November 4, 2024
Evening
The first song God gave me when I first suspected in December of 2022 that I had breast cancer was a song by Shane and Shane called You’ve Already Won. The chorus says:
I’m fighting a battle You’ve already won
No matter what comes my way, I will overcome
Don’t know what You’re doing, but I know what You’ve done (thank You, God)
I’m fighting a battle You’ve already won
By Shane and Shane
Tonight I noticed on our Contemporary Christian Music channel that You’ve Already Won was released first as a single. I told Donn, “Maybe it was released first as a single because God knew I would need it before the album came out!”
This sent me on a search to find out when the single was released. I discovered that You’ve Already Won was released in December of 2022—just when I needed it– while the album, Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, wasn’t released until March of 2023.
As I thought back to what the words of that song meant to me, especially after my official diagnosis on January 5, 2023, I am in awe of God’s timing. Galatians 4:4 says But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son… My paraphrase: “At just the right time, God sent His Son…” I also believe that at just the right time, God still sends us the help we need, whatever that may be.
After having gone through a lethal battle with cancer which ended our son’s life just a year and a half earlier, God knew I needed a victorious song to keep me from being taken captive by fear and depression. So at just the right time, Shane and Shane’s amazing song, You’ve Already Won, was released.
And in case you should think it’s silly to believe God would have done that with me in mind, I’ll remind you of a line from a beloved hymn that says, “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
November 5, 2024
Morning
I wrote this blog last night just before we turned out the light; this morning in my quiet time, my promise on the World Challenge Promise Calendar was Matthew 6:25-26. Verse 26 says, Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Emphasis mine.)
My heart sang as the Holy Spirit confirmed that I wasn’t silly to believe that the God who cares about the sparrows, did this for me—and perhaps for many others.
As I did more research, I learned that Shane and Shane dedicated You’ve Already Won to followers of Jesus in the Ukraine who are trusting Jesus amidst incredible turmoil and conflict. The Russian Invasion of Ukraine began in February 20, 2024, also before the album was released. I pray that many Christians in the Ukraine have also received the tremendous encouragement this song offers.
What about you? What battle are you fighting today? I pray that you would ask God to give you the encouragement you desperately need to fight your battle. (Here’s a link to Shane and Shane singing You’ve Already Won live on YouTube. https:..www.youtube.com/watch?v+M0ovt_nbd4 )
Father, thank you so much for all of the ways you encourage us when we need it most. Help us look to you, knowing that [our] help comes from the Lord who made the heavens and the earth (Psalm 121:2). Amen.