Faith over Fear, part 2

Melissa Logsdon – December 9, 2025 4 Comments

Faith over Fear.

That has ended up being my theme through 2025. 

Sounds like a lovely word of encouragement, doesn’t it?

Until you realize that it means that there will be MANY opportunities to practice it! 

In 2025, there were small opportunities, on a nearly daily basis, to practice living in faith in the face of fear. And, unfortunately/fortunately, there were quite a few bigger opportunities throughout the year to practice living out this heart posture.  

And here we are, nearing the end of the year. It would be nice to not have any more of those opportunities come my way; but, I wasn’t or I was (depending on how you look at it) that lucky!

Last week I received a call none of us want to receive, none of us are quite ready for: 

The call from the oncologist to come in to discuss test results. 

Before you panic for me, let me assure you my story has a good ending. 

But, that’s not always how it goes. Is it? 

And when I received the call, I had no way of knowing what lay ahead.

Many times in this past year (pretty much from February–August) I received one difficult diagnosis after another. Then I spent the fall dealing with follow up care for these newer diagnoses. In addition, I have been sick and/or in recovery for much of the past 2 months. I counted up over 23 medical appointments in 2 months! I remember the days when I only went to the doctor once a year! 

Maybe you can relate to this story of health decline and increased demands on your time to care for your body?

So, here I was with a week to think about what the news might be. Based on the test, I did  some web searching (I know…it’s really a BAD idea to try to interpret lab results and self-diagnose!). But, after the year I’ve had with so many whiplash moments in the doctors’ offices, I wanted to be prepared…as best as I could be…for a worst case scenario. And for me, this process was actually very LIFE GIVING! If you can believe that! 

Faced with the possibility of only a few months to live, I inventoried my priorities. How I choose to spend my time, my money. What relationships are important to me. Where I want my daily energy to be invested. How I want to respond to toxic relationships and all the “shoulds” that creep up.

Through this personal inventory, it became a vision casting exercise. What ARE the things I’m not doing or want to do more of? Who are the people I want to invest in? I realized I want to live more intentionally NOW, not wait till I find out I only have months to live. 

Do any of us REALLY know if we will even have tomorrow?

This year, I’ve already begun to make ongoing shifts in how I spend my time and how I respond (or not) to certain situations. And now, as I look to 2026, I am choosing to make even more changes.

There will be some things that will shift for me externally, 

and other things that will only shift internally.

And the word that God keeps laying on my heart for 2026: Possibilities! 

I’m sure I’ll write more about that in this next year!

God continues to reassure me: Our God is the God of the possible in seemingly impossible situations!

“Jesus relieved the inwardly tormented. 

He cured the bodily ill. 

Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s well-known revelation:

He took our illnesses,

He carried our diseases.” (Isaiah 53:4)

-Matthew 8:16b-17 MSG 

As I’ve shared at service, I have had some seemingly supernaturally miraculous healings AND some miraculous healing through ongoing medical treatments. I press onward into 2026 with ongoing need AND OPPORTUNITY for 15 hours of infusions every 3 weeks. 

We are all in different places with our health. 

You may be facing life-altering news for yourself or a loved one, OR you find yourself in fine health; whatever you are going through, however you are doing, there is an opportunity before you to live the life you want to live, NOW.

In case you are wondering, here’s the rest of my story: 

A nurse made an error—I was NEVER supposed to be called in! My oncologist is NOT concerned about my test results when read alongside all the other tests; she says I am doing so well! What a relief! I am grateful for the good news on that front! 

May we live in the hope that GOD IS OUR HOME, both in this age and in the age to come! May Jesus be close to you today, and always…no matter what is before you! -Melissa Logsdon, NCF Associate Pastor