For Immediate Release
January 19, 2007
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How a Serious Illness Strengthened my Christian Faith
Imagine this scenario: one day you are enjoying life and looking forward to the future, and the next you are in the hospital facing a potentially life-threatening illness. While no one wants to experience this – either firsthand or through a family member or close friend – this situation can happen all too often. Illness or tragedy can strike without warning. And, when it does, no matter how we have tried to prepare, there is often a sense of helplessness, a loss of control, and great fear.
Such a situation happened to me recently. In the interest of privacy, I am writing the article anonymously. However, while I can only report on my personal experiences, I feel the circumstances may be quite common. The unexpected result of this illness, to me, is that my Christian faith was more essential than I could ever have imagined during my hospitalization and recovery and has been strengthened as a result. Today, I feel I am a stronger Christian than before my illness and want to share my experiences.
In November 2006, I suddenly became ill without warning one evening after work. I visited my doctor the next day and was hospitalized almost immediately. On Thanksgiving Day, I was told it was likely I had a serious form of cancer that was difficult to detect under normal screening methods. (The sudden illness probably saved my life, as it rushed me to the hospital where the cancer was detected at a reasonably early stage.) Then, I had to go through the agonizing process of scheduling and having surgery to remove a major organ, and waiting three weeks over the Christmas holidays for the biopsy results to see if the cancer had spread. During this time, my Christian faith helped both me and my immediate family deal with a very difficult situation. While there are many reasons my faith was strengthened, I would like to cite three:
Signs from God. At least twice, I experienced events that I can only consider to be signs from God. They were too obvious to be viewed as coincidental. The first involved three specific actions right in a row: later someone told me that Christian events often occur in threes to represent the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The events are too complex to describe in just a few words. But, in one case I absolutely believe God communicated to me through another person who was a stranger in my life. In another, after surgery, an inanimate object provided an unusual and clear message to me. These signs from God helped me reaffirm my Christian faith, kept me optimistic, and most important, provided evidence that God was listening to my prayers and those of others, and was in my corner, so to speak.
Outpouring of Prayers. Throughout my illness, numerous people prayed for me. Prayer groups were initiated at my church in Florida, my sister’s church in Georgia, and through my employer. In quite a few cases, I had never met the persons who were praying for me. The prayer groups meant so much to me, for, as the Bible states: For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them (Matthew:18:20). I also prayed everyday and often by myself. My prayers and those of others gave me great hope. I can’t imagine having lived through the 10-week period without them and will continue to pray daily and fervently.
A Favorable Diagnosis. The event that strengthened my faith the most, of course, was a favorable diagnosis three weeks after the surgery that the cancer had not spread. It was a difficult three weeks over the Christmas holidays imagining anything other than this.
Now, I have to face the future as a cancer survivor with the loss of an organ (one of the few you can live without successfully). My future is not as certain as it was just 10 weeks ago, although my prospects are considered good. I learned that Christian faith can provide something that not even the best medical care can: a sense of hope when you need it the most. The Bible verse from Joshua 1:9 – sent to my sister during my illness – sums up my feelings today: Be strong and of good courage, be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go
Such a situation happened to me recently. In the interest of privacy, I am writing the article anonymously. However, while I can only report on my personal experiences, I feel the circumstances may be quite common. The unexpected result of this illness, to me, is that my Christian faith was more essential than I could ever have imagined during my hospitalization and recovery and has been strengthened as a result. Today, I feel I am a stronger Christian than before my illness and want to share my experiences.
In November 2006, I suddenly became ill without warning one evening after work. I visited my doctor the next day and was hospitalized almost immediately. On Thanksgiving Day, I was told it was likely I had a serious form of cancer that was difficult to detect under normal screening methods. (The sudden illness probably saved my life, as it rushed me to the hospital where the cancer was detected at a reasonably early stage.) Then, I had to go through the agonizing process of scheduling and having surgery to remove a major organ, and waiting three weeks over the Christmas holidays for the biopsy results to see if the cancer had spread. During this time, my Christian faith helped both me and my immediate family deal with a very difficult situation. While there are many reasons my faith was strengthened, I would like to cite three:
Signs from God. At least twice, I experienced events that I can only consider to be signs from God. They were too obvious to be viewed as coincidental. The first involved three specific actions right in a row: later someone told me that Christian events often occur in threes to represent the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The events are too complex to describe in just a few words. But, in one case I absolutely believe God communicated to me through another person who was a stranger in my life. In another, after surgery, an inanimate object provided an unusual and clear message to me. These signs from God helped me reaffirm my Christian faith, kept me optimistic, and most important, provided evidence that God was listening to my prayers and those of others, and was in my corner, so to speak.
Outpouring of Prayers. Throughout my illness, numerous people prayed for me. Prayer groups were initiated at my church in Florida, my sister’s church in Georgia, and through my employer. In quite a few cases, I had never met the persons who were praying for me. The prayer groups meant so much to me, for, as the Bible states: For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them (Matthew:18:20). I also prayed everyday and often by myself. My prayers and those of others gave me great hope. I can’t imagine having lived through the 10-week period without them and will continue to pray daily and fervently.
A Favorable Diagnosis. The event that strengthened my faith the most, of course, was a favorable diagnosis three weeks after the surgery that the cancer had not spread. It was a difficult three weeks over the Christmas holidays imagining anything other than this.
Now, I have to face the future as a cancer survivor with the loss of an organ (one of the few you can live without successfully). My future is not as certain as it was just 10 weeks ago, although my prospects are considered good. I learned that Christian faith can provide something that not even the best medical care can: a sense of hope when you need it the most. The Bible verse from Joshua 1:9 – sent to my sister during my illness – sums up my feelings today: Be strong and of good courage, be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go
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