He tends his flock like a shepherd; he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart…
Many of you know that I’ve been off work for some weeks, following diagnosis of prostate cancer, and surgery to remove it. You might be surprised, but our God has used this as a season of blessing for me.
In a week of horrific violence in the Middle East, I hope you will excuse me writing on this personal subject, which seems so small in comparison. But I wanted to tell you how I’ve been blessed, while it’s fresh in my mind. I have been reminded of two big truths.
The first is of my own weakness. As the cancer diagnosis unfolded – from an initial blood test, to the visit to the GP, to various scans and a biopsy – I found the increased certainty that I had a serious disease scary. I felt bad to feel worried, for I had liked to think that as a pastor, I should be above such concerns, fearless in the face of whatever might come. I was nothing of the kind!
But then came the second great truth – one I knew, but needed to recall. I am weak, but God is mighty! He was not calling me to be a hero, but instead a weak person in the hands of our All-Sufficient God.
I was reading Isaiah at the time, and got to chapter 38, where King Hezekiah “trod the verge of Jordan” with serious illness. He had anxious fears. And yet God was there for Him. Moreover, this episode is in God’s Word, given for our learning – to show that our God specialises in lovingly dealing with weak people.
Of course He does! For that is the shape of the Christian gospel. Not putting on a brave face, but coming to Him in sin and weakness, and experiencing His everlasting arms beneath us. That is how the Christian life begins, and it’s how it continues; it’s how He enables His people to face challenges.
And how He sustained me! As I continued to read through Isaiah, God reminded me again of His all-sufficient, sovereign Person, in all His holiness, glory, wisdom, mercy and love.. He reminded me of His eternal and trustworthy promises. How He ministered to me through this! How, too, He ministered to me through the books I was able to read when set aside, and friends and family. All these He gave me, from His loving hand, to sustain me, and to help me encounter Him afresh. That’s been the blessing: being reminded of our God!
So – whatever challenges you face, come to Him in your weakness, for He is mighty. Read His Word. In prayer, however weak, roll your wobbles on to Him. I had thought, “I don’t know how to do this”, but He was there. For He is the God Who gathers and carries His people, just as the verse at the head of this post says.
