What I’ve Learned About God By Being A Nurse

Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.
Acts 10:34-35

Today is National Nurses Day in the United States, and this coming Friday is International Nurses Day. Today’s post was written by my sister who is entering her 25th year as a registered nurse. For all those years except one, she has worked in oncology (cancer) and hospice. I asked her to share with us her thoughts on what she has learned about God through her experiences as a nurse.

When I was only 15 years old, I watched my grandmother die of breast cancer at the age of 68. I had spent most of the summer at her house helping her as she received her chemo treatments. If she got sick during the night, that sound woke me and I got up and helped clean her up. I did it because I loved her, not because I was thinking, “this will help me be a nurse one day.” Then she died at the end of September. We were unprepared for her death. I decided after her death that I was going to dedicate my life to making sure others were better prepared. Looking back, I can see God’s hand in this, leading me to serve with a deep, personal passion in the field of nursing.

One thing I always tell my patients and their families is that “cancer doesn’t discriminate.” It doesn’t care if you are rich or poor. Black or white. Male or female. Good or bad. We learn from Peter in Acts 10:34-35 that “…God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.” A big theme in the New Testament is that the gospel is for all, not just the Jews (Rom 15:9). God “sends rain on the just and on the unjust,” (Matt 5:45). We all have the risk of being diagnosed with a life-limiting disease, but we also all have the ability to receive eternal rest. Disease and death do not discriminate, and, thankfully, neither does God.

When Jesus was facing death, he worked to prepare those around Him– the apostles, his mother. We too can work to have our affairs in order and prepare those around us. I often tell patients that it’s a gift for them to give to their family. Instead of making your kids decide if you are kept alive by machines, write down what you want so they can follow your wishes.

Our society wants to stop death. We want to fight it. We definitely don’t want to talk about it. But it will come. We will never have the technology to prevent death. That’s not part of God’s plan. “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,” (Hebrews 9:27).

In my career, I have witnessed many physical deaths. The majority of the loved ones left behind have always found consolation in the belief that the deceased is now in a better place and the suffering is over. That is truly a comforting thought. But I wonder… Matthew 7:14 says, “Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” If only a few will receive a Heavenly reward, then what happens to the others? If God doesn’t discriminate, then why are there two options for our souls upon death? How do I know which one will be my fate?

In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

It’s not enough to say you’re a Christian or even to do good works. Jesus said what matters is doing the will of the Father.

God doesn’t discriminate. He wants all men everywhere to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). But we must study the Bible to understand what is required to be saved. The gospel is for all, but the gospel must be obeyed (2 Thessalonians 1:8). This is how we can be prepared to “enter into the joy of [the] Lord,” (Matthew 25:21,23). It’s how our loved ones can know that we really are in that better place.

Dear God,
Sickness and death are so familiar and yet so frightening. We praise You and thank You, God, for making a way for all of us to have eternal life in heaven with You when this physical life is over. Help us to prepare ourselves and our families, according to Your revealed word, to be ready to meet You at the judgment, trusting that Jesus, the perfect Mediator, will be there to welcome us into Your rest.
We pray in His name, Amen.

by Cindy Cole