HOW ARE YOU?

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen…”  (2 Corinthians 4:16–18 NIV) 

"How are you?"

That familiar question makes me smile as I consider the possibility of giving a totally honest answer after living with cancer for the last two years.

Many times the question comes from a stranger, such as the waiter who introduces himself at our table in a restaurant. The answer is more about making him feel comfortable than about my current health. So I automatically say, "Fine, thanks," even when I'm not so fine.

When a good friend or family member like my son-in-law asks, "How are you?" I sometimes go for the obvious, smart-alecky answer. "I have cancer," I say with a grin, "but otherwise, I'm great." To that, my son-in-law rolls his eyes and vows never to ask me that question again.

Many times the question comes from well-meaning people who care but don't need a lengthy description or a boring tale of woe. Last week at church, soon after I got home from yet another hospital stay, several people asked, "How are you?"

This is when the question challenges me the most. How do I give a current, appropriately honest answer? After all, when cancer enters a person's life, it changes how she is. I liken it to living within a picture frame with a persistent dark cloud on the horizon. But cancer also brings the odd gift of making today's sunshine preciously important, so that day I answered the question this way: "I'm good for today… and today that's good enough for me."

Next week or next month, the appropriately honest answer might be different, so I ask God's help in seeking the right words.

Father, I want the answer to "How are you?" to point back to You. Please give me the words that reflect my faith. 

-- Carol Kuykendall in “Daily Guideposts 2009”

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Editor’s Note: For a follow-up to this post, go to https://guideposts.org/positive-living/health-and-wellness/living-longer-living-better/the-amazing-way-this-couple-beat-cancer-together/

BENDING BUT NOT BREAKING

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”  (2 Corinthians 4:8–10 NIV)

In these words, Paul does more than describe hardship -- he paints a portrait of a spirit that endures. When life’s pressures bear down like relentless winds, we find in God a source of unyielding strength. The imagery of being pressed from all sides yet not crushed reminds us that while our circumstances and trials can bend us, they do not define or break us. Like a flexible reed that bows in a storm without snapping, our lives are meant to yield -- to be reshaped by struggle -- so that a newer, more Christlike form of life might emerge.

This concept of “bending but not breaking” is not about pretending that pain doesn’t exist. Rather, it’s about embracing our vulnerability and understanding that our resilience is rooted in the presence of Jesus. When Paul speaks of carrying the death of Jesus in our bodies, he reminds us that every trial offers us an opportunity to die a little to our old selves, making space for the vibrant, transforming life of Christ. Each setback is an invitation to let God’s power flow through us, to transform our weaknesses into testimonies of His strength and love.

Imagine yourself in the midst of a fierce storm. The winds are wild, and the waves of challenges crash against you. In moments like these, you have two choices: to stiffly resist and risk breaking under the pressure or to gently bend, trusting that the wind is shaping you toward your destiny. In bending, you are not surrendering to defeat; instead, you are positioning yourself to reflect the life of Jesus. In every trial, God’s grace is revealed, teaching you that your endurance is not a mark of fragility but of divine resilience.

Embracing the notion of “bending but not breaking” is a journey -- a daily exercise in faithfulness. May this truth continue to inspire you, guiding your steps with the promise that though life may press in, you will never be crushed because God's grace sustains you. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™

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THE ROLE OF THE FAUCET

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”  (1 Corinthians 3:6-7 NIV)

Don’t make the mistake the associates of Lawrence of Arabia made. He took them to Paris after World War 1. They had never seen such sights. The Arc de Triomphe, Napoleon’s tomb, the Champs Elysees. But nothing impressed these men from the Arabian Desert more than the faucet in the bathtub of their hotel room. They turned it on and off, on and off, amazed that with a twist of the wrist they could have all the water they wanted.

When the time came to leave Paris and return to the east, Lawrence found them in the bathroom with wrenches, trying to disconnect the spout. “We need faucets,” they explained. “If we have them, we will have all the water we want.”

They didn’t understand the role of the faucet. Spouts carry water, not produce it. Spigots are the tool, not the source. The valve might direct fluid, but generate it? No. We know this…

Or do we? Through what faucets has God poured His love into your life? A faithful church or small group? A pastor or youth leader? A prayerful parent or spouse? Time-tested traditions or contemporary praise songs? A girlfriend in college or a grandma from childhood? God’s water passes through many faucets. His gift comes in many packages. The treasure, however, is not the plumbing or the box, not the container of the gift. No, the treasure is the Giver Himself! 

-- Adapted from Max Lucado in “Come Thirsty: No Heart Too Dry for His Touch”

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THE MASTER GARDENER’S PRUNING

Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in Me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples.”  (John 15:1-8 NIV)

In this passage, Jesus borrows a word picture from the plant kingdom. He explained that because God loves us, He must do some pruning in order for us to thrive, blossom and bare fruit. Do you understand how this principle works in gardening? Even with green things, God’s concept of discipline holds true.

But the Master Gardener is loving and devoted. Warren Wiersbe said, “Your Heavenly Father is never nearer to you than when He is pruning you.” That statement is right on the mark. You will find this truth consistently affirmed in the lives of wise, godly people who have faced disruptive moments. They will look at you and say without hesitation, “Never in all my life have I sensed the closeness and provision of God as I did when I came to the bend in the road. Never before have I been more fruitful than I’ve been since I came through that season when everything seemed upside down.” 

-- Adapted from David Jeremiah in “Keep the Faith: How to Stand Strong in a World Turned Upside Down” 

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THE SOCIAL WITNESS OF CHARLES WESLEY’S HYMNS – Part 3 of 3

“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”  (Isaiah 1:17 NIV)

If Wesley’s hymns seem to say little about social action as such, they offer a continual sense of strength for those engaged in the fight. One can hardly sing “Soldiers of Christ Arise,” for instance, without wanting to march for the causes that challenge our souls.

          From strength to strength go on,
                     Wrestle and fight and pray;
          Tread all the powers of darkness down,
                     And win the well-fought day.

We cannot say what Wesley had in mind by “all the powers of darkness.” He may have been thinking in the broadest sense of the total principle of evil, or perhaps he was reflecting upon the inner struggles that had characterized much of his life. But I think he would have agreed that anything which frustrated and limited the lives of his people – poverty, sickness, injustice, miserable prisons and mental institutions – was part of the darkness that must be trod down. Succeeding generations have gained strength from his vigorous vision.

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas (1923-2015) in “Our First Song: Evangelism in the Hymns of Charles Wesley” 

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