The Day After Tomorrow

An acquaintance stood up in the midst of a large group of people while the teacher was preparing to lead us in another Bible study. He asked for prayer and quieted the class with his story. The man had just found out that he had an advanced stage of prostate cancer. The disease was so far advanced that he had to leave his job and get some immediate attention, anxious with this diagnosis that he might not survive the next few weeks.

While I knew the man and his family, my familiarity was indirect. My kids played with his kids, and his wife on occasion connected with my wife to invite her to some womens’ functions at the church. Suddenly, something within me was overwhelmed by his story. I was compelled to reach out to him after the Sunday school class and tell him that I was praying for him: of course, we were all praying for him. But I also offered to meet with him during the next week, to learn more about the situation.

I am not sure what was my motivation for making the offer to meet with him the next week. I supposed I thought that it would be nice to do more than simply pray, but to connect personally to hear more of his story. I guess I thought I might try to be an encouragement to him, but I wasn’t really sure how. What could I honestly say that would bring comfort and encouragement to a man facing such a sudden catastrophic diagnosis?

That first meeting led to a years’ worth of meeting every week. The reason we met was more compelled by me than by him. In our first meeting together after that Sunday class, he challenged me with his approach to his cancer diagnosis. It was not that he was going to try the latest treatments or the most holistic, natural approaches, or that he was going to fly across the world to find some treatment in order that he might survive this diagnosis.

His approach was simple. He was resolute in his spiritual approach to this diagnosis, determined to live the things that he believed, no matter the prognosis and treatment that he would receive. He was not quitting the fight--he was already researching this particular diagnosis and all the available approaches to treatment. But he was more keenly aware of his spiritual condition in this fight, win or lose.

He told me he wanted to be the same person that he was the day before his diagnosis as he would be the day after, and throughout his treatment plan. He did not want to panic, or to change anything in his approach, although he wanted to be more sensitive to spiritual things. He stated his objective to me in our first meeting, something to the effect of, “If the things that I believed before my cancer diagnosis were true, I want to make sure that I believe these same things the day after my diagnosis, and no matter whether I survive this cancer or not. I want to be the same man I was before I heard the news, and how I live with the news that I have receive after each doctor visit and after each treatment. I want to live my faith, no matter what the consequences may be.”

This was as compelling to me then as it is now, especially facing my own serious diagnosis with its medical uncertainty. I also want to live those things that I say that I believe no matter what the diagnosis or treatment--or lack of treatment--with my disease--today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow. Will I be able to do this?

He and I set out to study the scriptures, with a particular interest in the people Jesus healed and those He did not heal, and how each responded to the Almighty God. How did the man Jesus healed in John chapter 5 respond after this encounter (John 5:2-8; 14-15 ESV)? Was his faith strengthened or did he slide back into religious piety? How about the man in John chapter 9 who was healed by Jesus of blindness--and then challenged by the religious leaders as to whether he actually was blind and who healed him (John 9:13-38)? What about the rich young ruler, who had a golden opportunity to follow Christ, but was too focused on his own goodness and working out his own plan--looking to the abilities of man for the solution (Mark 10:17-27)?

What about the religious leaders who sought to kill Jesus after witnessing a healing miracle--all because of when it was done (Mark 3:1-6). Then there were ten lepers healed by Jesus, but only one who returned to give praise to the Healer, a fact not lost on Jesus (Luke 17:11-19). And consider that even with the thousands of people touched and healed by Jesus, there were only 120 persons huddled in that upper room, following Jesus’s command to wait for the promised Holy Spirit (Acts 1:6-15 ESV).

Could we live out our beliefs regardless of whether the Lord Jesus Christ would touch us and completely heal us? Could we live our beliefs with the same confidence in God’s ability to heal--or choice to not heal and deliver--as the three Hebrew boys sentenced to the fiery furnace in Daniel chapter 3 for not worshipping the golden image? Remember what they said when facing this choice: not the choice of worshipping an idol, but the choice of trusting God for the results of their future lives, live or die:

“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire (or in our case, to heal this devastating disease); and He will rescue us from your hand, O king (we believe this is a future fulfillment). But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods nor worship the golden statue that you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18 ESV). In other words, we are going to trust God whether He chooses to heal and restore, or not! Wow, God help me to live this out!

In the case of my friend, after various doctor consultations and multiple treatment options, he proceeded on a treatment plan and a walk of faith that led to a remission of the prostate cancer, to the point where he was able to return to work. He was a pilot on jumbo jets and was highly regarded in his organization; and he set himself to go back and tell of God’s wondrous works to everyone with whom he came in contact. One year after we began meeting, he was medically cleared to return to work and continued in his career for several years.

Because the cancer had metastasized to the bone, this evil disease continued to raise its ugly head now and again, until he was forced to resign his position and take an early retirement to fight the battle full-time. He was able to hold off the inevitable for many years but finally succumbed to the disease. I will always remember my friend’s resolve to live out those things that he believed. His approach was such an inspiration to me.

As noted earlier, now as I face my own battles with some disease that doctors haven’t yet qualified, and apart from some kind of a treatment plan, I have a similar choice to make. I can switch doctors; I can pursue the latest boutique treatments; and with the Internet as my guide, I can reach out to a host of online experts to try and secure some treatment plan that will enable me to squeeze out as many more years as I can. I may choose to pursue some of these options, but the one option I desire more than any is the one that my friend chose.

I choose to live out my faith in a tangible way, regardless of the prognosis or the treatment, even as I start to see a steady decline in my previously healthy life. I choose to trust in God’s provision, as those three Hebrew boys did, whether God delivers me from this disease or not--today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow.

When Jesus wanted to test the faith of his followers (John chapter 6), to see if it was deeper than trusting in Him for a free meal, He used some hard language about eating His flesh and drinking His blood (John 6:54-58). The Bible says that Jesus wanted to test the faith of His followers--knowing that there were some who did not believe (John 6:64). The results were that many left His side in that day. But Peter’s resolve was evident in his words, words I repeat to myself often: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life” (John 6:68). I want to be like Peter, trusting in the promises of God for my solution, whether He chooses to heal directly, or to use doctors… or to do neither. I am not looking for anyone else to save me.

It is my goal not only to encourage my own heart to trust in my Savior’s loving care, but also to encourage you, no matter what you are facing, to vibrantly live what you believe--today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow.

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