Several weeks ago, my oncologist told me my cancer is in remission. Great news!

But then I realized I didn’t really know what “remission” means. While the dictionary says remission is “a temporary or permanent decrease or subsidence of manifestations of a disease,” I sensed there was a bigger and more profound message for me. Perhaps for you as well.

Yes, it’s certainly wonderful to gain remission from cancer. But I began to see that this is also an opportunity for something new and exciting to occur: a fresh start in my life’s mission. So I’ve begun to change the spelling to “re-mission.”

I’m convinced that nothing is more energizing than knowing what your God-given mission is. Yet sometimes it takes a crisis like cancer to jar us out of our comfort zone so we can rediscover that mission.

Hey, when you’re not sure how much longer you have to live, you are forced to prioritize your time and energy. Focus is needed. Distractions and diversions must go.

I love how the Bible says King David “completed the work God set out for him” (Acts 13:36 MSG). What a remarkable tribute. I hope the same can be said of you and me some day.

For each of us, there’s a unique mission that must be completed before we die. When baby Jesus was presented in the Temple, one of the people who testified of His identity was Simeon. This prophetic man had already lived a long life, but the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that “he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah” (Luke 2:25-26 NLT).   

I get excited when I read Simeon’s story. Just as for him, there are certain things God wants to do in each of our lives before we pass into eternity.

Perhaps you’ve heard the renowned quote from William Barclay: “There are two great days in a person’s life ­– the day we are born and the day we discover why.” As we head into 2020, I pray God will give us that kind of 20-20 vision. That kind of re-mission will reinvigorate us more than anything else can.