Walking With God Through CancerSample

Day 8: Welcoming Endurance and Hope

In Genesis 15, we find Abram (before God changed his name to Abraham) in doubt. God has already promised Abram that He will make him into “a great nation” (12:2), and He has led Abram to land He says He will give to Abram’s descendants (12:7; 13:15). Abram has followed the instructions God has given him (12:4) and seemingly remained confident in God’s promises—yet he is still without a child. Here we see him breaking down, but God tells him: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward” (15:1).

Abram responds with despair:

O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son?…You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir (Genesis 15:2‑3 NLT).

In this dark moment of Abram’s discouragement, God reassures Abram of His promises:

“No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” (verse 4 NLT).

At these words, we see Abram meet God’s reassurance with a heart of trust and confidence: “Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith” (verse 6 NLT).

Having hope in God’s message became an anchor for Abram.

When you drop an anchor, your boat is secured and can only move so far. Despite cancer and all that comes with the disease, we can be anchored steadfastly in God’s hope. When our anchor is down, we don’t drift; we stay connected to God. He keeps us secure and stable. When we are confident in God’s promises to be “close to the brokenhearted” and rescue “those whose spirits are crushed” (Psalm 34:18 NLT), we are anchored in calm waters and protected from drifting into the stormy sea of fear, despair, anger, bitterness, and self‑pity.

King David is another person anchored by his hope in God. When David confronts Goliath, the giant warrior, he never pulls up this anchor. Despite the protests of onlookers who see his battle as impossible, David proclaims, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:37 NKJV). In the face of tremendous and frightening struggles, Joseph and David offer examples of how to remain anchored to the One who gives us strength, courage, and purpose.

A lack of hope weakens us. Hopelessness can result in depression and anxiety, undermining any positive efforts and trivializing any small victories. Hope is the strength that carries us through today and all tomorrows, and we are fueled by trusting the Lord. Hope wakes us up each morning with gratitude for the blessings He’s given. Hope is powerful, keeping us securely anchored to God’s Word, ways, will, and promises.

A CLOSING THOUGHT

Abram needed assurance, and God made a promise to him. Over time, Abram held onto the promise with incredible faith and hope. Similarly, we can be prisoners of hope as we lean on and trust God in all things. He is working in our lives for our ultimate good.

REFLECTION

Read Psalm 146:5-6. Journal your response to this question:

• What does it mean to place your complete confidence and hope in the Lord, especially amid life’s challenges and uncertainties?

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We hope this plan was helpful to you. You can read more from Wayne Hastings in his book, Walking with God Through Cancer, available here.