Fisher pressed hard to schedule treatments. He put forth a precise plan of simultaneous chemotherapy and radiation. For the next week, precisely at 10:00 a.m., I received a call from his office. The message was always a solemn reminder that time was of the essence. Treatments must begin! I stalled. Making the choice to undergo chemotherapy and radiation was monumental.
God, I thought Psalm 119:116 was a promise that I would be healed! What am I to do?
Pressure to make a decision mounted, and so did the confusion. I thought submitting to medical solutions would negate divine healing, and I did not want to miss a great blessing by getting ahead of God’s plan. Impatiently, I waited for signs that the situation was turning around. There were none. Meanwhile, my condition appeared to be declining. My body still had all the symptoms of cancer. The bleeding and pain were not going away.
Dark clouds were hanging low and the storm was encroaching upon the boundaries of my existence. It seemed that all the praying in the world would not change the inevitable. I knew the scripture:
...the effectual fervent prayers of the righteous avail much. (James 5:16)
My human reasoning got in the way. I doubted. There were so many questions and so few answers.
Would I survive the fierce winds of this disease?
...When the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.
(Isaiah 59:19 - NKJV)
Isaiah was translated from Hebrew to Greek. A comma, which had initially been placed before the phrase, “like a flood,” was instead placed after the phrase. Changing the placement of that comma altered the verse. The present-day Greek translation, “When the enemy comes in like a flood...”, emphasizes the negative forcefulness of the enemy. The original Hebrew version, in which the flood becomes a positive force, is powerful: “...like a flood the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.”
If ever I needed the flood of the Spirit, it was the day that cancer slammed my world. I was cast down, but I was not destroyed.
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body of the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. (II Corinthians 4:8-10 - KJV)
In 2005, during Hurricane Katrina, a renegade barge slammed into and breeched one of New Orleans’ levees. The ominous, unseen danger was floating in the dark waters, but no one knew it was coming. Only God knows the renegade forces that threaten lives.
At first, a storm cell can hardly be seen with the naked eye. It might be a small abnormality, far away in the atmosphere. The small cell starts turning in a counter clockwise rotation and it continues to grow with every passing hour. The barometric pressure, water temperature, and other conditions determine the strength and size of a hurricane. These storms furtively maneuver through the atmosphere, gradually and steadily gathering momentum. The same is true with cancer. One little cell becomes two...two become four...four become eight. On it goes until it becomes catastrophic, like a hurricane. When the time is right, it unleashes a deadly fury.
As a hurricane approaches, forecasters can pinpoint its track and the exact location of landfall. The latest technology is utilized to warn the population of impending danger. There is usually a tiny window by which escape is possible. Those who heed the early warnings and evacuate, escape the brunt of attack. Others, not willing to comply, often pay with their property...and even their lives.
There are early warning signs of most diseases, including cancer. The percentages of those who observe early detection guidelines have a better outcome when disease is detected. Modern medicine has discovered many excellent measures of preventing some of the extreme ravages of cancer and even death. My victory over cancer proves that both medical intervention and faith in God work hand in hand.
What does one do when the Heavens are brass and God is silent?
I tried to read the Bible, but it was difficult to concentrate. I was clinging to a promise. The God I loved and served promised life, not sickening chemicals and burning sores from radiation. In the midst of that turbulence, something profoundly simple settled my spirit. According to His Word, He would not—He could not—forsake me, even though I was confused and disheartened. The knowledge of His Word was still embedded within my spirit, though my flesh was weak. It’s amazing! The promise that I received, alone in my bedroom, continued ministering to me and calmed my anxiety. Still, my feelings vacillated wildly, because the sequence of events did not comply with my faith-plan. My soul remained anchored to the rock, even as the storm was raging.
The prayers of countless people ascended to the Father on my behalf. Only eternity will reveal the significance of prayer. I depended upon my family’s spiritual insight and unwavering faith. They were united in wanting me to follow Dr. Fisher’s plan. Still, surrendering to chemotherapy and radiation was appalling to me.
There is an old saying: “An idle brain is the devil’s workshop.” Fear of the chemicals and radiation was overwhelming. All of the horror stories I had ever heard about their side effects haunted me. Thankfully, fortification against the evil imagination of the enemy came by the daily renewing of my mind. Every page I read in God’s Word encouraged me to seek higher ground...to run to Jesus. By His grace, I would rise above the fear.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2 - NKJV)
One week, following the diagnosis of colorectal cancer, I was at home alone. My mind was consumed with one thing: what to tell the doctor. I started reading about Jesus’ miracles in the Gospels. It became so clear: the growing cancer in my body was only part of the problem. Deadly chains of doubt and fear must be broken. The Bible says, “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32 - NIV).
The story of a blind man and the mud captured my imagination.
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
“How then were your eyes opened?” they demanded.
He
