Years ago my life was impacted by John Piper’s little book, Don’t Waste Your Life.The book left me with a simple phrase I have kept as a banner over my office for years: Passion and Purpose. Life with God is an adventure that is meant to be lived to the fullest and not to be wasted on meaningless and trivial pursuits.

On the eve of his own cancer surgery, Piper wrote an article, Don’t Waste Your Cancer, that poses ten lessons that are both challenging and encouraging. Depending on your life perspective, some of these may be hard teachings, but nonetheless they offer hope for a full life even in the midst of cancer. Here are reflections on two of these lessons:

1. You will waste your cancer if you seek your comfort from your odds rather than from God.
I am not naive as to what statistics say about my Leukemia. “Some count their chariots (survival percentages) and some count their horses (treatment side effects), but we trust in the name of the Lord.” (Psalm 20:7) The God who redeemed me is not bound by statistics. And regardless of the outcome of this circumstance, He is still my great powerful and merciful God.

2. You will waste your cancer if you do not use it as a means to witness to the truth and glory of Christ.
On my desk is a saying from my youth that reads: “Every problem is an opportunity in disguise.” We have a choice when faced with trouble: focus on the problem/circumstance OR focus on God. What matters most is that the story is told of His truths and His glory. As my friend Dan Kingery reminds me, “All stories are echoes of God’s grand story.”

Don’t waste your pain, whether it is physical, emotional, relational, or spiritual. Go to God and enjoy the rest of your life to His fullest.