Understanding My Role vs. God’s Sovereignty

Not long ago I saw a patient come to the ER with an abdominal mass so big I could see it before she took her clothes off.

I gave her the main treatment option for her kind of tumor: Surgical removal.

She had 3 options to choose from:

1. Go home and live a short life with her tumor untreated.
2. Try removing it her way. This could involve a number of options. She could take a knife and make a bloody and deathly mess herself. Or her preference may be the vitamin route, or the health food option. But, sadly, that would leave her equally dead.
3. Do what I recommended – get it surgically removed by an expert.

Maybe you think I should have offered her a bowl of soup instead?

I could have. She may have ended up not as hungry, but still just as dead.

Why didn’t you put your arms around her and tell her you were sorry. Perhaps I did. I don’t remember. And it would have been a nice gesture.

But nothing, I mean nothing, could have gotten rid of that tumor except putting that patient under the expert knife of a surgeon.

Why didn’t you lie to her? Don’t tell her about her tumor. That’s a harsh thing to tell someone so young and vibrant.

Yes, it is. The truth often does hurt. There’s no easy way to say it. But I really didn’t need to tell her. Deep down she already knew she had a tumor that needed to be removed. I just lovingly guided her treatment process.

So many people struggle with the concept of sin and salvation.

It’s a lot like my patient with the tumor. We’re all walking around with a deathly mass – sin. Most of us already know it, but some of us have to be reminded of it.

There’s only one treatment for it: Christ’s death on the cross.

Nothing else will do. Not a bowl of soup, not a hug or a kind word, but simply submitting one’s self to God’s way.

It’s not easy. It may entail some lifestyle changes. Frankly, I’d say your whole life is radically changed after treatment for a tumor. Things like going for a regular check up become higher in priority. Eating healthy becomes essential. Telling other folks about their tumors is no longer something you’re very shy about.

You get the idea.

So many struggle to understand the balance between man’s responsibility and God’s sovereignty.

Think of it this way: A surgeon would never attack a patient on the side of the road to remove that tumor. Man’s responsibility is to check into the hospital and willingly allow the surgeon to do his thing.
But only God can remove that tumor.

Is it time for you to let Him?

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