not a long battle, you may anchor yourself here: the same Lord who holds the stars in their courses has this day held your family member in His gaze. He does not lose track of any sparrow, and He has not lost track of you. The mass is not a surprise to Him. The future, no matter how it unfolds, is already wrapped inside the sure love of the One who bled and rose for your beloved. He has come into your house, not to scold you for your fear, but to take it away and replace it with His own peace.
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus, our Great Physician, we bring before You this one who is so dear to us, and this heavy word that has fallen upon the home tonight. You know the hidden places of the body better than any surgeon, and no mass is beyond the command of Your voice. We ask, if it be Your gracious will, that this would turn out to be something altogether manageable, a thing that medicine or a steady hand can put right, and not the dreaded enemy. Spare him many years on this green earth, to enjoy the faces of those he loves, to sit at table and laugh, to see the sun rise and know that You are good. But above all, give him to know, deep in his bones, that whatever the flesh may suffer, his soul is safe in You. Give the one who prays this prayer a quiet heart, a strong grip on Your promises, and a patient spirit while the answer unfolds. Breathe Your “Fear not” into every corner of this family until the storm becomes a calm. For You are our Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, and You will not cast us away. Amen.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, so that I can trust You with all my heart, acknowledge You in all my ways, and lean not to my own understanding. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do. 
be-an-encourager.blogspot.com
