Psalms 116:1-5
1I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”
5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
I had four appointments with four different doctors this week. The good news is that all of them were pleased with my healing process. The most exuberant was my ENT doctor yesterday. He looked down my throat with an instrument and he was very pleased with the healing and he said that all looked good. At least from the visible eye there were no signs of the cancer. However, I will have a cat scan in October and then a pet scan in November and that will give us a clearer picture as to where we are.
Please pray for my voice. Most of the time I can only whisper but there are moments where I have a stronger voice. Also, I am eating a little bit, but there are still issues with swallowing, so I can only eat small bites but I am progressing in that area.
Psalms 116 is one of my favorites. God has heard my prayers. The truth is they started a long time ago before I found out about my cancer. Most of you know that I have struggled with my voice for over the past four years or so. When my dad was so sick I had a special moment of prayer during the middle of the night. Dad was in a lot of discomfort and I was praying for healing. I asked God to give dad healing one way or another, either give him strength to go back home or give him eternal healing. It was just a few days after that God healed my dad perfectly for eternity. No longer would he struggle to breathe or to get out of bed.
During that time of prayer I asked God for my own healing. God whispered a soft reply that He would hear and answer my prayer. He didn’t tell me how He would do it but that He would heal me. I must admit that there were times over the past months when I felt like the psalmist:
3 The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
This year has been one big blur since last March. I have seen death, disease, hurt, pain, tears and lost hope for many. But I have also seen the love of Christ from those who have been walking the same journey that I am walking. I will continue to call upon the Lord as long as I live. With out him there is no hope. He has given me a new understanding of pain and a new compassion for those who are hurting and struggling to live day to day.
I love the Lord. He has heard my voice; He will always hear my voice. He will always give us understanding, even when the news may not be what we want. Even when He hears us doesn’t mean that we don’t have a big long path of pain to walk through.
He loves us, He cares for us and He has given us purpose here on earth. The world is full of chaos, but only the love of God and the hope of eternal life give us hope. We are to proclaim it proudly.
[1]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ps 116:1–5). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
Resting in HIS hands 