I want to share a testimony with you – my testimony. I am one who can attest that the God of the Bible IS STILL as it says in Hebrews 13:8:
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Twelve years ago, I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, stage 2. There had never been any history of breast cancer in my family. I will share with you that 80% of the women diagnosed with breast cancer come from families that have had no history of it. It is very important to check your body for any signs of abnormalities and report them immediately to your doctor. Early detection is key. That being said, I want to say although breast cancer came as a surprise to me, it did not come as a surprise to God. Nothing can happen to us that God is not aware of… Let me say this clearly:
GOD DID NOT GIVE ME BREAST CANCER
But He allowed me to go through it. I went through a lumpectomy, when they found that I had cancer in 3 of the 9 nodes that they removed from my body, along with the fat pad under my left arm, it was determined that I should go through chemotherapy and radiation. I was 44 years old when I was diagnosed. I had been a Born-Again believer for 23 years. The Bible says in Matthew 5:45:
“His sun shines on bad people and on good people. He sends rain on those who are right with God and on those who are not right with God.”
I will confess to you that at this time in my life, I was in a backslidden state with my walk in Christ. There were many things that needed healing within me, breast cancer was only the most obvious one. The Bible tells us in Isaiah 55:9:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Honestly, it was cancer that brought me back to Christ. It brought this prodigal back home in faith. The night following my first round of chemo, I had a terrible dream about Hell. I was standing upon the Rock and all around me was fire. It did not touch me (as in my dream the Rock I was standing on, was Jesus, who is the Rock) but all around me were souls that were in flames and experiencing deep torment because during their lives they had not accepted the free gift of salvation that God offered them through accepting Jesus as Savior, making Him Lord over their lives. I will never forget the realness of that dream, I woke up bathed in sweat, terrified by what I had seen. I know for a fact that Hell is a real place that was NOT originally created for humans to experience, it was made for the devil and his demons. It is the reason why the Savior was born. God does not send ANYONE to hell, people decide to send themselves when they refuse the gift of salvation found through Jesus. To choose to live a life without Christ is to make the choice to have an eternal life without Him, which is what Hell is. It seems to me that hell is not talked about very much in church, which does people a real disservice. I am thankful that Jesus saved me and thankful that I had made a choice for Him, and I pray that all who read these words will do the same as well. Psalm 23:4 tells us:
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
No matter WHAT we go through in life, if we have chosen to walk with Christ, He is with us through it all. The devil wanted me to be angry with God. Wanted me to be fearful and to doubt that God loved me. The devil’s plan is to make us doubt or question God. But honestly, even at that time in my life – I knew better than that… We don’t always know WHY God allows us to go through painful things, loss, sickness or anything that comes to your mind as an example as you are reading these words, but the one thing I want you to know and it is what carried me through my time with cancer, is this – the number of my days God WOULD fulfill. Only God knows what that number is – not I. But I know that once I gave my life to Him, accepted Jesus as my Savior, made Him Lord OVER my life, my life no longer belonged to me. Even though someone is in a prodigal time in their walk (and I am not condoning it or excusing it) God SEES them. Sometimes God allows us to go through difficult times because He alone knows that it will bring us back to Him more humble, more moldable, more thankful – definitely less prideful, in full knowledge that it is NOTHING but His grace, His forgiveness, His mercy and His love that saves us… That strengthens us, that gives us the ability to endure whatever life throws our way. At that time in my life, during cancer, I was not afraid I would die. I say this truly. I am not saying I didn’t want to live – because my biggest desire is to live a life for Christ, but in order to get to that point, I had to go through a very dark time. And even now Holy Spirit is giving me this revelation – being diagnosed with breast cancer actually saved my life. I am not glad I went through breast cancer, but I praise God that it was breast cancer that brought me back to Him. It made me repent of my prodigal wayward time – it drew me closer to God. So you see, bad things happen to people but God IS greater than the bad. He can truly take our situations and be glorified through them. What the devil meant to destroy me and take me down actually matured me and brought me into a deeper walk with Christ. It was NEVER God’s will for ANY OF US to experience sickness, illness, disease or even death – but we live in a fallen world. Sickness, illness and disease and death are present. But here is the GOOD NEWS. Jesus Christ has redeemed us FROM death! John 3:16 tells us:
“God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Romans 14:8 tells us:
“For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”
John 11:26 says:
“And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”
What that means, is that everyone who believes in Jesus, shall not have eternal death. But have eternal life.
I have known a few of my Pink Sisters (women who have also gone through breast cancer) who have not survived breast cancer, as well as others that did not survive other cancers, please believe me when I say, they were no less worthy of life than I, but I can tell you this – God has no favorites. Romans 2:11 tells us:
“For God does not show favoritism.”
Everyone sometime, somewhere in their lives are given the opportunity to accept Jesus as Savior, make Him Lord over their lives. You who are reading this now are even NOW being given this opportunity to do the same. What you choose to do, is totally up to you, as God has given you free-will. I, as a believer know that my life is in God’s hands. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for forgiveness of my sins. I have accepted that He IS the Savior of the world and I thank God for opening up my spiritual eyes to see that He is indeed the Way, the Truth and the Life. There is a peace that abides deep within a true believer that stays with us even during times we have no answers for… My faith in God tells me (as does Philippians 1:21):
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
And also, Jesus said in John 11:26 says:
“And everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.”
It enables me to pray, “Kingdom of God come, will of God be done.” I have learned (and as I go deeper in my walk with Him) I AM learning that even if I don’t know what God’s will is, I can trust Him. I know that every day that He allows me to have a fresh sheet of life to write on – it is to glorify His name. I pray that my life glorifies God, that Holy Spirit will use my body as His vessel to spread the good news of Jesus the Christ. I pray that I will bring honor and glory to the Father through my life. I sin, I make mistakes and I am FAR from perfect – but the Father knows my heart. God is NOT looking for people who THINK they are perfect but for those that recognize that there is ONLY ONE Man who IS perfect, and that is my Savior, His Son, Jesus the Christ. When I sin, I ask for God’s forgiveness. I pray the blood of Jesus over my life, over my family and over ALL those that God allows me to encounter along the way. If JUST one person accepts Jesus as their Savior and makes them Lord OVER their life JUST by my faithfulness of writing and worshiping the Lord THROUGH my writing – it will have been worth it.
God alone knows why we go through what we go through – but He IS greater than cancer. Healing is not something that was just done at the time of the Bible, but God’s Word IS the Living Word and God STILL is in the business of healing TODAY. Sometimes that healing manifests physically, sometimes that healing is emotional wounds that are healed – or spiritual wounds that need healing. There is NOTHING too great for God. You ONLY have to believe.
Should I die, I will immediately go straight into the presence of God. 2 Corinthians 5:8 says:
“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”
God desires us to have faith in Him. To trust in Him. To believe in His Word and to most of all accept His gift of salvation. There is no one who loves you more than God. No one. And THAT is the MOST healing news of all.
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Is Holy Spirit speaking to your heart through this word? If so, leave a comment below! I love hearing from you!
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