Delivered

Two months ago, I was told by one of the best doctors in the country in one the the best hospitals in the world that I was stage four cancer, incurable. I was told I had a cancerous tumor on my adrenal gland and that cancer had jumped into the lymph nodes in my chest and also evidenced itself with another tumor on my lung.
While extremely compassionate, the medical staff were all on the same page; preparing me for the worst and the avenue for my care in the last days of life which I was currently in because I had been declared terminal. I don't know if you've ever been in that position, but the two words you don't want to hear when speaking to a doctor with the credentials of the one that sat across from me is 'terminal' and 'incureable.' And you don't want to be told that they can only extend your life, just before sending you to meet the man who will be in charge of your chemotherapy as you die.

Tonight I read a passage out of the Bible where David, in his joy, danced before the Lord.
Tonight as I type these words, I know why David danced so long ago.
Tonight, I'm not terminal, I wasn't incurable.
Tonight my body is cancer free because God touched me, healed my body and delivered me from death.

I cannot rightly describe what it feels like to know that you're dying but also know that there is something going on within your body that you can't explain; thinking God is doing something powerful, but you don't know exactly what it is. But you hope.
And I cannot rightly describe what it feels like to wake up from a second surgery and the doctors are smiling. In a fog, the first thing I can remember is person after person in the recovery room telling me I didn't have cancer.

Now, I can't describe it - but I can see it. I see it in David's actions so long ago.
'David was dancing with all his might before the Lord wearing a linen ephod. He and the whole house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of the ram's horn...

And David's explanation for dancing half-naked in public was simple:
'I was dancing before the Lord who chose me...to appoint me ruler of the Lord's people Israel. I will celebrate before the Lord, and I will humble myself even more...'
     - 2 Samuel 6:14; 21-22

David had finally obtained all that had been promised to him when the Lord chose him and anointed him through Samuel so long ago as King. As a boy, he was promised the kingdom because he was after God's own heart. David had lived on the run, fighting as he went in his youth. At this time, he was about 37 years old and had just united the kingdom. He had defeated the constant enemies of Israel - the Amelekites, Philistines and captured Jerusalem by defeating the Jebusites.
As the Ark of the Covenant enters, David is full of joy for what the Lord has accomplished for His glory through David and for Israel. David is simply overcome.
I can't explain it very well - but I know what it feels like. I know why David danced. I have felt the same joy and satisfaction in the Lord.

Amazingly, this joy and the knowledge of not having cancer brings a whole host of new mysteries and questions that I cannot answer; some are frivolous and some are serious.
- Should I change the title of the blog?
I mean, I don't have cancer anymore; is it false advertising or isn't a memorial for what the Lord has done? I think it stands as a reminder of the power of God  among the people of God. Lest we forget.

- If my lymph nodes do not contain cancer, exactly what do they contain?
There is something in my body that does not belong there, now it is time to find out what it is and eliminate it.

- Why did God chose to deliver me and does not choose to heal others?
I don't know the answer to this one; and this may be the most difficult of all.  I do know that I have been healed and I am so thankful for what God has done.

And there are others, but I digress.

One thing I do want to point out is the power of prayer. If the readers of this blog have anything to learn, I hope you learn this one truth that I am about to convey.
Since August, I've had more people pray for me in more places around the world than I ever thought possible. August is when I really started getting sick although there were some praying for me long before that time.

In prayer, there were Christians of all faiths; Catholics and Orthodox Christians as well as Protestants and Evangelicals. And all of us have our own religious traditions by which we abide in seeking the same Lord.

In prayer, there were Christians of various races. Of those that I know about, there were blacks and whites; American Indians and Pacific Islanders; those of Slavic descent and true Africans. There were also countless others whom I do not know personally, but heard about in a distant country. These I will meet in eternity.

In prayer, there were men and women; yet, it was the children who may have had the purest prayers of all. As we were talking about some of my health issues one day, my son looked at me and told me that I was going to be OK, he'd prayed to God about it. In his mind, that had settled the matter. As it turned out, he was right.

In prayer, I am assuming that people prayed for me with passionate/heart felt requests. Some I know but many I do not - these are prayer warriors who pray whenever a need arises, bringing supplications before the Lord as the need is made known.

The teaching about this lesson on prayer is this - God moves greatly when we put our personal bigotries aside, when we forget about the traditions that have separated our hearts for centuries, when we focus on the one need out of love and compassion; that's when God moves.
For the last 2 months people from all over the world have prayed for me - and God moved on our behalf. Just imagine what He can do if instead of coming to Him with faint and faithless prayers - we come to Him with joined hearts and in fervency and passion.
Not only does prayer move mountains, prayers move God to suspend the natural laws of the universe on our behalf.
I am living proof that God does that very thing for His servants.

And you don't have to be a perfect saint - just a willing vessel.
Until next time, try to become that willing servant by the power of the Holy Spirit; and go win one for the good guys because God just healed one on behalf of the prayers of the good guys.