God's Unfailing Love

When I think of the wisdom and scope of his plan I fall down on my knees and pray to the Father of all the great family of God - some of then already in heaven and some down here on earth - that out of his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you the mighty inner strengthening of his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love; and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God's children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great that you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it. And so at last you will be filed up with God himself. Ephesians 3:14-19 (TLB)

Lei Cao Garcia-Bote, from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, awoke with questions in her mind: What if my mom had not gotten sick? What is life like for her now - for my father and our whole family? What if we didn't have to deal with this illness in the middle of a pandemic?

Lei's mom's first online consultation with the gastroenterologist was more than a year ago. What they thought to be a simple diagnosis of an upset stomach ended with a series of tests and medical biopsies. The initial biopsy suggested a benign condition. But Lei's mom's stomach pain persisted, and she needed another series of tests and hospitalizations. Finally, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

When her "what if" questions became long and tiring, Lei began to pray. She did not want to dwell on those questions which were not only unanswerable but unhealthy and unhelpful. As Lei began crying out to the Lord for help, suddenly she felt at peace. Her heart felt the love of God and the love of her family. Daily video calls with her mom and other family members became an expression of love and devotion for one another, and Lei enjoyed seeing their happy faces.

God hears our cries for help and comforts us. When we pray, God will draw us closer, giving us an awareness of our Creator's unfailing love and living hope.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for your unfailing love. Help us remember to come to you for guidance when trouble overwhelms us, in Jesus' name. Amen.