It’s been 2 1/2 years since I was declared cancer-free. Getting rid of the cancer, though not easy, was actually easier than the rest of the long and arduous journey. The ongoing weakness and frequent illness is a humbling reality. Being neither badly sick nor fully well is a “new normal” I didn’t expect to find.
Maybe you’ve been there….the new normal. Having experienced some lower level of disappointment, sorrow and pain, you’ve now risen to a new unfamiliar place; neither what you expected or desired. You may wish you’d risen a bit higher to a place of greater joy, but here is where you are for the time.
It’s tempting to think of where we are in our new normal and think of all we’ve lost. But have you ever found that focusing on what’s lost has benefited you? No? Me neither. But focusing on we have remaining does.
Focusing on what good remains in our lives helps us rise above our troubles. What good remains in your life? Maybe you will reflect on a faith that sustains despite your challenges. Perhaps you’ll think on the kindness of at least one person who cares. Thinking for even a moment about others in the world who face even greater challenges is a quick trip to rising above our woes. Perhaps you’ve discovered what remains is actually a large list of things for which you can give thanks. Isn’t that the start of rising to a better “normal?” Chris Tomlin’s “I will rise” is not only an anthem that speaks to our heavenly journey. It’s also an anthem for today:
“There’s a peace I’ve come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There’s an anchor for my soul
I can say “It is well”
Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles’ wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise”
– Chris Tomlin
Can you say it? I will rise, despite my weakness. Despite my pain. Despite my sadness, disappointments, and frustrations. Despite my loss, I will rise and give thanks for all I’ve gained. It doesn’t mean that your problems go away, but that we can find real peace in the middle of them; peace that brings an overcoming victory over circumstance and hope for a brighter future. It’s the peace that Paul talks about of counting everything as loss compared to the exceeding joy of knowing Jesus.
I will rise above what weighs me down,
above the sorrow and the pain,
above the battles that fill my mind
and find a peace that remains.
I will rise!
