Sabbath, a Day of Rest

Every cancer patient needs a break. Almost all health care providers acknowledge that cancer patients need to set aside dealing with cancer occasionally and just enjoy the blessings and fullness of life. For many, cancer is hard work and a full time job when recovering from major surgery or undergoing radiation or chemotherapy treatments.

If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. Isaiah 58:13,14


Isaiah 58:13,14 is God's call to me to set aside my work of cancer treatment and recovery and delight myself in the Lord. Unlike most cancer patients, I don't need to grab mental downtime whenever I can, nor am I limited to an hour or two here or there. My Personal Physician prescribes 24 hours every week. It's called "Sabbath" and it begins Friday evening at sundown and closes Saturday evening at sunset. It is the best prescription for coping with cancer ever written. My Physician wrote the original prescription when he created this world.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. Genesis 2:1-3

Early in this journey, the Lord impressed upon my heart that Sabbath was to be my day of rest from cancer. For us, those first eight weeks were difficult. I couldn't talk about what was going on without crying and I dislike crying. I had to intentionally take my cancer package and on Friday evening, put it on the top shelf of my mind with a sign that read "Do Not Touch!" That is so hard when your mind is swirling with treatment options, decisions to be made, what ifs, and the emotions of it all. God called to my heart,

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Psalms 46:10-11

I praise the Lord for friends who knowingly or unknowingly helped us carefully guard the hours of the Sabbath and made it a delight! Those times of fellowship and spiritual refreshment are precious memories for our whole family. We still treasure our Sabbath times and do our best to put cancer and health issues on the shelf unless there is an urgent need to address those issues.
What about those Sabbaths when you are hurting or sick? When it's all you can do to breath and the pain is intense and you're dealing with the side effects of treatment. What do you do then? Christ longed to free those afflicted by disease. Read the story of Jesus healing the woman afflicted by disease for 18 years found Luke 13:10-17. He longs to heal us too!

You won't always be able to ignore cancer on Sabbath, there are physical needs which must be met. I learned that by caring for my physical needs and trying to be prepared before Sabbath allowed me to better focus on the spiritual and mental aspects of Sabbath. I chose to try spending portions of those Sabbaths reading God's Word until I fell asleep (yes, your body needs rest to heal). I enjoyed the occasional visitor as I was able and reveled in the quiet of a home stilled by the Sabbath rest. Beautiful soothing music or scriptures songs created an atmosphere of worship. Harpist playing her harp or the piano lifted my spirit heavenward more than she will ever know. Reading stories to Cat Lover and Rocket helped take my mind off my discomfort and drew our hearts closer together.

Depending on the intensity of your treatment, you may be unable to fellowship with others for extended periods of time. DVDs of your local church sermons or audio recordings may be a blessing. Try to get a friend to help you Skype in during a class or fellowship time if possible. I have a couple of dear friends with whom I started a conference call. We try to talk every couple of months or so. Fellowship is a blessing and you need it! On those really bad days, it may be all you can do to review portions of scripture you have memorized or have a family member or friend read the promises of God to you. Don't be afraid to start your prayer chain seeking God's direct intervention in your particular situation, there can be no better day for others to pray!

My Sabbaths are returning to normal rather quickly. But for those whose journey is much longer than mine. I pray specifically each week that you will experience the Sabbath blessings the Lord has for you.