Last November, I showed my dermatologist a lump on the front of my shoulder. He removed it and sent it to the lab. A week later, he called to tell me, “Roy, you have cancer! The tumor is a metastatic B-cell lymphoma.” Metastasis occurs when a cancer cell breaks off from the primary tumor and spreads to other parts of your body. I was stunned! We hear about others having cancer, but you never think it will happen to you!

   I was assigned a cancer specialist. He explained the treatments and their side effects, especially chemotherapy. He suggested a bone marrow biopsy to check for cancer cells. A PET scan was then scheduled. Given the time he spent on this information, he obviously expected the test to reveal the location of other cancer cells, especially the primary site.

     The initial battle was not cancer but oppression. Thoughts such as “How did this happen?” “How much has it spread?” and “What about the promises I have received from the Lord?” Fear, uncertainty, and anxiety threaten to overwhelm me like a storm. I then heard the Lord say, “It will not be cancer that takes you home, but My timing as I willed for you.”

    I know my strength lies in worship. I love to sing to the Lord, sharing my concerns, prayers, and requests with Him. As I put Christ before me and kept the diagnosis in the background, the joy of the Lord and peace returned. With increased worship came greater joy and a merry heart. So much so that I began to sing to my wife, to those who called, the bank teller, and others. From the laughter I heard, there was an impartation of joy. 

     In December, I attended a New Year’s conference. Present were Randy and Dawn Cutter, who pastor a church in Florida. I shared the diagnosis with them and asked for prayer. Randy laid a hand on my head, and wham. The power of God went through me like a bolt of lightning. If anything was not of Jesus, it had to flee in seven different ways (Deut. 28:7). 

    I had my PET scan on April 8th. Two weeks later, the time finally came to receive the results. Sitting at his desk, the doctor glanced at the computer. Turning sideways, he said to my wife and me, “We now have your test results; no signs of cancer were found in your body.” With great relief, we whispered, “Thank you, Jesus!”

     This indeed is a miracle. Jesus still heals today. One might say, “Well, perhaps the cancer went into remission! But cancer goes into remission after it has received cancer treatment, which I never received.” Another might suggest this is a localized tumor. Well, that’s true, but the tumor was metastatic, meaning it came from a primary source, most likely a lymph gland, which is why the cancer is called lymphoma. All I know is this is for God’s glory.

     No matter what issues you are dealing with, be encouraged, for there is nothing too big for the Lord.  Live a life of worship, offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise, which brings you into His presence, where there is fullness of joy (Psalms 16:11). It is here in His presence that healing virtue flows from the Lamb, for by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:56).  

  In the Father’s heart and His love, Roy Roden