KEEPING THE FAITH

It is always easier to stay positive and keep the faith when things are going well, or at least when the positive signs are easy to see.

Everything I wrote in my last blog, Perspectives, is still true.

I still believe:

• God is a God of miracles.
• Healing can come through medicine, through miracles, or ultimately through eternity with Christ.
• Statistics do not define my future—God does.
• Every day is a gift from Him.
• My hope is found in Jesus Christ, not in a medical report.

But…

I just finished a few very rough days.

My third round of chemotherapy hit me harder than I expected. The fatigue was overwhelming. Nausea lingered for days. I had a mild reaction to the higher dose of chemotherapy. Eating became difficult. For the first time since beginning treatment, I found myself wondering, “Is this what the next few months are going to be like?”

For a brief moment, I found myself asking a different set of questions.

Do I still believe I serve the God of miracles?

Do I still believe that He can take this disease from me at any moment?

Do I still believe that whether He heals me or not makes no difference in who He is?

The answer is most definitely yes.

Shortly after my surgery, I met with my pastor, Kent, for coffee. I shared something that had been weighing heavily on my heart.

“Can a sinner like me pray for healing?”

During those first days in the hospital, most of my prayers weren’t asking God to take the cancer away. Instead, I prayed for the strength to face whatever lay ahead. Deep down, I wasn’t sure I was worthy to ask Him for a miracle.

Pastor Kent smiled.

“Mike… not just pray. But pray boldly.”

I have never forgotten those words.

Today, I do exactly that.

In fact, I boldly pray for healing every single day. I ask God to remove every cancer cell from my body. I believe He is fully capable of doing that today if it is His will.

A few months ago, I participated in the Head for the Cure 5K in Columbia, Missouri. It was a special day for my family, and I was humbled to receive the “Keeping the Faith” Award after being nominated by my father-in-law.

At the time, I appreciated the honor, but I don’t think I fully understood the depth of those three words.

Keeping the Faith.

I later learned that those words came from a man who battled glioblastoma himself. He regularly ended his messages with the phrase, “Keeping the Faith.” After his passing, Head for the Cure chose to honor his legacy by presenting a Keeping the Faith Award at each event to someone who reflects that same spirit of hope and perseverance.

This past week gave those words an entirely new meaning.

It is easy to proclaim that God is a God of miracles when life is filled with miracles.

It is much harder to proclaim it while you are waiting for one.

But then I realized something.

The difficult days had changed me.

They had changed my energy.

They had changed my body.

They had changed my emotions.

But they had not changed God.

He is still the same God I wrote about in Perspectives.

He is still the God of miracles.

He is still able to heal.

He is still worthy of my trust.

Whether He heals me today…

Whether He heals me years from now…

Or whether my complete healing comes when I stand in His presence…

None of those outcomes change who He is.

I’ve realized that keeping the faith does not mean pretending everything is okay. It doesn’t mean smiling when you’re exhausted or denying that some days are simply hard.

Keeping the faith means remembering that God has not changed, even when my circumstances have.