Excessive Positivity

Would you consider your perspective on life’s peaks and valleys, which we all experience from time to time, to be a glass half full or a glass half empty viewpoint? Do you try to find something positive to say about the ups and downs of life or are you the first to complain when trials come your way? How do your friends and family perceive your more dominant personality traits? Would they consider you to be a “Positive Polly” or a “Negative Ned”? If most people would consider you to be a Positive Polly, is that how you really feel deep down where no one can else see how you are really feeling? If not, do you struggle privately behind the scenes when facing the more challenging trials in life? Dictionary.com defines positivity as “the state or character of being positive: a positivity that accepts the world as it is”. Merriam-Webster defines positive as having an advantageous or favorable effect and marked by optimism. Synonyms for positive include favorable, good, friendly, supportive, and accepting.

I did a quick Google search and located a website called The Power of Positivity (powerofpostivity.com), which claims to have over fifty million global followers. The current featured article, How To Train Your Brain To Be Positive (Even When You Feel Negative), is written by Kristen Butler and it discusses the following ways to train your brain to be positive: How to lose negativity and embrace positivity, understanding the brains negative bias, the power of positive affirmations, mindfulness and meditation, the role of gratitude in cultivating positivity, surround yourself with positive influences, the impact of physical activity and positive thinking, limiting exposure to negative media, and final thoughts on training your brain to be positive. According to Kristen Butler, we can train our brain to control how we feel and how we respond to certain negative situations.

I wonder how many of these authors, who post articles on The Power of Positivity website, have faced significant trials in their lives. I am referring to ginormous trials, such as cancer, which have the potential to significantly change or alter the course of your life going forward. I have been ministering to people with cancer for over seventeen years and I can promise you that there are few trials in this world which will turn your world upside down and inside out like a cancer trial. How are you supposed to train your brain to be positive when the medical professionals are telling you that you have terminal cancer and have zero chance of surviving? How do you put a positive spin on that type of terminal diagnosis? How will mindfulness and meditation help you when your pain becomes so overwhelming that your hospice nurse must increase your pain medication to the point where you are no longer conscious and able to interact with others including your loved ones? Unfortunately, I have run into more than my share of cancer patients over the years who tell me they are staying positive even though they have no BASIS for such beliefs. They are projecting a persona of excessive positivity even though their doctors are providing them with a medical prognosis which is excessively negative or morbid. They are trying to project a positive image but are secretly feeling scared and overwhelmed. When I communicate with a terminal cancer patient who talks about maintaining positive vibes without any BASIS for such feelings, I often refer to them as exuding toxic positivity.

Toxic positivity, according to verywellmind.com, is defined as follows:

Toxic positivity is the belief that no matter how dire or difficult a situation is, people should maintain a positive mindset. While there are benefits to being optimistic and engaging in positive thinking, toxic positivity rejects all difficult emotions in favor of a cheerful and often falsely-positive façade. Having a positive outlook on life is good for your mental well-being. The problem is that life isn't always positive. We all have painful emotions and experiences. Those emotions, while often unpleasant, need to be felt and dealt with openly and honestly to achieve acceptance and greater psychological health. Toxic positivity takes positive thinking to an overgeneralized extreme. This attitude doesn't just stress the importance of optimism—it also minimizes and even denies any trace of human emotions not strictly happy or positive.

Why am I writing a blog about excessive or toxic positivity? I recently read an article, which was written by a terminal cancer patient, where she openly questions her ability to maintain positivity considering her terminal cancer diagnosis. The article was published on March 21, 2024, and is titled: “Antiques Roadshow’s Theo Burrell: ‘I’m 37 with terminal cancer – I’m grieving the future I’ll never have”.

The following is my summary of the first half of Theo Burrell’s article:

In June of 2022, Theo went to the infirmary and, after the doctor put her through a CT scan, he came in and told her she had a 5cm mass on the right side of her brain and that it was cancer. The following day, she had a full body MRI scan, and the neurosurgeon told her he was 90% certain it was glioblastoma. He suggested surgery which he felt would remove 90% of the cancer. He also said her cancer was incurable. Without treatment he said, she had 3 months left to live. 

Theo had a five-hour brain operation, and she went home 4 days later. After she healed from her surgery, she also had radiation and chemotherapy. All her treatments ended in March of 2023, and she now has a scan every three months. So far, all her scans have been stable, apart from one where her tumor shrunk slightly. Her last scan was in January of 2024. She is only working part-time and will not be doing the Antiques Road Show this summer (2024).

Below are a few other quotes from the second half of her article:

“My priority is to spend time with my loved ones. It is not about bucket lists. It’s taking my son to soft-play, or the park, or walks to the beach with Alex, Jonah and the dog. 

There is a form of grief as you’re losing things. I’m grieving my old vision of my future. I’d taken it for granted that I was going to be an old person and see my son grow up, but I don’t know what the future looks like anymore. I never plan long-term. There are things in my diary for later this year, but I’ve just said: “If I’m well enough.”

I’ve heard what my oncologist and surgeon said. I know the tumor will be coming back and to a certain extent, I’ve accepted that it will take my life, but that doesn’t mean I’m not desperate for change, for better treatments and a cure…..

…..At the moment, we’re talking about schools for Jonah next year, but I haven’t felt the need to write any instructions or wishes for his future. That’s partly because it would be insulting to Alex and also because it would be like saying I’ve given up hope….

….I’ve been lucky – I’m 21 months with stable scans – but when things go wrong and the tumor re-grows, there will be very limited treatment options. It will be hard to maintain positivity but I’m seeing people do it all the time”….

For a variety of reasons, the preceding article was heartbreaking for me to read. Theo is so young, and she has a three-year old son and partner to worry about as well. She feels like she has so much life ahead of her, yet she has been advised she has terminal cancer, meaning the doctors do not believe she will survive her cancer trial. As a result, she says she is openly struggling with maintaining positivity as she realizes she will likely die shortly after her tumor returns. Can you blame her for responding to her terminal cancer trial with apprehensive and fearful feelings? She must feel like she is in a no-win, hopeless situation. Death is staring her in the eye, and, as the title of her article confirms, she sees all her aspirations and life goals slowly fading away and running down the sewer system in the city of lost and forgotten dreams. She is clearly struggling with her own mortality and openly admits that she does not know how to respond to her terminal diagnosis. She also mentioned that her priorities have changed. Spending time with her family and loved ones is now the most important activity in her life. She no longer has the strength to work, and she does not seem bothered at all by the fact that she had to step away from The Antiques Road Show, which has brought her much fame and notoriety in this world. Yes, we spend our lives chasing fame, money, power, and status in this world. However, when the doctor tells us we have cancer, suddenly these worldly dreams, aspirations, and accomplishments seem meaningless, unimportant, and useless if we are not around to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Yes, a cancer trial has a unique way of illuminating for us what is most important in our lives.

There is a silly story which helps illuminate the fact that worldly desires and accomplishments are ultimately meaningless. The story starts with a man walking down the street when he stumbles upon an old antique lamp in the street. He picks it up and rubs the lamp when suddenly a genie pops out. The genie says to the fellow: “I can grant you one wish of knowledge and it can be any piece of knowledge you would like to know.” The fellow thinks about it for a second and says he would like to see a copy of the stocks and investments page in his local newspaper dated one year into the future. The genie responds that the man’s wish has been granted. As the genie disappears, a copy of the stocks and investments section of his local newspaper dated one year into the future drops in the man’s lap. The man devours and analyzes this information while simultaneously developing a strategy to make tons of money over the next year. After spending many hours on his new investment strategy, the man is feeling quite proud of himself for the wealth and notoriety he realizes he is about to achieve. He begins to dream about how his future wealth will change his life for the better. Suddenly and without warning, the wind blows, and the paper is turned over and the fellow sees his own picture and death notice printed on the other side of the paper. The man’s whole perspective of this future changes when he sees his own obituary listed in the obituary section of paper dated one year into the future. He is suddenly very depressed and hopeless as he learns he will die soon and will not be around to enjoy the money and notoriety he thought he was going to achieve. Yes, the perceived importance of fame, money and power in our lives diminishes greatly when we are told we are going to die.

How serious is Theo’s cancer? According to the National Cancer Institute, a grade 4 glioblastoma brain tumor, like Burrell has, "grows and spreads very quickly". The average survival rate is 15 months with treatment and less than six months if left untreated. At 21 months in, she has already beaten the odds for survival. While there is a five-year survival rate of approximately 6%, those individuals will never be cancer-free and must continue receiving radiation and chemotherapy for the rest of their lives. According to survivor.net, what makes glioblastomas so difficult to treat and manage is their cells are heterogeneous, meaning that each one must be individually targeted to slow tumor growth. Surgery also cannot remove all the cancer because of the way the tumor burrows into the brain. This means the tumor will start growing again at some point after surgery.

In 2023, Theo posted the following message on Instagram:

Good news! Another stable scan under my belt. Long term, my GBM is still bad news, it will get me, but today we can celebrate another few months of life!

If you reflect on her preceding social media post, doesn’t her comment, “it will get me” just bring chills to your spine? Theo feels like someone has a terminal cancer gun stuck to her head and she knows it is going to go off soon because she has already beaten the odds by living for six months past the average 15-month survival rate. She is waiting for this terminal cancer gun to go off and fire the final deadly bullet, and her only response, as detailed in her article, is to try to maintain positivity. She openly admits maintaining positivity is hard for her to do as she has no reasons for being positive. In other words, she is trying to project a positive persona in response to her cancer trial, but she has no BASIS for being positive. As we learned from an earlier quote, verywellmind.com would say she is rejecting all difficult emotions in favor of trying to maintain a cheerful and falsely positive façade. If she is like any terminal cancer patients I have interacted with over the years, it will be increasingly difficult for her to maintain positivity when her cancer tumor starts growing again, and her health begins to decline.

I am impressed by the fact that Theo is willing to acknowledge her own mortality by admitting she is terminal and will likely not survive. So many people who have terminal cancer ignore their diagnosis and what the medical professionals are telling them and choose to produce their own ways to respond to their terminal diagnosis. In other words, so many people, unlike Theo, fail to acknowledge their own mortality. It is a convenient way to respond as failing to acknowledge their own mortality means cancer patients can avoid having to answer the next obvious question, which is what happens to their souls if they do not survive. Yes, God will determine when each of us will pass away and we are all going to be accountable to God one day. Hebrews 9:27 tells us:

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment”

The preceding verse tells us that each person is accountable for their actions in life. This verse also, indirectly, reminds the reader that the real judgment for sin comes after death. Unfortunately, too many cancer patients are too proud to admit they are helpless and in need of a savior for their terminal predicament, which is not cancer but sin.

A friend of mine recently sent me a video blog of a young woman named Betty (not her real name) who was openly struggling with her own terminal cancer diagnosis. In her video, Betty appeared to be around 35 years old. Like Theo, Betty has an incredibly young and beautiful family, including two children, and looks so healthy in her video blog. What did Betty talk about in her video blog? Betty started off talking about her doctors. They have told her that remission is not possible for her and that she will be enduring oncology treatments for the balance of her days here on earth. She also mentioned that there are no other clinical trials or treatment options for her to consider. However, unlike Theo, she claimed in her video blog that she and her husband are not giving up and they are not accepting this dreadful diagnosis from her oncologist. In other words, she was unwilling to agree with her terminal diagnosis. Instead, she said she is going go doctor shopping to try to find a medical professional who says they will fight with her. She is desperately searching for a solution which will provide her with a glimmer of hope. She emotionally and emphatically stated that she refuses to die. She says she is hanging on to hope, positivity and her faith. There is that positivity word again. She said she feels like she is going to be OK but openly wonders if she is in denial. She wondered if it is not in God’s plan for her here. She then says she has told Him (God) that she does not accept any plan that results with her children growing up without her. She stated that such a dreadful outcome does not make sense to her so she will do whatever she needs to do to keep on living. She pleaded for a miracle as she concluded her video-blog.

As it does for Theo, my heart breaks for Betty. Like Theo, Betty is so young and has her whole life in front of her. However, Betty’s doctors are telling her that they believe her situation is hopeless from their professional medical perspective. While Betty’s “I refuse to die” response is in stark contrast to Theo’s “it will get me” response, Betty’s response is typical of responses I see or hear quite often from cancer patients. Betty is unwilling to admit she will likely die from her cancer, and she does not seem to have a plan in place for if she does not survive her trial. These may seem like harsh words, but please remember we are all terminal – it is just a matter of time before each of us will eventually die. I cannot believe Betty went on to say that she told God that she refuses to accept any outcome other than survival. By demanding a certain outcome from God, I am not sure if she realizes that she is telling God that she is smarter than Him and He must do things her way. There is nothing wrong with praying for healing. However, we cannot tell God what he must do as that is blasphemous for us to approach a holy God in such a fashion as it fails to recognize His sovereignty and deity. In John 6:9-10 (ESV), Jesus teaches us how to pray as follows:

“Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

As Jesus taught us in the preceding prayer, we must approach a holy God with reverence and fear, and we must be willing to accept His will no matter what. God’s will, however difficult and hard it is for us to understand sometimes, is a mystery to all of us, but, thankfully, His love for us is unconditional. Until a terminal cancer patient acknowledges God’s absolute sovereignty over all things in this world including the outcome of their cancer trial, they will never be able to accept his gift of salvation which is offered to all who believe and trust in his Son, Jesus. Colossians 1:16–17 tells us that God is sovereign over all things in this world:

“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

One of my favorite songs on Spotify is a song by Brenton Brown called “Over all the Earth”. Brenton came and sang at our church a few years and I have been a fan of his ever since seeing him perform live. Here are the lyrics of this amazing song:

“Over all the earth, you reign on high, every mountain stream, every sunset sky. But my one request, Lord, my only aim is that you’d reign in me again.

Lord, reign in me, reign in your power over all my dreams, in my darkest hour. You are the Lord of all I am, so won’t you reign in me again.

Over every thought, over every word, may my life reflect the beauty of my Lord;’ cause you mean more to me than any earthly thing, so won’t you reign in me again. Lord, reign in me…”

As both the song title and the lyrics remind us, the Lord reigns over all the earth. The Lord reigns over all our dreams and he is there to help in our darkest hours, including cancer. Since we all can be tempted to struggle in the trials of life, the songwriter repeatedly pleads to the Lord for help in “reigning in him again”. Like the songwriter, I need a constant reminder as well, meaning this song has been a most listened to song of mine on Spotify for years. Yes Lord, please reign in me again.

On March 28. 2024, Kenya Hunter published the following article: “Some cancer patients can find it hard to tell family and friends.’. The following is an excerpt from the article:

“Not everyone is as eager to share, for cultural or privacy reasons — or because they just don’t want to talk about it. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin kept his prostate cancer quiet, including from President Joe Biden. And more recently, Kate, Princess of Wales, waited weeks before publicly disclosing her cancer.”

As illustrated by the two examples in the preceding article about Secretary Lloyd and Princess Kate, why do so many people remain silent about their cancer trials? The bible tells us death scares us more than anything in this world, so people go out of their way to avoid talking death and any disease like cancer which is often associated with death. Most people love to share good news, but they avoid talking about their failures, disappointments, and fears. It requires a tremendous amount of pride swallowing to admit your body may be wasting away as evidenced by your cancer diagnosis. Since death is our biggest fear and since the world views cancer and death as going hand in hand, people will often hide their cancer diagnosis or be unwilling to talk about it. If you choose to disclose your diagnosis to your friends and family, you will have to admit that you are sick and answer a whole bunch of other questions which may make you uncomfortable and which you may not be prepared to answer. As a result, many people, for these reasons and others, choose to remain silent when diagnosed with cancer. It is an avoidance strategy. It is easier for them to avoid discussing their fears and dealing with the tough questions which follow than it is to admit to their friends and family that they are sick and afraid of what lies ahead. The world teaches us that we are in control of our own destiny and to trust ourselves and to trust our experiences. However, when we are diagnosed with terminal cancer, we suddenly realize that we cannot trust ourselves, we cannot trust our experiences, and we are not in control. Unfortunately, admitting that they are not in control, but God is, is too big of a pill to swallow for so many cancer patients. Many of these cancer patients perish without any hope as they are too stubborn and proud to admit they need a savior to rescue them. Instead of willing submitting to God’s plan for their lives by saying “Thy will be done”, their hardened hearts encourage them to continue saying “my will be done”.

Treasury bonds are sold by the US Government and are viewed as being a safe investment vehicle. Why do investors consider treasury bonds to be such a low-risk investment? The BASIS for this secure belief on Wall Street is because treasury securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. In other words, the government promises to raise money by any legally available means to repay these types of bonds. Although the United States is a sovereign power and may default without recourse, its strong record of repayment has given Treasury securities a reputation as one of the world's lowest-risk investments. Many individual investors, pension funds and institutional investors invest in these types of bonds because they are viewed as a low-risk investment. Again, the backing of the US Government is the BASIS for this belief they are a low-risk investment.

Similarly, if you are facing a terminal cancer trial and if you are trying to maintain positivity like Theo and Betty, what is the BASIS for your positive belief or perspective? Theo openly admitted that she is struggling with maintaining positivity as she has no BASIS or reason for being positive. If you are struggling with the same doubts as Theo, why should you be positive when the medical professionals are telling you there is no reason to be positive? The Bible provides answers to all the tough questions in this world so it certainly tells us how we can be positive and hopeful when facing terminal cancer. 1 Peter 1:3-4 tells us:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you”

Sam Storms in his commentary on The Gospel Coalition or TGC website said the following about the preceding scripture:

“Being born again is not aimless. It has two goals: the impartation of a “living hope” (1:3c) and the bequeathing of an “inheritance” in heaven (1:4). Our “hope” is more than wishful thinking, instead “hope” is the strong confidence that God will do what he has promised. The Christian hope is a “living” hope that will never die or fail to bring to pass what God has purposed. This hope can be described as “living” because it produces the fruit of a transformed life. This hope is only possible because of or “through” the “resurrection” of Jesus from the dead. Had Jesus remained in the grave, our hope would have died with him.

Sam Storms does a good job of explaining that the BASIS for this hope, described in 1 Peter 1:3-4, is because of the strong confidence that God will do what He has promised. God’s promises are imperishable, meaning they are indestructible and enduring. Therefore, it does not matter if you survive your cancer trial or not as God promises all believers an inheritance is in heaven. We are all going to die one day and many of us will perish as the result of a terminal cancer trial; However, even if you are never diagnosed with cancer, we all need to be prepared for the day when we do eventually pass away. One of the blessings of terminal cancer is it usually provides the cancer patient with time to contemplate their own mortality and to consider what will happen to their soul if they do not survive their cancer trial.

God’s promises, which are documented for us in the scriptures, are absolute and infinitely more dependable than the US Government’s treasury bonds. Yes, Jesus has done something for us that we cannot do for ourselves. When Christ died on the cross and rose again three days later, Jesus conquered sin and death. All those believing in Jesus as their savior are promised eternal life because Jesus’ victorious work is already accomplished. It is an absolute guarantee as documented in 1 Peter 1:3-4 as well as other scriptures in the bible.

Kyle Idelman, a pastor from Southeast Christian Church in Kentucky, spoke recently in a YouTube video about a woman near his church who reached out to him in her final days of her terminal cancer. Below is a condensed, paraphrased summary of what Kyle said:

A few years ago, a woman visited our church once and before that she had not been to church since she was a little girl. Her husband reached out to me recently and asked if one of our pastors could visit her as she did not have much time left. She was dying of cancer; hospice had already been called in – she was down to her final days. I (Kyle) went to meet with her at her house and her husband of over 50 years welcomed me. I could tell the husband was unsure of all this because he immediately pulled me into a side room before taking me to meet his sick wife. Without his wife’s knowledge, he asks me “how much is this going to cost me”? I was taken back by his comments and replied, “what do you mean”? He explained that he wants me to sign off on her being part of my church before she dies. I responded that it does not work like that. He said he wants his sick wife to “feel better about what happens to her after she dies” so if you can help her feel better about that, he was happy to write me a check. I responded that I was not going to accept a penny from him because that is not how it works. After that brief conversation, he escorted me into the other room where his wife was in a wheelchair, and I could tell she was sick and was likely down to her final days. I opened the bible to Romans 3, and I explained to the sick wife that she was a sinner. After he heard me say this to his wife, her husband interrupted me because he was irritated with me for suggesting his wife was a sinner. He said, “that is not why I reached out to have you come over today.” I responded that yes, it was the reason I was there. Before I went any further, I told him she needed to first realize that she was a sinner. I went on to say there is a cure, but, before you receive the cure, you must be honest about your sinful diagnosis. I then referenced Romans 6:23 where it talks about the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. She responded to me, saying that she wanted that, but it was too late for her. It had been too many years, she said. I told her that I had some good news - it was never too late. She then prayed with me by repenting of her sins and confessed her faith in Christ. In her fragile hospice state, she went with Kyle to his church that night to be baptized as a believer in Christ.

Praise be to God for this glorious story of how this dying woman became a follower of Christ before it was too late for her. Her story also illustrates how important it is for all humans to understand our terminal diagnosis. We are not terminal because of cancer or any other disease. We are terminal because of our sin, which causes us to be separated from God. Yes, God uses trials like cancer to make us aware that we all have an expiration date, and it is His hope that we will turn to him in repentance and faith during these difficult times. It is the spirit of the Lord which illumines our minds during these difficult times.  David wells, in his book, God the Evangelist, said the following:

“He illumines our minds, regenerates our heats, bends our wills, applies the benefits of Christ’s death to us, transforms us, fills us, empowers us, and leads us to love and worship Christ, by whom alone we are saved.”

When someone comes to faith in Christ during their cancer trial, they receive both mercy and grace from God. Mercy is not getting what they deserve which is punishment and eternal damnation; Grace is getting what they don’t deserve, which is forgiveness of their sins, victory over death and eternal life.

In all my years of ministering to people with cancer, it is amazing to me that people will believe all sorts of things in this life when their life is going well. Many people are tempted to believe whatever the current cry of the culture is. For example, I saw a social media post from a local gym recently where the gym owner quoted the following:

It’s You. More often than not, the limiting factor in our achievements and successes isn’t an eternal obstacle. It’s not a problem, competition, or some other challenge. It’s us! Remind yourself again and again…external things can’t stop you. Only you can stop you.

While effort and fitness often go together, the preceding quote is not an absolute truth in fitness or any other parts of our lives. Sadly, this quote is an example of what many people believe to be an absolute truth in this world for every part of their lives. Yes, the world teaches us that our victories, defeats, successes, and disappointments are all a function of our own individual effort and God does not play a role in any of it. When facing cancer, “only you can stop you” is a complete lie and terribly misleading. How can you say “only you can stop you” when your oncologist walks in and says the most recent scans came back and your chemo treatments are no longer working so you need to call hospice immediately?

While many people are tempted to follow the latest cry of our culture, many others are tempted to believe pieces and parts of various religions which they are comfortable with or make sense to them. In other words, they are trying to be their own God by producing their own religion which makes sense to them. However, many of these people, when they are diagnosed with cancer, will start to question their prior beliefs. They suddenly realize that their self-crafted religion or belief system made perfect sense to them when their lives were going well. However, when diagnosed with cancer, they realize these prior beliefs seem foolish because deep down they realize there is no BASIS for said beliefs. The husband, in the preceding Kyle Idleman example I referenced, tried to buy his way into a solution which would have provided his wife with some sort of hope in her last days. Thankfully, Kyle preached the good news of Jesus to her, and she became a follower of Christ before it was too late for her. God used the dreadful circumstances of her terminal cancer trial to cause her heart to become open to the message of the gospel. It always brings a tear to my eye when I hear of someone who comes to faith in Christ during their cancer trial. One of the blessings of a terminal cancer trial is it can cause the cancer patient to realize, for perhaps the first time in their lives, that they are dying and hopeless and they need a savior. If they also realize that Christ is the only one who can save them and if they put their trust in Him, they will obtain victory over both death and cancer. Yes, it is their faith in Christ which brings them true hope. Jesus claims are exclusive, meaning faith in Him is the only way for any of us to get to heaven. As much as the world tries to convince us that are no absolute truths in this world, the bible tells us there is no other way for us to get to heaven other than through the great mediator, Jesus Christ. When cancer patients come to faith in Christ during their cancer trial, they are transformed from the road which leads to death, destruction and eternal damnation to the road which leads to life. Only God knows the condition of any of our hearts and therefore only God knows the condition of Theo and Betty’s hearts. If they are not followers of Christ already as their public statements seem to suggest, my hope for Theo and Betty is that someone they know will share the gospel with them and they will be transformed by saving faith in Christ.

If you are facing a terminal cancer trial, does your medical prognosis make you feel hopeless? Has your cancer diagnosis caused you to realize that you are not in control of your future? Are tired of trusting yourself? Are you trying to portray a positive outlook in response to your cancer diagnosis while deep down you are scared and feeling anything but positive? Are you tired of trying to find your own solution or answer to save you from your terminal cancer trial? If yes, will you consider trusting the promises of God which He has documented for us in the Bible? If you want to be excessively positive about your cancer situation, will you consider praying to God by asking Him to forgive you of your sins and by asking Jesus to come into your heart so that you may be born again into a living hope? He promises you an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, and it is kept in heaven for you. All you need to do is to repent of your sins and to turn over your life to Him and trust in His will for your life. If you do, He will provide you with true hope and a reason to be excessively positive about your cancer trial, no matter the outcome of that cancer trial here on earth.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4 ESV)

Jim Risk, a two-time cancer survivor, is the volunteer Ministry Coordinator for the Cancer Support Group (CSG) at a non-denominational church in NE Ohio. Jim and his wife, Kristina, have participated and served in CSG, a Christian ministry, since 2007.