Friday, July 11, 2014

DEVOTION: What Do You Cling To? ~ by Yvonne Ortega




Psalm 63:8: “My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.”


“Has the hospital called you to make an appointment?” the receptionist from the local women’s clinic asked me over the phone.

My heart beat faster. My hands became clammy. “No, why should they?”

“Your mammogram wasn’t clear, and we want the hospital to repeat the procedure.” She paused for a second. “Call today for an appointment.”

That’s not a message a cancer survivor wants to hear. I wiped away the tears and prayed for mercy and God’s strength, I thought of Psalm 63, especially verse 8. I couldn’t think of anything or anyone I’d rather cling to than God himself. I felt weak and wanted God’s right hand to uphold me.

We will face crises or difficulties in life. What do we do when they come? When I spoke at a conference recently, I asked the women how they handle life’s stresses.

One woman told me she chews her fingernails and showed me her mutilated nails. Another said she ate chocolate, especially the dark kind, because it was good for her. However, she admitted she needed to lose weight.

An embarrassed woman confessed privately that she reverted to smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol. Still another talked about shopping sprees.

A lady in excellent shape said she would exercise twice a day for two or three hours when she felt overcome with fear or worry.
If we are honest, many of us can identify a comfort food or some excess to handle or avoid life’s challenges. Our weak human nature attempts to come up with its own solution.

God longs for us to turn to him with our problems. He wants to uphold us.

Dear God, help me cling to you. Amen.

Copyright © by Yvonne Ortega January 23, 2013

OVER TO YOU: In what situation will you allow the Lord to uphold you this week? Tell us in a comment below.


Yvonne Ortega is a counselor, international bilingual speaker, trainer and eleven-year breast cancer survivor. She is the author of Finding Hope for Your Journey through Breast Cancer (Revell) and a contributing author to The Embrace of a Father (Bethany House) and Transformed (Wine Press). She has also been published in several magazines online and hard copy.

Yvonne hosted a blogtalkradio program on breast cancer, addiction, domestic violence, and other types of trauma. Archives are available. Visit her website




4 comments:

  1. Thank you for this, Yvonne.You're right, we all have different ways we handle stress, but I never know how anyone manages without the Lord!

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  2. Appreciate very much the reminder, Yvonne!

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  3. I love that you used the word "challenge" which is the word I use rather than problem, enemy, curse, etc. Challenge to means is a difficult task from which we are to learn and grow. I am a 6 yr ovarian cancer survivor in my first recurrence. www.outshineovariancancer.com

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