No Longer a Victim

‘So the Lord asked him, “What are you holding?” “A walking stick,” he answered.’ – Exodus 4:2

I closed the door... alone. holding the diagnosis report and reading it repeatedly. I remembered the doctor saying it was unfortunate for me to have cancer. Tears streamed down her face as she told me to stay healthy.

After the diagnosis, all I could think about was the diseased organ in my chest. The more I thought about it, the more I fell into self-pity. As I tried to break out of those negative thoughts, God reminded me of Moses' staff. If Moses had his divine moment with God holding a staff, perhaps I could have mine through the cancer within me. It may sound silly to you, but it was a hope I could hold on to - that God must have something great in store for me through this trial.

Sometimes, when we look around, we see those who appear better off - richer, more successful, more talented, and so on... Then we look inside and think, "Life is unfair."

However, what we see is often not the whole story. Moses was adopted into the royal family by an Egyptian princess. Outsiders would have considered him the most fortunate Hebrew baby, but that was not how Moses felt. He was lost and constantly questioned his purpose in life. When he found his purpose - to help his people - he lost everything because of it. He ran away to the wilderness and lived a different life as a shepherd.

At 80, Moses lived in the forsaken desert, not thinking much about the future. When God called him to save the Israelites - the very purpose Moses had - he refused, failing to see his value (Exodus 3:11). But God knew. For the past 40 years, Moses' companion had been his walking staff - his identity trapped within it. God knew, and that was God's divine moment with Moses. He asked Moses to throw his staff to the ground and performed the first miracle. That was the beginning of God bringing Moses back to his purpose.

I will never stop reminding myself: In every battle, we have two choices - to win or to lose. As a cancer patient, I could easily think that I am just an unfortunate being, or I could ask God to use my condition and transform it into His divine moment in my life. I choose the latter.

My friend, whatever you have on your hands today, no matter how ugly it may seem, know that God can turn it into a miracle. Let's stop listening to the enemy voices that attack us with our insecurities. While it's hard to accept difficult situations, let's start looking at the bright possibilities ahead. What matters is not what we have, but rather God who is within us and with us. He is more than able.

When Moses finally understood, he became the greatest prophet in the Old Testament. When Job finally understood, God returned to him twice what he had lost at the start. When we finally understand, we can have our divine moment with God. Stay strong

A miracle is about what God has, not what we have