By Lisa S. Tarno

Fight or flight episode #I lost count: I just went in for a seemingly simple derm procedure to remove a cancerous spot on my face. I didn’t have fear because I had this done on my shoulder 20 years ago. Sun spots happen living in the sun…. but…yesterday was a little fear inducing!

During the procedure wait times it wasn’t vanity I was concerned about…I just sat there wondering how deep they would need to cut…getting a little anxious about severing nerves and glands on the face and the risk of having to go to an ENT surgeon to repair if it went that far. That’s what overtook me in the moment…stupid, needless, painful potentials…I kept thinking I don’t have time for this nonsense…It just made me mad that I had to deal with this. Fortunately it didn’t go that far…but there was a moment of trepidation! I resorted to begging and pleading prayers that it wouldn’t go that far…and praise God it didn’t. I still vacillate between faith filled prayers on a good day and panic prayers on others. I thought I would only need a small circle bandaid to wear for a couple weeks…now I have wound care on a four inch stitch…but I am cancer free from that attempt!

How do we live joyfully & peacefully when there is perpetual trouble in life? More on that later.

There are spiritual and psychological parallels here! Life happens. Things attach to our lives and sometimes deeper than what we think. Part of spiritual regeneration and psychological healing takes a look at what’s on the surface but also how deep it goes! Cancer is an ugly reality. It went deeper than what we thought. It needed to be cut out and the margins cleared along with hyper vigilance for better protection and spot checks on the skin from here out. Same with us in our spiritual journey and our mind health!  (See Prov. 4:23 & Ps. 139:23-24).

Back to my honest question. There is a scripture where Jesus says, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NLT Take heart? What does that mean? Well I looked at the Amplified version of this same passage and it offered a little more clarity. “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.] 

Taking heart means to be courageous. Courage doesn’t mean we won’t feel fear it just means we face it and overcome it to the end result of perfect peace, acceptance and even joy. These are the very attributes that I have been honing in on and studying: Peace, Acceptance and Joy!  Working on acceptance with things in life yields peace. I admit that I am not in control of most things in my life. Acceptance: A new concept for me to let settle in my heart. 

Peace that passes understanding? Well that’s the trademark of a true blue, Spirit filled believer in Christ! A note of encouragement here, no matter how far along we are in our spiritual journeys, we are still human and will experience the human emotion of fear. To experience fearful events in our lives does not negate spiritual maturity,…it just means we are human! We are compared to sheep after all and sheep are not the brightest or courageous of creation! But we have the Great Shepherd, Jesus, to guide us through this life!

So therein lies the key to this chronic dilemma. The key is trusting in Jesus as our shepherd in this life to guide us on all the various paths our journey will take us this side of heaven. Acceptance of what is + Trusting Jesus with what is = Peace that passes understanding. I have to accept that living life thus far has not prevented me from bumps, bruises and trouble and the hope that I can live out the rest of my days unscathed is a little unrealistic! Acceptance. 

Joy? Joy is not happiness. Happiness is a feeling we have when our circumstances lend toward good fortune or pleasing things. Joy is deeper. I have heard it described as “a calm delight”. That’s where I want to land. Our world tries to induce euphoria in products they try to sell, in seasons and holidays to be celebrated to an inflated degree that is unsustainable, to the next best relationship that will fulfill all our needs. It’s gotten out of hand! That’s not JOY! 

True joy is stability right smack dab in the middle of a big wind! It’s a pillar that I want in my life along with true peace. Acceptance precedes it. Trusting in Jesus also precedes it. I often pray Romans 15:13 into my life, “May the God of hope fill me with joy and peace as I trust in Him, so that my hope overflows by the power of the Holy Spirit.” See how trust is interwoven in the package deal? 

In wrapping this all together, where do we need to do spot checks not only on our skin but in our hearts and minds? What seems innocuous on the surface but has a cancerous root that needs to be cut out? How deep do we need to go to clear the margins of wrong thinking and doubting God? I think we need to be as mindful to care about our spiritual and psychological aspects of our lives as much as we tend to our physical needs. 

The necessity of accepting reality along with trusting God will lead us into peaceful and joyful living. The longer we live, the more things we will encounter. None of us get out this life living unscathed. The hope we have, as believers, is to live with more joy and peace despite what life throws our way!