Category: Encouragement
Resting In a Trustworthy God
The following was excerpted from a recent Our Daily Bread Ministries devotional.©
If we’re honest, we would probably admit we’ve had moments when we’ve thought the promises in the Bible were written for someone else. It can be tough to lean back into God’s arms in total trust when we’ve just been handed a cancer diagnosis. In moments of pain and suffering, we live in the tension of who we believe God to be and who He appears to be if we use circumstances to define Him. We can learn much from Joseph in the Old Testament. He believed God was good and loving yet circumstances seemed to indicate the opposite. He was jailed innocently, often betrayed, thrown into a pit by his brothers to die and sold into slavery. One after another, the good things of Joseph’s life were stripped away; his freedom, reputation, and his family. He lived for years with no visible evidence that God was working “all things for his good.” Yet Joseph held firmly to faith in a loving God. Why? Joseph’s faith was rooted in his commitment to truth, not in what he could see. He believed in a trustworthy God whose faithfulness was greater than his circumstances suggested. He believed God sovereignly intervened in the course of human history; therefore, he trusted Him. Joseph, like us, lived much of his life in the tension of experiences that didn’t seem to match up with God’s promises. Yet he clung unswervingly to his faith. Trials are a certainty in life, but they don’t have the power to control us when our faith rests in the character of a trustworthy God who promises that through His Son, Jesus Christ, we will triumph in all things.
© Excerpted and adapted from “It is Well With My Soul” by Shelly Beach, 2012 Discovery House Publishers.
Video – God Still Speaks Clearly To Us Today.
During February, 2015, I was personally experiencing several trying physical issues and was feeling overwhelmed at times. From past experience, it is precisely during such times of stress that God especially provides messages of peace and encouragement through His Word. This was the case again for me and I was prompted to write about these experiences in website blogs of February 16th and February 19th. Upon reading these posts, my pastor asked if these messages could be put on a 5-minute video to be shown in our church and placed on the church’s website. The video can be accessed below. Since that time, several issues have been resolved. However, when one reads about God’s leadership and interactions with His people Israel in the Old Testament, He specifically tells them to make physical markers of stone to be permanently placed in locations wherein He has miraculously delivered them. These markers would serve as continuous reminders of God’s care, presence and deliverance in future times when obstacles were encountered. It is my prayer that this video serve a similar purpose in my own life and as a reminder to you the reader that God cares about each of us and desires a personal relationship with us. Thank you for reading and viewing this.
A New Scan – Another Lesson
As I write this, I need to provide some background information. My own prostate cancer was initially treated in 1995, recurred in 2002, and has been kept in check since then although I may be getting resistant to conventional, sustaining hormone treatments. I am totally asymptomatic but when my PSA starts rising uncontrollably, it doubles in just two months, hence my physicians consider my cancer to be aggressive. God’s protection and excellent medical care have brought me to this point, but cancer is obviously located somewhere in my body. State-of-the-art sodium fluoride bone scans and sit-down MRI’s have failed to detect it anywhere. So next week, I am scheduled to undergo a carbon-11-labelled choline PET scan at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota details of which can be seen in the linked video. The goal is to find area(s) of metastasized prostate cancer and hopefully eliminate them. Meanwhile, in 1991, I had my right hip replaced as a result of a near-fatal automobile accident. In 2007, surgical modifications were performed but the original hip works well to this day. Over the years, I had favored this right hip and in conjunction with spinal scoliosis, I was now experiencing a small degree of intermittent lower back pain which was accentuated by a recent fall which produced muscle strain in my buttocks and thigh areas. I was being treated by an excellent local physical therapist. All this brings you up to date. The pelvic area is one of the areas to which prostate cancer metastasizes. Yesterday, I was reviewing an e mail I had received from a trusted physician friend which stated that pain in the lower back, buttocks, and groin areas were indicative of metastatic prostate cancer. Immediately the “black depression cloud” descended over my mind and I spent a sleepless night convinced I had serious pelvic metastases. The next morning I fervently asked the Lord to specifically give me a word of assurance that He was in control of my condition. One of my devotionals for that day cited Jesus’ statements concerning the Holy Spirit found in John 14:26 as follows, “but the Helper,the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” Upon reading this verse, immediately my heart and mind were focused on all the previous times that God had taken amazing care of me, and specifically reminding me of the words He had spoken to me on several occasions, most recently February 16th and February 19th, that if I remained faithful to His mission for my life, He would take care of my body. Then turning the page in my Bible, I unexpectedly came upon the next verse John 14:27, “peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled nor let it be fearful.” This was the same message I had been given many times previously. The bottom line is this. In these two verses, Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things and remind us of everything Jesus has said to us and done for us. The Holy Spirit will therefore bring God’s word to my heart and mind, and apply it to any current conditions in my life. As Isaiah 28:29 says, “all this comes from the Lord Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.” In this context, I proceed to the Mayo Clinic.
A Divine Encounter to Remember
When it comes to spiritual issues, my rational and scientific background often predominates and I am not usually an emotional man though I have experienced God’s presence (through the Holy Spirit) many times since becoming a Christian. However, on Tuesday, February 17th, 2015, I experienced Jesus’ specific presence and message to me as I had on only 2-3 previous occasions. Yesterday, I was feeling mentally and physically overwhelmed dealing with prostate issues, an infected leg, bursitis and muscle pains. I was hurrying preparing for a 2 PM appointment with a physician and realized that I had not spent any time that morning reading God’s Word in short devotionals which was my regular habit. As I finished brushing my teeth, I strongly sensed the need to simply bow down and ask the Lord’s guidance in the upcoming medical appointments. I had only five minutes or so before I had to leave so I bowed down exactly where I was. As I started to verbalize my situation to the Lord, His presence intensely enveloped that little room. Immediately a picture appeared to me of several men lowering a paralyzed man through the tiles of a roof in order to lay him at the feet of Jesus since the room itself was too crowded. This scene is described in Mark 2:1-12 where Jesus manifested His divinity by forgiving the man’s sins and then healing him. This was especially relevant because several friends and family were praying for me. As I was on my knees, Jesus specifically reminded me of previous “instructions” I had received from Him, namely that I was to minister to medical personnel whom I would encounter and in turn, He would take care of my body as I yielded myself to Him (see Romans 12:1). All this was accompanied by such a feeling of intense joy, peace, and especially thanksgiving and praise to the Lord that I had rarely experienced. I began to weep with joy, lifting my face and hands upward. I continuously uttered thanks and praise for several minutes. Words were insufficient to thank and praise Jesus for his specific message of encouragement to me. When I read in the Old Testament how God delivered His people Israel again and again, He told them always to remember the specific times of their deliverances as the details would be easily forgotten with time. I write this for my own remembrance as well as an encouragement to any of you who may be in a similar situation. I had experienced similar direct messages from the Lord on few occasions. For specifics, see the My Story section of this website, 2004-2005, specific entries dated Sunday, January 11, 2004 and March, 2005. If any of you are not sure of your own personal relationship with God, please see this linked website section. I offer my sincere thanks to you all for allowing me to share this encouragement.
The Peace That Passes All Understanding.
I recently learned that I may be becoming resistant to the treatments that have kept my cancer under control for nearly nine years. I was also informed that in such a condition, I could possibly expect 3-5 “good” years of life remaining even with newly approved, available prostate cancer treatments. My initial feelings of despair and disappointment lasted a few days during which I candidly poured out my broken expectations and concerns to God much as David did in many of the Psalms. As a result, I have learned some valuable lessons some of which I share below.
Time is a precious gift. As Moses reminds us in Psalm 90:12, it is a matter of eternal significance how we spend the time apportioned to us in this world. “Teach us to number our days aright that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
John 14:27 has become a promise from Jesus to which I tenaciously cling. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world gives do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled nor let it be afraid.” To see us through rough times of life, God provides His protection and peace. But protection does not mean that troubles won’t occur. Jesus allowed the disciples to experience the fear and anxiety of being in a boat on a turbulent sea. He permitted them to suffer because He had something far more important in mind. He wanted to teach them to recognize their own helplessness, His sufficiency and their need of Him. The peace that God provides is not dependent upon the quieting of our circumstances or the removal of external pressures e.g. physical conditions. The promised peace comes in two ways. First, Jesus Himself becomes our peace. Through His death, He has reconciled us to God the Father and we are no longer estranged from Him. “Therefore being justified” (declared innocent) “by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”, Romans 5:1. In addition, having a right relationship with God is accompanied by the inward presence of the Holy Spirit who enables us to experience an increasing sense of inner tranquility. If we are experiencing prostate cancer at its various stages and impacts, are we using all that God has provided? Following God in a right relationship leads to a deepening relationship with Him. He chooses to reveal Himself to those who seek Him and obey His instructions. And when we see that God always keeps His promises, our confidence in His faithfulness will soar. Hebrews 10:23 states ” let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for He who promised is faithful.” Whatever our situation, we know we can trust Him. Then He will transform our worries into joyful anticipation about what He is going to do next in our life. Even if hard times await, we’ll be convinced that God will work them out for good (Romans 8:28).
To ensure you have a relationship with God, see the website link. Some of the above was cited from the Feb.6th, 2015 In Touch Devotional by Dr. Charles Stanley.
Unsolicited Advice from Survivors for the Newly Diagnosed Men with Prostate Cancer
The following post comes from a site called Prostate Snatchers written by Ralph Blum and Dr. Mark Scholz. You are urged to subscribe to their periodic e mails by logging into prostatesnatchers.blogspot.com.
In 2014, approximately 233,000 men in the U.S. were told they had prostate cancer and to many of them it sounded at best, like the end of their sex life, and at worst like a death threat. In reality, the majority of them turned out to have an indolent form of the disease that was not life threatening and could safely be monitored without any immediate treatment. Having said that, a diagnosis of prostate cancer is not a walk in the park. Just when you are most vulnerable you are obliged to confront so much complex and conflicting information that to say it leaves you reeling would be an understatement. So your first and most important decision is not to make a pressured decision, not to rush the treatment selection process or allow anyone else—including any doctors you consult—to rush you into undergoing an irreversible treatment until the shock has worn off and you have had time to carefully analyze all the data that applies to your particular case. The first step after being diagnosed is to understand the concepts of staging and grading. The grade of your cancer will tell you how aggressive the cancer cells are. The stage tells you how extensive or advanced the cancer is. This information, together with your PSA level, will help determine your prostate cancer’s risk factor—whether you are in the low-risk, intermediate-risk, or high-risk category. If your cancer is low-risk it can be safely monitored with “active surveillance” and does not require any immediate treatment. If you are in the intermediate-risk category, you have many treatment choices, and in order to make the best decision you will need to get opinions from specialists with state-of-the-art knowledge. You will already have seen a urologist who, if you are a candidate for surgery, is likely to have recommended a prostatectomy. If this is the case, it is essential to ask him the tough questions: What are the risks? How many prostatectomies has he performed overall and how many has he done in the past twelve months? Does he perform nerve-sparing surgery, and if so what is his success rate with preservation of potency and continence? And if you are over seventy, please consider prioritizing almost any other treatment option ahead of going through a major surgical procedure. Before making a treatment decision you should consult a radiation oncologist about brachytherapy (radioactive seed implantation), and IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy), a precisely targeted type of radiation that delivers high doses to the prostate without damaging surrounding organs. In my opinion both these options are at least as effective as surgery at curing the disease and both are associated with significantly lower risk of long-term toxicity. You should also consult a medical oncologist about hormone therapy, a treatment that blocks the male hormone testosterone and significantly slows the spread of the cancer, often for years. Hormone therapy does not promise a cure, but it is a viable, non-invasive alternative to surgery, an effective delaying action. A medical oncologist is a good doctor to consult with as they have no vested interest in either surgery or radiation and can often be helpful in sorting out the conflicting opinions you likely have heard. If your cancer is in the high-risk category you will usually need two or more different kinds of treatment—probably hormone therapy plus radiation. Some centers even may mention chemotherapy such as commonly done for patients with colon cancer or for women with breast cancer. And there are many new treatment methods in the pipeline, so even if your cancer is aggressive, you are not looking at an imminent death threat. So do your research and take your choice. And always remember: Prostate cancer is about the best possible cancer to deal with.
Christmas and New Year thoughts
It’s Christmas 2014 and a New Year 2015!!! The time of year when a man’s thoughts turn to prostate cancer, right? Unfortunately, it seems that is true for those of us who have this condition. Just recently, I saw an interview with retiring U.S. Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma who is currently undergoing chemotherapy and radiation for advanced prostate cancer. I also recently noted the death of the former “infamous” Washington D.C. mayor Marion Barry, also a prostate cancer victim with whom I walked the halls of Johns Hopkins Hospital in late 1995. He was a patient in an adjacent room and was always very congenial during our hallway conversations. But Christmas is a season of gift giving and most gifts are delivered in a decorative, attractive wrapping. The same is true of Jesus whose birth we celebrate at this time and who came to earth as a redemptive gift to rescue us from our sinful selves. Jesus could have wrapped Himself up in a mind-boggling show of power, lighting up the sky with His presence in a celestial show of glory. Instead in a humble manger, He “made Himself of no reputation, choosing to wrap Himself up “in the likeness of men.” He did not replace His deity with humanity but added humanity to His deity. Jesus, like us, is no stranger to our struggles. He experienced deep loneliness, betrayal, was publicly shamed, misunderstood and falsely accused before being executed to pay the penalty for our sins. Even in the humble stable of His birth, He did not cease to be God, but surrendered the independent use of His divine powers and the right to manifest His own glory that He had with God the Father before the world existed. Jesus had a purpose in life. He came to show us God’s true nature and to teach us how to live, walk and talk as spiritual people. But more importantly, He came so that we might have a full, intimate relationship with the Father He knew so well. Jesus’ purpose was to secure our salvation which He did at the cost of His life. He came so that we might lay our sins and imperfections down at the foot of the cross. This is Jesus’ gift to us at Christmas. Jesus is the best gift one could ever receive and when you think of this gift, keep the “wrapping” in mind and don’t discard it. Remember “God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow……. and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11). Speaking of names, it should also be noted that Jesus was also given the name “Immanuel” meaning “God with us”. Imagine His divine and human presence is available to each of us by faith alone. WHAT A BEAUTIFULLY WRAPPED AND MOST VALUABLE GIFT. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! THANK YOU ALL FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHARE A PORTION OF MY LIFE’S JOURNEY WITH YOU.
(Portions of the above were excerpted from Our Daily Bread devotional, December 22, 2014 written by Dr. Joe Stowell).
Do You Have Anything You’d Like to Discard?
In our current disposable society, I am sure that we can all think about specific items that we would have no use for or difficult times in our lives that we would rather not re-live. But the truth is that tough times can eventually mature and grow us and be a blessing while discarded items could be of use to others who would need them. For readers of this website, prostate cancer could be classified as an item we’d rather discard if we could. Some time ago, I had planted some zinnias which had bloomed beautifully in my garden but eventually withered and died leaving only a dead stalk, brown leaves and dried flowers which had produced some seeds. I pulled the dead plants out of the ground and tossed them haphazardly into a wooded lot next to my home. Several summer weeks went by with their Florida sun and afternoon rain. One day, I was pleasantly surprised to see a row of multi-colored, fully-blooming zinnias in this vacant, wooded lot. The dead plants had contained seeds which found their way into the sandy soil, had germinated and now produced beautiful flowers with no help from me. Discarded yard waste contained the elements of life and eventually produced something of beauty and value. Prostate cancer is a condition we’d rather discard if we could but even an undesirable condition such as this can possess value and provide blessings if subjected to the proper care and guidance. The Bible speaks of a similar situation. In the Old Testament book of Jeremiah 18:1-4, the prophet describes a potter who makes a vessel which is damaged and “spoiled” just as we are who have prostate cancer. But Jeremiah goes on to say that the potter re-made the clay into a useful vessel which was pleasing to him. At this point, you might ask of what possible value can one’s prostate cancer serve? It can lead us into recognizing that we are all “terminal” at one stage of our lives. Since we are all “eternal beings” with an eventual destination of either heaven or hell, it can lead us into focusing our relationships, thoughts, words and deeds in such as way that they have positive, eternal consequences for us and for those around us. If we have a personal relationship with God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ, the Master Potter can make us into beautiful vessels for His glory even through our diseases. Those with whom we come into contact can see that though our bodies may be “damaged”, God’s presence in our lives can shine through and we can be pleasing vessels to the Lord and to those around us. It isn’t our efforts but if we submit our bodies to God (Romans 12:1-2), His re-forming power does the work. The apostle Paul wrote (2 Cor. 4:7) that “we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” Nothing, not even prostate cancer, is unusable in God’s hands. In conclusion, even a condition that we’d prefer to discard, can produce beautiful, valuable and meaningful results in the hands of the Master Potter just like my zinnias. For those who do not have a personal relationship with God (the potter), having prostate cancer and its potential negative result can lead us into entering such a relationship and thereby gaining eternal life in an eventual new heaven and a new earth with a new, indestructible body. If you want to have such a relationship, see the following website section. Prostate cancer can have positive results. For related thoughts, see the January, 2011 website post entitled “Don’t Waste Your Cancer”.
Encouragement from a Friend Experiencing Testing
