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Your Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast

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066 What Would You Do if You Only Had 10 Days to Live?

Jul 16, 2020

Episode Summary:

  • Have you ever experienced a trial so great it turned your entire life upside down, inside out, or left you wondering how long you had to live? What would you do? How would you spend your time? To whom would you turn?
  • As a neuropsychologist, I see thousands of patients who struggle with diagnoses ranging from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, and learning disabilities to brain tumors, traumatic brain injury, and dementia. When they receive a diagnosis, there is often a mixture of emotion from relief to fear. Relief often comes from just knowing what has been causing their symptoms and knowing that treatment does exist, and yet the relief is often quickly replaced by the unknown of all that is yet to be faced. I often wonder how anyone faces such difficulties without a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and faith in God who promises to be with us at all times.
  • Having been in situations like that personally, and seeing many patients facing such circumstances, I can tell you, we never quite know how we will respond until we are faced with the situation.
  • In her book God’s Best During Your Worst, today’s guest, Robin Luftig recounts her story of her own diagnosis of a brain tumor and the next ten days that ensued from diagnosis to surgery. She shares the real life questions, fears, and other emotions she battled as she faced the very real possibility that the tumor or the treatment could claim her life. And during that time, she had to come to grips with the earlier life influences that shaped many of her beliefs about herself and her God.
  • While I know of no one who would desire to go through such an ordeal, I suspect that if you asked Robin now, she would likely tell you that in many respects, what she gained through the experience was worth anything she lost in the process. For in the process, it drew her closer to her husband, her children, and her God; the very God who desires to use our trials to increase our faith and perfect it so that we will ultimately be complete in Him.  That’s what would allow us to count experiences like this all joy.
  • James 1:2-4 reminds us, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” What a challenge it is, however, to see the joy in the midst of trouble, but our chances of doing so are increased if we will rely on the One who will not only carry us through the difficulties but also perfect our faith in the process.
  • Have you ever thought about what you would do if you only had a few more days to live? Or how you would maintain your hope in the midst of such a devastating diagnosis? My husband and I faced a similar situation when he was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer and were told to get our affairs in order because he was not expected to live. I remember during that time that it really caused me to reassess how I would live each day, not knowing if it was our last. Today we are going to talk to Robin and see what impact that devastating news had on her and how her life is different for it today.

Quotables from the episode:

  • I’m not that I'm anything special but my Savior is. 
  • God, thank you for this gift of a new day. I've done nothing to deserve it. This has been just a pure gift on your part.
  • It's easy to approach God like he's a vending machine. I want this and this and this and this. But God wants us to participate with him.

Scripture References:

  • James 1:2-4 says dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy for you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow for when your endurance is fully developed. You will be perfect and complete needing nothing
  • Romans 8:28 God works all things together for good.
  • Hebrews 13:5, where I will never leave you nor forsake you.
  • Matthew 28:20 “… And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
  • Luke 12:4-7 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. … Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
  • 2 Corinthians 1:4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 

Recommended Resources:

Social Media Links for Host and Guest:

Connect with Robin Luftig:

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

For more hope, stay connected with Dr. Bengtson at:

Order Book Breaking Anxiety’s Grip / Order Book Hope Prevails  /  Website  /  Blog  /  Facebook / Twitter (@DrMBengtson)  /  LinkedIn  /  Instagram / Pinterest / YouTube / Podcast

Guest:

Be grateful in everything--even the bumpy rides ... is Robin Luftig's mantra while either writing for non-fiction readers or speaking to audiences on healing after tragedy. She's an award-nominated columnist for great magazines such as Leading Hearts, CBN.com, and many more. She is the author of two books, Learning to Bloom Again (a journey of healing after divorce) and God's Best During Your Worst and will soon be launching her first novel, Ladies of the Fire in late 2020. She is a leader in Word Weavers International, a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA). She lives near Harrisburg Pennsylvania with her best pal/hubster and has five grown children and two grandbabies.

Hosted By: Dr. Michelle Bengtson

Audio Technical Support: Bryce Bengtson