Tag: Psalms

My Three-Month Checkup

Updates

  • Jenny and I flew to Houston this week for scans and my fourth round of maintenance chemo.
  • My PET scan is “spotless,” according to my medical team.
  • I will continue to get chemo through the end of the year, and my next PET scan is three months from now.

Prayer Requests & Praises

  • It is an immense blessing to have a clear PET scan. Praise the Lord! Thank you for praying!
  • Please pray for continued clean scans in the months ahead and for protection from infections while I’m immunocompromised.

What I’m Learning

  • A frequent prayer of mine is that God would teach me to number my days so that I may gain a heart of wisdom. Each day feels more precious than it did before cancer arrived. We want to prioritize time with the Lord, family, friends, and the church.
  • Investing in eternal matters now carries a weight of glory that feels tangibly heavier and more valuable. I find myself asking questions like, “Is what we are watching worth the time I may have left? Is what I’m doing actually important—or trivial and frivolous? What good works remain that I should pursue if my time is limited?”
  • God has seen to it that there are good works still left for me to complete. He has prepared them in advance for me. The same is true for you!

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants!
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
(Psalm 90:12–14)

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
(Ephesians 2:8–10)

What Has Been Encouraging

  • Awaiting the results of a medical scan is unpleasant—especially a serious scan. I’ve been encouraged by Psalm 27, which calls the people of God to put away fear and put on trust in the Lord. Even if an army encamps against us, there is no reason to fear when God is our shelter in the day of trouble.
  • David exhorts us to wait on the Lord and to take up courage. This psalm is a timely word for anyone who is facing the unknown. The Lord knows the future, and our hope is in him.

Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident. (Psalm 27:3)

For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock. (Psalm 27:5)

Stranger than Fiction! (Mold Part 2)

Updates:

  • Sometimes real life is stranger than fiction! If you’ve been following our journey, you know that in my last update we left our rental house due to mold. In this update, I’m surprised to report that just two days after moving into our new apartment, we discovered mold again! Yes—this is round two.
  • We checked in advance with the apartment complex and were assured in writing that there was no mold and that the unit would be thoroughly cleaned due to my unfortunate situation as a stem cell transplant patient. After we discovered the mold, however, the landlords denied its existence and treated us very harshly.
  • After much debate and documentation, the landlords finally agreed to release us from our lease if we choose to leave. We’ve been vigorously searching and have narrowed down our options for a new rental. It’s been challenging—between needing to stay within a specific radius of MD Anderson and finding a space that accommodates our whole family. We’re hopeful to be settled in next week.

Prayer Requests and Praises:

⁃ When I was in ICU, I experienced heart failure. I’ve been seeing a cardiologist at MD Anderson and recently had a follow-up echocardiogram. By God’s grace, my heart has returned to normal and has fully recovered from the sepsis complications. This is a tremendous blessing!
⁃ Please pray that we can secure a final place to stay during our remaining weeks in Houston.
⁃ I’m continuing my chemotherapy treatments and, so far, I haven’t experienced any major side effects. I’m very grateful—please pray this continues!

What I Am Learning:

  • I’ve been meditating on Psalm 34, and it has brought comfort during this stressful week. It speaks of how God delivers His people from trouble. What struck me afresh is how God delivers the righteous from the wicked. He hears the cries of His people who have been mistreated by unbelievers. Whether it’s sickness, mold, or heartless landlords—God hears our prayers and promises deliverance.
  • Jesus is the ultimate example of God’s protection and deliverance. He was mistreated more than anyone ever has been or will be. He was mocked, framed, and shown no sympathy by the Pharisees or the Romans. Yet God “kept all His bones” and raised Him from the dead so that we might be forgiven.

This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. (Psalm 34:6)


The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. (Psalm 34:15–17)


Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. (Psalm 34:19–21)

What Has Been Encouraging:

  • Physically, I’m gaining strength each day. My physical therapists are pleased with the progress, and I hope to be walking without a walker by the time we leave Houston. Thank you for praying!
  • Our plan is to return to Jacksonville in mid-July. I’m so looking forward to preaching at First Baptist on July 20th. Even though I won’t be able to hug you, I hope to see you there!

Weakness and Winning the Lottery

Updates

  • Since my last blog, much has transpired. I received high-intensity chemo (Boy! They were not kidding. I didn’t realize fully how intense it would be!) and a stem-cell transplant. During the transplant, my vital signs plummeted; my body went into septic shock and I developed double pneumonia.
  • I was in the ICU for four days and have been slowly regaining my strength since then. I can now walk about 500 feet before becoming completely winded. I’ve never felt weaker in my entire life, but each day I grow a bit stronger.
  • I’m grateful to be able to type this without pain, as I previously experienced intense chemo burns on my hands from the treatment.

Prayer Requests and Praises

  • One of my nurses told me I should “buy a lottery ticket” when I recover, because I’m so lucky to be alive. I have no plans to gamble, but I praise God for sustaining my life. I was disoriented during the worst of it and didn’t fully grasp the gravity of my situation, yet God preserved me even when I didn’t realize how much danger I was in.
  • I am still very weak. Yesterday I walked with physical therapy and afterward was too exhausted to eat dinner, even though I wanted to so badly. Please pray that God would strengthen me each day.

Blessed is the one who considers the poor!
In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him;
the LORD protects him and keeps him alive;
he is called blessed in the land;
you do not give him up to the will of his enemies.
The LORD sustains him on his sickbed;
in his illness you restore him to full health. (Psalm 41:1–3)

What I Am Learning

I couldn’t use my hands because of the pain, and I couldn’t eat due to mouth sores from the chemo. I couldn’t walk or use the restroom on my own. I needed help in every way—and I still need constant assistance as I work to regain my strength. This is a time when I am utterly dependent physically.

In these moments, I must call upon the Lord for help and strength. It’s a strange and disconcerting feeling to want to do something but be physically unable. To desire food but not have the strength to eat is difficult. But even though my body is weak, the Lord remains the same. He is still lovely. He has not left me. This is a time to call upon Him afresh.

“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
— Psalm 46:10–11

What Has Been Encouraging

  • Jenny and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary on May 12th. I joked with the ICU staff that I had booked the most expensive hotel possible to celebrate our anniversary.It’s hard to express how essential Jenny has been to my healing process. She has read me the Psalms when I’ve been afraid, advocated for me when I could not speak, and even cleared massive amounts of mucus from my throat when I was choking in the middle of the night. She has cared for me consistently, kindly, and with complete devotion.
  • She has been my companion in sickness and in health. You could say I won the lottery, but it would be a lie. The Lord has shown me immense favor. I love her so much. “He who finds a wife finds a good thing,” but he who found Jenny did even better! Praise the Lord! (Proverbs 18:22)

Medicine, False Hope, and God’s Protection

Updates:

  • I have now had two weeks of back-to-back chemo! I am fatigued, but that is to be expected.
  • My new chemo plan includes an immunotherapy drug, which I have never had before. This immunotherapy treatment is a newer type of therapy that has proven effective in recent years when combined with chemo.
  • I will continue my treatment plan for four more weeks and then receive a PET scan to track my progress.

Prayer Requests and Praises:

  • Next week, I begin discussions with my transplant doctors and their teams. Please pray for wisdom for everyone involved, as this is a new frontier for us.
  • I have been gaining weight this week, which is a big praise! I need to gain as much weight as possible for the transplant. It is often difficult to eat while on chemo, but I have had several good eating days.
  • Please pray that this new chemo is successful and that my mass is completely reduced.

What I Am Learning:

  • I am meeting lots of different people on this journey. I spoke with a lady this past week at the hospital who told me about her husband’s cancer journey. Her husband has stage four kidney cancer, and she has been an oncology nurse for many years. She explained how she had great hope because of the newer immunotherapy treatments available. She is placing her faith in medicine. However, her husband’s cancer is still not responding well to the treatment.
  • I am thankful for modern medicine, but it is a terrible object for our hope. There have been many medical advances in the cancer world, but placing our trust in a treatment plan is a false refuge. It is like trusting a house built on sand. It can and will ultimately disappoint.
  • Our hope and faith must be placed in the one who controls every molecule in the universe. Jesus holds the world together by the word of His power. He alone decides who is cured and who is not. When it comes to sickness, we should use and be thankful for the common grace of God in the gift of modern medicine. However, we must remember that if we are healed, it is exclusively because of the Lord.

See now that I, even I, am he,
and there is no god beside me;
I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal;
and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. (Deuteronomy 32:39)

“If it had not been the LORD who was on our side—let Israel now say—if it had not been the LORD who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; then over us would have gone the raging waters.” (Psalm 124:1–5)

“And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent.” (Colossians 1:17–18)

What Has Been Encouraging:

  • Psalm 91 has been encouraging.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’” (Psalm 91:1–2)

  • But how can God say that He will protect me from pestilence (Psalm 91:3, 6) when it is clear that I have a serious disease? Pastor Spencer, in his sermon last Sunday at First Baptist, answers this question. Psalm 91 doesn’t promise health, wealth, and prosperity for the believer. It promises that no sickness, pain, or suffering will come apart from God’s intentional plan.
  • Psalm 91 was true for Jesus when He went through His great suffering dying for the sins of the world, and it is true for the Christian who also experiences various trials. It is only the believer in Jesus who can say confidently that all pain comes through the loving hands of God, who is working for the Christian’s ultimate good. God always protects His children in the way that is best.
  • You can watch the whole sermon on Psalm 91 from Pastor Spencer [here].

Pouring Out Our Hearts

Updates:

  • This week, I began my new regimen of chemotherapy. The goal of this treatment is to bring me into remission, preparing me for a bone marrow transplant (also known as a stem cell transplant).
  • I will be on this new chemotherapy plan for the next six weeks, followed by a PET scan. The results of this scan will show my current status and determine whether I’m ready for the transplant.

Prayer Requests and Praises:

  • Please pray that this new chemotherapy is successful and that my mass is completely reduced.
  • Please pray for my family to have perseverance, as they are working extra hard to care for me.
  • New doctors are still analyzing my situation. Please pray that the Lord will give both them and us wisdom.

What I am Learning:

  • As we’ve spoken with several specialists, they’ve stressed the “aggressive” nature of my cancer. This explains why my annual physical in 2023 was perfect, yet within just one year, the cancer spread throughout my body. Jenny and I both recognize the hand of the Lord in my life, given these unexpected circumstances. The Lord has surprised us by allowing this cancer to progress so rapidly. It came fast, spread quickly, and has been stubborn. This situation serves as a reminder that we never know what the future holds—only the Lord knows. We must always walk with Him and draw near to Him when life’s trials come upon us. I have recorded a brief video explaining more of my thoughts on this, which you can watch below.
https://twitter.com/seanperron/status/1898541905589235942

What Has Been Encouraging:

  • Since August, the Psalms have been a great source of life for me. I recently read a blog post about how the famous preacher Charles Spurgeon viewed prayer, based on Psalm 62:8: “Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.”
  • I knew that prayer is about pouring out our hearts to God, but the way Spurgeon described this action struck me. He writes:

“Pour [your heart] out as water. Not as milk, whose color remains. Not as wine, whose savor remains. Not as honey, whose taste remains. But as water, of which, when it is poured out, nothing remains. So let sin be poured out of the heart, that no color of it may remain in external marks, no savor in our words, no taste in our affections.”

  • God already knows what is in our hearts, and He loves it when we pour it out completely before His throne. He wants us to bring all our fears, hopes, dreams, desires, and requests to Him. Don’t let anything remain in your heart. Pouring out water might seem “messy” to some, but the Lord loves it when we empty ourselves in faith before Him. Are you going through a trial? Pour out your heart to God like water, not like milk. Give it all to Him. If you want to read more about this passage, the blog is titled Praying Psalm 62 with Charles Spurgeon, and you can read it here.

Real-Time Deliverance

Updates: 

  • I have an enlarged lymph node in my lung that is difficult to diagnose.
  • Once my doctors can determine why my lymph node is behaving abnormally, they will be able to update my treatment plan. I need more testing to be done.  

Prayer Requests and Praises:

  • Please pray for the upcoming tests and their results. Pray that tests would be conducted quickly and would come back clear. 
  • Please pray for me that God would deliver me from all cancer and increase my faith in him. 

What I am Learning: 

  • I am learning two truths simultaneously. First, I am learning to pray (as the Psalms do) for real physical deliverance. Second, I am learning to trust God as my rock even when it feels like deliverance is far off or not coming. The Psalms articulate both important lessons repeatedly.
  • I have found myself praying for deliverance and learning to entrust myself to God, no matter what happens. These two realities might feel like they are in tension, but they are not in conflict. Notice how Psalm 31 captures both a real prayer for physical deliverance and a demonstration of trust in God’s sovereignty over our days. 

For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, (God saving in real time) for you are my refuge. Into your hand I commit my spirit; (David trusting God no matter what) you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God. (Psalm 31:3–5)

 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand; (David trusting God’s sovereignty) rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors! (David asking for real time deliverance) Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love! (Psalm 31:14–16)

What Has Been Encouraging: 

  • Some of the testing has made me physically weak, but there are “good days” to be had even during weakness. It is important to seize every good day for the glory of God and not let the looming future (of tests and results) corrupt it. 
  • For example, there are good days in which I’m able to come into the office and participate in meetings like normal. It is also a good day when I’m able to go to the hospital and get a test done because I have no other underlying conditions which prevent me. Even though the test might be difficult, I am still able to do it! 
  • One great day this week was Jenny’s birthday. On the way home from work, I was able to stop by Publix and get her some flowers, balloons, and a cake. We celebrated and watched part of a movie together. What a great day to celebrate the best wife of all the times! Jenny is such a servant, and she serves our family with extraordinary excellence from Jesus. I’m so thankful Jesus saved her and let us get married! 

The Lord is My Rock

Updates: 

  • My medical team has put a pause on my chemo treatments until they can discover the cause of my cough. I had a PET scan this past week, but the results are not conclusive. I need more testing to be done to inform my situation and see if any adjustments need to be made to future treatment.  
  • I am thankful for my doctor and his desire to be thorough. Although I was anticipating getting chemo this week, I do believe it is best to be informed with the most accurate information instead of just proceeding as normal. 

Prayer Requests and Praises:

  • Please pray for any future tests and the results. Pray that tests would be conducted quickly and would come back clear. 
  • Please pray that whatever is causing my cough would be completely healed. 

What I am Learning: 

  • I keep realizing suffering is an opportunity to trust the Lord. It is tempting to view this as a setback and be discouraged by it. However, there is nothing to do except wait on the Lord as I wait for more test results. 
  • During the first part of a PET scan, they inject you with an isotope. They instruct you to sit still in an isolation room for about an hour. During that time, I listened repeatedly to Psalm 62. (I use the Dwell App which is a wonderful app for Bible reading)
  • This Psalm has been a real source of comfort for me. God knows the outcome of every test and he is my rock. 

         For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. (Psalm 62:5–7)

What Has Been Encouraging: 

  • Each time I get a scan, I try to use it as a test for my Bible memory. For PET scans, they wrap you like a burrito and place you in this machine that looks like a giant donut. As the scanner hums over, it is a good time to rehearse the Bible. This focuses my mind and my heart.
  • This time I started with the book of Genesis and tried to recount as much content as I could from each chapter. I was able to make it all the way to chapter 11 by the time the scan was complete (Which is a good thing because I couldn’t remember anything from chapter 12!). 
  • Each chapter of Genesis is filled with God’s lovingkindness to his people who are rebellious and broken. God is so kind to us. He promised a Messiah who would be the one to die in our place and take our sins upon the cross. Jesus is our sure rock because he died and rose again.  

Cancer and Christmas

Updates: 

  • On Sunday morning I was getting ready for church and realized I had a hole in my chest! I saw straight through to the tubing for my cancer port. My doctors wanted me to get it removed immediately. On Monday I had a procedure to remove it and sew up my wound. 
  • On Tuesday I had surgery to get a new port on the other side of my chest. On Wednesday I picked up again with my eighth chemo treatment. It has been a full week! 

Prayer Requests and Praises:

  • Having a hole in your chest means you are incredibly exposed and high risk for infection. I have not gotten an infection thus far praise the Lord! Please pray for my wounds to heal properly. 
  • It is miraculous that my infusion treatment was only delayed two days. The surgeries this week were back-to-back, but it is a real blessing because every week is important with stage 4. 
  • This was an unexpected turn of events! We would love your prayers as I recover and as Jenny continues to take care of the family. 

What I am Learning: 

  • I am going to be honest… I did not want to get a new port. The chemo I am on requires a port so that it doesn’t burn up my veins. It is necessary, but I was not looking forward to it again. Discovering the hole in my chest immediately changed the course of the week and there were a lot of unknowns. How long will it take to fix this issue and get the new port? How many days or weeks of treatment might I miss? Will this impact Christmas? What about infection? 
  • The phrase of Scripture that kept coming to my mind was “The Lord is your keeper” from Psalm 121.

 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. (Psalm 121:3–8)

  • I thought about this phrase before my urgent doctor’s appointment. I thought about this phrase as I was on the operating table. I thought about it before I went to sleep. The Lord promises to keep me regardless of what happens, and he promises the same for you!

What Has Been Encouraging: 

  • God has been answering prayer. Even when it looked like I could have a delay with my treatment, I was only delayed two days. Thank you for praying! 
  • The Songs of Ascent show God hears his people when they cry out for deliverance. “In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me.” (Psalm 120:1) 
  • The original nativity scene didn’t look picturesque. They couldn’t find room in the city to sleep, they were desperate to have a safe place for Mary to give birth, and they had to resort to putting Jesus into a feeding trough. But God was in total control and working all things together for his majestic glory. We can see how beautiful and wonderful the nativity is because his hand was upon each person and moment.
  • When we trust in Jesus – in his life, death, and resurrection – we can have confidence that he is working all things together for our good and his glory. I am not sure what is taking place in your life right now, but don’t forget to marvel at the wonderful love of Christ this Christmas. Merry Christmas! 

A Unique Christmas Season

Updates: 

  • This week all three of our kids had fevers and an upper respiratory sickness. I have been quarantined away from them for a week. Currently, two of them are better, but the smallest remains under the weather. It has been tempting to venture out into the house, but it is imperative that I not get sick.
  • The doctors are currently concerned about my port being infected. Part of the reason I must remain isolated is if I contract a fever, then it will delay treatment. The main sign to alert them to an infection is a low-grade fever.

Prayer Requests and Praises:

  • The wound from my port placement is being monitored by my medical team. It has not healed fully, and has caused some concern. Earlier in the week I was told I might have to receive a replacement port in order to proceed with future treatments. We will know more on Monday, but it is a real matter of prayer that I will be infection-free. Please pray my wound heals, that I do not have to undergo another port surgery, and that my treatment will not be delayed. 
  • Jenny has been working around the clock to care for our sick kids and me while I’ve been tucked away in our room. I am very thankful for her, and it is a real praise that she has not gotten sick! 

What I am Learning: 

  • The news of a potential infection and, therefore, a delay felt like a setback this week. At my stage of cancer, to delay even one week is a serious issue. The doctors do not want to delay unless absolutely necessary. 
  • As I have been reflecting on the potential possibility, there have been several passages of Scripture that have comforted me. One of those passages is Psalm 131. It is a short Psalm and I have found it easy to memorize. 

       O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. (Psalm 131, A Song of Ascents, Of David.)

  • When you are waiting for a doctor to render a verdict, there are a lot of thoughts which can occupy your mind. What if there is an infection? What if I don’t get the treatment? What if they make a wrong decision? What if _______ happens? The questions are nearly infinite with trouble. 
  • Psalm 131 reminds us that God wants our minds to be occupied with hoping in him… not worrying about the future. Today has enough trouble of its own, and when our minds are filled with thoughts of the future, it is unprofitable. These verses teach us to fix our eyes, not on the problems (or potential problems) that loom large. They teach us to fix our eyes upon the Lord, who is our help. 
  • The Songs of Ascent frequently tell us where to place our eyes. In Psalm 121, we lift our eyes to the hills because God is going to come deliver us. In Psalm 123, our eyes look desperately to the hand of our Master until he has mercy upon us. In Psalm 131 our eyes are not raised up to dwell on things outside of our control. Instead, they are looking low and taking a posture of humility. We lower our eyes away from our problems and place them upon our loving Lord. This is how we can become calm. Our hope is in the Lord, who always does what is best and has secured for us eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus. 

What Has Been Encouraging: 

  • Due to sickness, we did not have Christmas decorations up. We had several church members offer to come and put up decorations in our house and yard. 
  • One family came to remove all our decorations from the attic, one church member came to set up our Christmas tree, another family came to put decorations in our yard, and one family spent half a day cleaning and decorating our entire house. This has been a tremendous blessing to my family and has taken a burden off them!
  • Each of these families has blessed us, and we won’t forget it. We went from zero to sixty in our Christmas décor! We are so thankful for First Baptist and their love.  

Praying Afresh

Updates: 

  • I’ve been told that chemo can have a “cumulative effect.” I’m not sure if that is what I’m experiencing this week, but my body has felt more “chemo crummy” than usual. It is hard to describe, but essentially my body feels “weary and heavy laden” at times. 
  • I will be getting another PET scan at the end of November which is my half-way point. This will give concrete results that show whether or not the chemo is effectively killing the cancer. They expect either a partial response or a complete response.

Prayer Requests and Praises

  • Please pray that when I get my PET scan in November the cancer will be completely gone. I did not realize this was a possibility until today. This is the ideal scenario.
  • My liver enzymes are elevated, and they are monitoring them. If they continue to increase, it could require a reduction in my level of chemo. Pray my liver continues to process the chemo without more difficulty.

What I am Learning: 

  • The Lord is reminding me how to pray more biblically. I have been continually meditating on the Songs of Ascent, and it is starting to shape my prayers. My goal is to memorize all the Songs (Psalms chapter 120-134) by the end of my treatments. Lord willing, my treatments will conclude by March 1st. I would love for someone to memorize them with me! Let me know if you are up for the challenge. 
  • One way the Lord is teaching me to pray is by “reasoning” with God. There are numerous times in which David offers to God reasons why God should act on his behalf. He had intense humble boldness. I have selected these three verses as examples from the helpful book Psalms for Trials by Lindsey Tollefson. 

Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love. For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise? (Psalm 6:4–5)

Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David? Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked, and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations, with which your enemies mock, O LORD, with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed. (Psalm 89:49–51)

For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! (Psalm 143:11)

  • A prayer of reasoning could sound like this: “God, you are the Lord! You can demonstrate your power in a mighty way. It would be a great testimony to your glory to heal me because so many people are praying. Don’t you want to answer all their prayers? Don’t you think it would be better for me to praise you instead of going to the grave? For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!” 

What Has Been Encouraging: 

  • The number of children praying for me has been a delightful surprise and a source of encouragement. Several children regularly request to pray for “Pastor Sean” or “my daddy’s friend Sean.” A couple families even made me personalized drawings. One child drew a picture of me riding on top of a lion. I have never done that, but who knows what can happen after my treatments are complete! 
  • The other night before bed, I read Chandler the story about how Jesus welcomes the little children. Jesus loves kids, and he says that we should become like them when it comes to our faith. The sincerity and dependance that a child often exhibits are qualities true faith also possesses. May we all fully trust in the Christ who loved us to the point of death and rose from the dead on our behalf! 

 “But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.’ And he laid his hands on them and went away.” (Matthew 19:14–15)