Our God At Work
Wednesday’s Verse:
From Joshua 1:9 ESV
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Cancer centers are the modern version of “the shadow of death.” Needles, scans, and percentages have a way of making any heart quake. But here stands God’s command—not a suggestion, not a pep talk, but a clear divine order: Be strong. Be courageous. Why? Because the One who parts seas and raises the dead goes with you.
At the cancer center earlier on Tuesday, I ran into Tom. He was as scared as one can be facing a cancer fight with chemotherapy as his warrior. I told him my cancer story that started in the spring of 2024. After so much time, I go for treatment with hope in my heart. Oh, I’m scared at every treatment, but I know that as I sit through the infusion, God is with me.
Joshua faced the Jordan River; we face infusion chairs. Same promise: I will be with you. Courage, then, is not the absence of fear but the presence of God walking through the fear with us. Every prick of the needle, every uncertain result, every “How are you?” from a stranger—Christ is there, carrying what we cannot.
In the Small Catechism, Luther reminds us that God “richly and daily provides…shoes and clothing, food and drink, house and home…” and, yes, doctors, nurses, and medicine. Even in the cancer center, the Creator is at work, sustaining body and soul until the day He calls us home—either by healing here or perfect healing in heaven.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Heavenly Father, give every frightened heart the courage of Joshua—rooted not in outcomes but in Your nearness. When strength fails, be our strength. When hope flickers, be our light through Jesus Christ, our victorious Savior, Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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