God is still on His throne

Well, I never thought I would be writing a post like this, but here it is. To cut to the chase, this past week I was diagnosed with kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma) in my right kidney. I will have surgery to remove the tumor (or possibly the kidney) on April 21st at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center in Spartanburg, SC. The doctors are convinced that the cancer is confined to the kidney and that this surgery will be curative.

While the “natural” thing to do would be to focus on the negativity of this news, I can’t help but to marvel at how we have seen the Lord’s hand all the way throughout this entire process and in every aspect. The fact that this type of cancer is rarely caught so early, the placement in our path of 3 different outstanding Christian doctors who are well known and admired in their fields, to how this has already created numerous opportunities to witness and tell of God’s goodness… while it might seem on the surface to be “bad news”, we know that God is in control, that He is still worthy of our trust and that He is still faithful.

I’m not a “point and read” theology kind of person…where you just flop open a Bible and point your finger and that’s supposed to be what God is telling you. But yesterday morning, as I was waiting to go through my last test to see exactly what kind of cancer it is, I sensed a prompting of the Holy Spirit to look at Psalm 39. No, most of the time you will not find me reading my Bible in a waiting room, but I was sure that I “heard” right. I exited my email and flipped over to the Bible application on my cell phone and scrolled to Psalm 39. This is what it says in verses 4-7:

4 “LORD, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am. 5 Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah 6 Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, and does not know who will gather them. 7 “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.

God has given me a new window to look through. He has given me the glorious blessing of being reminded once again that this life is Oh, so short. Whether we have 5, 20 or even 60 more years to live…or maybe just a few more minutes…how will we spend it? Will you make a greater difference with the rest of your life than you have up until now?

We do ask for your prayers over these next few days and weeks. Pray first and foremost that God will be glorified in every situation and in our personal lives and testimony. Pray that God would give us opportunities to declare His glorious Name. And pray that God would confirm, strengthen and establish us as He guides us through these troubled waters.

Many blessings to you and yours!