Sickness For The Glory Of God

It's an interesting question, one that has been discussed through the ages.  Why does someone become ill?  In a technical sense, medical knowledge and technology have come so far that it is actually easier to determine the source of illness.  We (I guess I can use that term since I work in health care)  now know that there are a multitude of entities which can lead to illness.  It could be germs, genetics, the environment, exposure to chemicals, overeating, lack of exercise, smoking, drinking, too much medication or not enough medication (just to name a few).  We are blessed with a plethora of lab tests, bone scans, CT scans, PET scans, MRIs, and ultrasounds to pinpoint the source of a disease.

Yet, the question remains, "Why does a person get sick?"  It's a question that troubled Jesus' disciples.  Seeing a blind man in their midst, it appeared to be the opportune time to ask Jesus for further insight.  They were quoted in John 9:2-3 saying, "...Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?  Jesus answered, 'It was neither that his man sinned nor his parents, but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him.'"  Jesus stated that the blind man in no way brought his sickness upon himself.  The blindness also wasn't due to the errors of his parents.  In a most bizarre concept which cuts against the grain of our natural thinking, Jesus said this unfortunate man's sickness would actually be for the glory of God. 

How can sickness be for the glory of God?  First of all, sickness can draw a person to Christ.     Psalms 119:71 says, "It was good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Thy statutes."  Many people don't think about death at all.  They may feel like their earthly bodies will never fail, that life on this planet is never ceasing.  Yet, when someone gets sick, it testifies how temporary we are.  Our bodies are deteriorating.  Hence, those who never consider the afterlife may suddenly realize their necessity for a savior when they are on their deathbeds.

Also, sickness can be the catalyst to develop a new ministry.  II Corinthians 1:3-4 says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort  with which we ourselves are comforted by God."  Before my cancer diagnosis in 2004, I rarely thought about cancer or sickness for that matter.  Now, I have a cancer ministry with a book, a blog, and speaking opportunities as God provides.  Although I wouldn't wish cancer upon anyone, my sickness has enriched my life in ways I never could have imagined.  So, people with cancer, diabetes, whatever, should use their sickness to minister to others.

Finally, sickness can help deliver others through your example.  I've mentioned this in a previous blog, "Overcoming Cancer: People Are Watching You", but the words of Acts 16 still grip my heart.  "But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.." (vs 25).  You know, prisoners need an example to follow in the midst of adversity.  My cancer may have been given to me in order to be an encouragement to my family, my co-workers, my church or my community.  We all need heroes, people that inspire us, that prompt us to move forward in life.  What happens to us when someone close overcomes a great adversity?  Acts 16:26 lists the result in that , "...everyone's chains were unfastened".  We become free through their freedom.  We think, "If they can make it, so can I!!!".

So, can sickness be used for the glory of God?  Absolutely.  I pray that you will use your infirmity for His kingdom.
 

      

My UAB eReporter Interview

Just a quick blog this time with a link to an interview I had at UAB Hospital.  See the attached:

"UAB's Campbell Fights Bladder Cancer With The Healing Power Of The Pen "

It can be accessed online at:

http://www.uab.edu/news/reporter/people/item/2822-uab%E2%80%99s-campbell-fights-bladder-cancer-with-the-healing-power-of-the-pen

My Message Goes Global

"...you shall be My witnesses, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."  (Acts 1:8 NASB)

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He told His disciples how the message of the Gospel would spread throughout the whole world through their testimony.  Gratefully, their message of the redeeming power of Christ eventually reached across the continents and gripped my heart in the summer of 1975 when I was born again.  You could say that when Jesus uttered the above statement America was part of the "remotest part of the earth."   As a matter of fact, the area where I live just north of Birmingham, Alabama, is part of the United States now known as "The Bible Belt", although our country as a whole currently appears to be in spiritual decline.  Nevertheless, I am forever indebted to the faithfulness of the first followers in proclaiming the Gospel so that one day I would be assured access into a glorious place called heaven.

Hopefully, just as the early disciples, I pray that I will be a faithful witness in proclaiming the Gospel.

In like manner, my desire is to spread my message of cancer recovery throughout the whole world.  I guess Birmingham is my Jerusalem, Alabama is my Judea and Samaria, and the United States and beyond is my remotest part of the earth. 

In relation to this, I am most excited to proclaim I had the privilege of doing a poster presentation on "Bladder Cancer: Through The Eyes Of A Survivor" at the American College of Nurse Practitioners Conference in Toronto on October 5th, 2012.  It was thrilling for me to share my story in another country, although most of the attendees of the conference were from the states.  Yet, just being able to describe how God has worked in my life on the soil of a foreign country was a great joy.  You could say my message has now gone global.

Where will I get to share my story in the future?  Europe? Asia?  Africa?  Only God knows. But I am not content to allow my story to stay within the confines of the Bible Belt.  I have worldwide aspirations....and that's a good thing. 

People Are Watching You

When I was going though cancer treatment, I became familiar with some books by Dr. Bernie Siegel, a physician who has worked extensively with cancer patients.    One of his books, "Peace, Love & Healing", has a great quote about disease being an agent of transformation. Listen to the richness of this statement:

"Disease is surely one of the ways we are tried by life and offered the chance to be heroic.  Though few of us will win Olympic medals or slay dragons, disease can be the spark or gift that allows many of us to live out our personal myths and become heroes".  (p. 197).

In other words, a person may not accomplish anything above the mundane in life, that is, win medals or slay dragons.  But yet, in a strange way, having an illness, whether it be cancer or another malady, provides an opportunity for a person to become a hero.  I've certainly discovered this to be true in my own life.  Although I fail in so many ways, I still am approached by people in church years after my cancer battle who tell me what an encouragement I was to them when I was in the darkest moments of my sickness.  Hey, I wasn't trying to be a hero.  I was just trying to survive.

Reminds me of the account of Paul and Silas in Acts 16.  As you may recall, they were thrown into a Philippian jail after publicly renouncing a girl with a spirit of divination.  After being arrested, they were beaten with rods and thrown into prison.  Their feet were placed in stocks.  How did these early missionaries deal with their situation?  Acts 16:25 records how "...about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God and the prisoners were listening to them (italics mine)."

Although it is unfathomable to think of the immoral punishment inflicted upon Paul and Silas, it did have a good result in that the prisoners were listening to them.  Brought to mind how whenever a person goes through hardship such as illness, there are others watching to see how one will respond.  Believe it or not, the dungeon of cancer may be the divine instrument in life to propel a person to stardom.  Who are the fans?  Why, it's simply the other prisoners in life who happen to be listening.    

Advances In Nausea Control

I've been a nurse since 1983.  It's amazing some of the medical advances I've witnessed in my lifetime.  Consider the advances in treating acid reflux or peptic ulcer disease.  In the old days, I can remember giving patients an antacid such as Maalox or Mylanta every three hours (I kid you not) to allow healing of an ulcer and neutralize the acid in a patient's stomach.  I can still picture the white coating on  patients' lips who underwent this regimen.  Later, and not necessarily in order of appearance on the market, drugs like Tagamet,  Zantac, and Pepcid appeared to decrease acid production.  Another drug was subsequently developed to coat the stomach called Carafate.  Not too long after that, even better acid reducing medications like Prevacid and Nexium appeared.  Eventually, it was discovered that some ulcers were caused by a bacterium, Helicobacter pylori (known simply as H. pylori).  If H. pylori was discovered in your stomach, then you were given a course of antibiotics plus acid-reducing medications for several weeks.  So, the former days of  frequently gulping down chalky antacids were replaced by taking some pills for a few weeks.  An incredible breakthrough.

As I may have previously stated, extreme nausea was one of the worst side effects I endured while going through chemotherapy.  Frequent nausea.  Debilitating nausea leading to further fatigue and weight loss during treatments.  Consequently, most anti-nausea medications I received were of little value.  The nausea simply had to run its course.  Finally, with my last treatment, my doctor gave me a new drug called Emend which I took the day of chemotherapy and two days afterwards.  It was an expensive drug, roughly one hundred dollars a pill back then, but it totally obliterated the nausea.
I can only wonder what a difference this drug would have made if I would have taken it early on in treatment.  Perhaps the multiple hospitalizations due to dehydration could have been avoided.

Furthermore, I recently spoke to an oncologist who stated, if I understood him correctly, that nausea is not as much an issue with chemotherapy today due to advances in medical treatment.  Although some side effects of chemotherapy may be unavoidable, such as fatigue or hair loss, being able to eat and drink freely after treatments without the fear of vomiting may be the biggest medical breakthrough of them all.

     

A Psalm When Undergoing Chemotherapy

Read another passage which captured my heart, especially in relation to my cancer battle.  As I read Psalms 88 (New American Standard version), verse after verse reminded me what I experienced while going through chemotherapy.  Consider these poignant verses from what is described as the saddest psalm.  My comments are listed in red beside the verses.

 1 O LORD, the God of my salvation, I have cried out by day and in the night before You.   
2 Let my prayer come before You; Incline Your ear to my cry !
3 For my soul has had enough troubles, And my life has drawn near to Sheol. (Chemotherapy makes you feel like you're dying).
4 I am reckoned among those who go down to the pit ; I have become like a man without strength, (Some chemotherapy agents cause profound fatigue).
5Forsaken among the dead, Like the slain who lie in the grave, Whom You remember no more, And they are cut off from Your hand.  (You feel abandoned).   
6 You have put me in the lowest pit, In dark places, in the depths. (Chemotherapy takes you as low as a person can possibly go...then it takes you even lower than that).
7 Your wrath has rested upon me, And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. (The effects of chemotherapy are relentless.  Wave after wave of fatigue and nausea).  Selah.  
8 You have removed my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an object of loathing to them; I am shut up and cannot go out.  (With chemotherapy, routine actions of life are difficult, e.g. going to church or work because you feel SO bad).
9 My eye has wasted away because of affliction ; I have called upon You every day, O LORD ; I have spread out my hands to You.  (I am desperate).
10 Will You perform wonders for the dead ? Will the departed spirits rise and praise You? (In other words, God, do you want to leave me this way?  What good am I in this present pitiful state?) Selah.  
11 Will Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon ?  
12 Will Your wonders be made known in the darkness ? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness ?  (How can I praise You if I'm dead?). 
13 But I, O LORD, have cried out to You for help, And in the morning my prayer comes before You.  
14 O LORD, why do You reject my soul ? Why do You hide Your face from me?  
15 I was afflicted and about to die from my youth on; I suffer Your terrors ; I am overcome.  
16 Your burning anger has passed over me; Your terrors have destroyed me.  (Chemotherapy wreaks havoc on the body).
17 They have surrounded me like water all day long; They have encompassed me altogether.  
18 You have removed lover and friend far from me; My acquaintances are in darkness.  (It may be difficult for friends and family to deal with a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy.  Many hospitalizations.  Frequent doctors' visits.).  

Notice the psalm ends on a sad note.  How true!  Sometimes situations in life end in sorrow.  Sad endings occur in abundance.  As people of faith, we must believe, we have to believe, that there is a God of love who allows such things.  Otherwise, life makes no sense whatsoever. 

Prayer For The Dying

It's amazing how many verses in the Bible have come alive since I had cancer.  For example, I became familiar with Psalms 118:17 while I was undergoing chemotherapy in 2006.  It states, "I shall not die, but live, and tell of the works of the Lord".  What a great encouragement for those undergoing cancer or any other major illness.  As a matter of fact, I now wear this verse on a bracelet wherever I go.  It has become my life verse.  It's a verse which proclaims that God had a purpose in my healing from Stage 3 bladder cancer, even though my oncologist felt my chances of surviving were fifteen to twenty percent.

Found another great verse the other day.  Psalms 79:11 says "Let the groaning of the prisoner come before Thee; according to the greatness of Thy power preserve those who are doomed to die."  What captured my attention was the last phrase, "preserve those who are doomed to die."  It appears to be speaking to prisoners, especially those in the dungeons who have no hope of release.  Perhaps they are scheduled for execution.  Yet, the psalmist asks God to change the circumstances of those with no hope. 

For many people who are diagnosed with cancer, chances of recovery, as occurred in my life, are limited.  The doctor may state that the treatments may only provide temporary relief, not ultimately remove the cancer.  In relation to this, I believe the oncologist told my mother when she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer years ago that his purpose was to "extend her life", not cure her.  In other words, it was hopeless.

Yet, my prayer today for anyone experiencing cancer is exactly what the psalmist said, that God would "preserve those who are doomed to die".  Although I can't understand God's ways in many situations, especially in the lives of those suffering with cancer, sometimes He does choose to heal in accordance with His plan. 

Furthermore, if He does preserve some one's life out of the dungeon of cancer, perhaps they, too, will one day be able to proclaim the truth of Psalms 118:17, "I shall not die, but live, and tell of the works of the Lord".