Becoming Dependent on God: Transformed by Calamity

Teresa Kay Lasher

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6, 7)

“Hello, this is the doctor’s office. We have the results back from your MRI. As soon as you receive this message, please return the call.” That phone call captured my attention—immediately.

I can still see the MRI scan on the neurosurgeon’s computer screen. A rather large tumor near my optic nerve rested alongside the left temporal lobe. The tumor was likely benign, but still needed attention. The surgeons predicted an eight-hour surgery with a week’s hospital stay.

Conflict raged within me. At times I felt peace, knowing God remained in control. At other times, I wanted to run from my circumstances. My mind ping-ponged from thought to thought: Would I live to see my daughter marry or to read stories to my grandchildren? Then came the realization: I’m going to need help during this process. I have no problem offering to help others when they need it. And I have no problem asking for help when I’m lost, but this would be totally different.

I believed the Scripture that says, “Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me” (Psalm 54:4). But my belief was going to be tested.

Before the surgery date, my husband and I attended a worship service where the pastor spoke about the Old Testament shepherd boy David. David battled an enemy—a real giant named Goliath. But he spoke boldly to the giant: “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty . . . the battle is the LORD’s” (1 Samuel 17:45–47). I knew that I could not allow fear to consume my thoughts and rule my body, mind, and soul. I needed to rely on God. Even as I looked death in the eye, I could say, “The battle is the Lord’s.” Although my giant was not human, it was very real to me. But like David, I did not have to be paralyzed by fear. No matter how overwhelming my circumstances are, God is bigger.

God enlisted an army of people to help me. First there were doctors and nurses and other medical personnel. Then, in the early stages of my recovery, others took over. When I could not feed myself, my husband, Steve, fed me spoonfuls of oatmeal. He patiently scrubbed my bloody, stapled scalp day after day. Our daughter, Amanda, took time off from work to care for me and proved a source of great emotional support. Family and friends across the United States encouraged me and prayed for my healing and peace. One special friend came to sit with me and just be.

While these and others played an integral role in the healing process, only God can heal. And only He could go with me into surgery. Once those surgical doors closed, everyone and everything except God and the meditations of my heart remained outside those solid doors. My standby meditation, from Philippians 4, went with me into surgery. I felt God’s comforting peace replace any fear as I silently prayed, “Here I am Lord—afraid. But I acknowledge You are the Great Physician controlling all the hands involved in this process, and I trust You.”

In Ron Hall and Denver Moore’s true story, Same Kind of Different As Me, Moore writes, “There’s somethin’ I learned when I was homeless: Our limitation is God’s opportunity. When you get all the way to the end of your rope and there ain’t nothin’ you can do, that’s when God takes over.”

Isn’t that the truth?

What “opportunities” has God given to you that are helping you learn about depending on Him?