The Black Sky of Suffering

Updates:

• I just received my second chemo treatment here in Houston and, Lord willing, plan to have my next infusion in Jacksonville.
• My next PET scan is scheduled for August 14th. It will mark 100 days since my transplant.

Prayer Requests and Praises:

• We are eager to return to Jacksonville! Please pray that nothing hinders this return.
• For some reason, I am retaining water and experiencing swelling in my face, arms, and legs. My medical team is monitoring this, but please pray that it ceases.
• I still have not experienced a significant allergic reaction to my new chemo. Praise the Lord!

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What I Am Learning

• At night, I’ve been reading about Hezekiah from the book of Isaiah. There’s a story where he and Jerusalem are surrounded by the Assyrian army. Hezekiah receives several messages from the enemy claiming they are fully capable of them.
• Upon receiving a chilling letter from the Assyrians, Hezekiah recognizes his plight and turns to the Lord:

Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord:

“O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God—you alone—of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.

Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God.

Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire. For they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed.

So now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.”
— Isaiah 37:14–20

• I love how Hezekiah spreads out the letter of certain death before God and gives it over to Him. He turns to the Lord, prays, and trusts God to save. These steps outline the same path we must take when we are in trouble. We must lift our eyes to the hills, where our help comes from—the Maker of heaven and earth (See also Psalm 121).

• If you’ve never read the full story, start in Isaiah 36. See how God miraculously delivers His people when Hezekiah calls upon His name. God hears our prayers—and yet, He makes an even better promise than the one found in Isaiah 36–37. Jesus offers eternal salvation through His life and death to everyone who calls upon His name:

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
— Acts 2:21

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What Has Been Encouraging

• Last night was the Fourth of July, and we let our kids stay up late to watch the fireworks. We watched from the rooftop of a building downtown in the medical center. I could see many hospital offices and emergency departments—the med center has 21 hospitals.
• As we stood watching, Jenny and I reflected on how I had been in the building next door for 30 days. My hospital window didn’t offer nearly the same view. Feeling the wind on the rooftop and watching fireworks with my family—the kids in their firecracker PJs—was a real blessing. I’m thankful to be out of the hospital and prayed for those still inside that familiar building.
• I was reminded of a quote I once heard: like a firework, God’s glory shines best against a background of darkness. This is especially true in suffering. Our trials create the black sky upon which God’s magnificence explodes with color.