Today, April 7, 1993 (17 years ago), I had major cancer surgery. The results were not hopeful with possibly only three months to live. However, after a year of chemotherapy (which nearly killed me several times) and radiation (which almost cooked me!), I was able to “limp” to Africa leading a team of 13 doctors and nurses to the refugee death camp (50,000 died in three days) in Goma, Zaire, to assist for three weeks in the Rwanda Refugee Crisis. This Africa venture resulted in ACTION beginning ministry in Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia.
Cancer is the pits, has left my body in a mess, and has caused difficulty in the amount of work and travel I can do, but this illness given by God has resulted in the Gospel and compassionate care being proclaimed in areas we would not have dreamed.
I am very encouraged by Thomas Manton’s (1620-1677) statement, “The world forsakes those that are in poverty, disgrace, and want; but God promises most of His presence to them that holy, meekly, and patiently bear the afflictions which He lays upon them. And one drop of this honey is enough to sweeten the bitterest cup that ever drank of. If God be with us, if the power of Christ will rest upon us, then we may even glory in infirmities, as Paul did.”
Yes, it is always good to remember that God never brings anything into one’s life unless it is for our good and for His Glory!
"For You have tried us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined. You brought us into the net; You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins. You made men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water, yet You brought us out into a place of abundance" (Psalm 66:10-12 nasb).
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