When the unexpected comes our way, life can seem unfair. Retired police chaplain, pastor and my colleague, Rick served more than 16 months at Ground Zero after 9/11. During that time, he was exposed to chemicals and asbestos.
Recently, while taking my mom to a doctor appointment, I ran into Pastor Rick. He shared that he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer due to his time spent at the World Trade Center. A few days later, he shared this sad news on Facebook, but showed no signs of regret. “I’m blessed to know that I helped the city,” he stated.
He believes in miracles and stays hopeful as he faces this challenging time. But this optimistic personality is not new to him; he has been preaching a message of hope to the outcasts, drug addicts, homeless and others for years. Now more than ever, he is relying on God to get him through his toughest battle as he encourages all of us who are praying for him to remain hopeful.
When life seems unfair, we must keep our faith in God. It doesn’t mean that we can’t express our anger, frustration, doubts and disappointments, but that we must remember God is greater than all of our troubles. We must maintain our faith even when it may not make sense because the goodness of God will triumph. We can declare the words from Lamentations “Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.”
Let us not count God out when times get tough, but keep hope alive. I ask you to join me in praying for Pastor Rick and all who are now facing medical challenges due to the time they spent working on Ground Zero.
Lord, our faith and hope is in You; heal my friend, Pastor Rick, and be with all who face difficult times in their lives.
