I believe in prayer and in a God of miracles. But I am faced with a challenge: do I really believe God or not? Isaiah 53:5 says Jesus was wounded for our sin, bruised for our iniquity and with His stripes we are healed.
The doctors became extremely worried, they didn’t want me to travel overseas and they set up exhaustive tests in a hurry. They said bluntly, ‘It’s not pneumonia, you have lung cancer.’
On the following Monday I had to go for a bronchoscopy when they would put a camera down my lung and take a sample of the growth. The doctors had already fast-tracked me into a process which would lead to an operation to remove all or part of my right lung – on the Wednesday I was booked to go in for the final verdict. The only question, how much of my lung they would take away?
I said, ‘Lord, how can I go back into Russia and preach like I preach and say that You are a mighty God of miracles who’s got power to do everything, including healing cancer, if I have got half of my right lung cut out, followed by chemotherapy? If You have finished with me, if my ministry is over, then don’t heal me, because if I can no longer evangelise I might as well die, desperately seeking God’s answer from Scripture, I was reading from Jeremiah 33:6, ‘I will bring health and healing’; and Jeremiah 33:20-21, ‘I will not break my covenant with David’; and Psalm 89:35, ‘I will not lie to David’; and ‘Is anything impossible with God?’ (Jeremiah 32:17&27).
Faith vs. Diagnosis: Standing on Scriptural Healing Amid a Cancer Verdict
When a devastating medical report challenges your faith, the internal struggle becomes intensely real. Believing in a God of miracles is one thing; standing on that belief when doctors deliver a life-altering diagnosis is the ultimate test.
The Crisis: A Sudden Lung Cancer Diagnosis
The medical team expressed extreme concern, urging against overseas travel and fast-tracking exhaustive diagnostic testing. The verdict was blunt: it was not pneumonia, but lung cancer.
A timeline of the medical intervention was set in motion rapidly:
Monday: Scheduled for a bronchoscopy – a procedure where a camera is passed down the trachea into the lung to tissue-sample the growth.
Wednesday: Booked for the final surgical verdict to determine how much of the right lung would be removed (a partial lobectomy or full pneumonectomy), to be followed by chemotherapy.
The Conflict: Ministry, Sovereignty, and Healing
The core of the struggle rests on a vital question: How can one preach a gospel of supernatural healing and global evangelism if a critical part of their physical capacity is removed by a surgical knife?
When your identity and calling are tied to proclaiming God's power, a physical limitation can feel like an end to the ministry itself. The prayer becomes raw and transparent: "If my ministry is over, do not heal me; but if I am to continue, show Your power."
The Spiritual Weapon: Anchoring in Scripture
In moments of deep distress, standing on the finished work of the cross requires anchoring your mind to specific biblical promises. Isaiah 53:5 serves as the foundation for the covenant of healing:
"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed," (Isaiah 53:5).
Promises of Restoration and healing
When seeking answers during a health crisis, look to these foundational scriptures that affirm God's character and promises:
Jeremiah 33:6 "I will bring health and healing; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security."
Jeremiah 33:20-21 God's covenant cannot be broken; His laws of day and night are as fixed as His promises to His servants.
Psalm 89:34-35 "My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips... I will not lie."
Jeremiah 32:17 & 27 "Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power... There is nothing too hard for You."