What if I have cancer?

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What if I had cancer? Recently, I found out that my grandma had thyroid cancer, my mom has thyroid cancer, and now my sister tested positive for thyroid cancer. Which, by the way, my sister is over 10 years younger than me. But, does that mean that I have cancer? Do you see these marks on my neck? For those of you that don't know, there's this verse in John 14:12. Jesus, God in human form, God the son, who walked on water, healed people, says to his disciples, "Whoever believes in me will do the works I've been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I'm going to the Father." So, when I first heard that, I thought, is Jesus really saying that whoever believes in him will be able to do even greater things than that? And what does that even mean? Up until this point in my life, my faith, my beliefs, everything that I knew about Jesus was copy and pasted from my friends, my family, and the people that I saw at church. I didn't know what I believed. I just figured the people that were ahead of me knew more about it than me, and I should just trust that it's true, like we're asked to do in school. 5 + 5 is 10 because they said so. So, if somebody told me, "You should believe in Jesus," then I did because they said so. Up until the point where somebody asked me at a Christian summer camp, "Did you know it's okay to question what you believe?" I thought if I questioned beliefs, I'd go to hell. So, when I heard that question, "Did you know it's okay to question what you believe?" there was something that unlocked in me. Now, long story short, I started to question everything. But, instead of going to other people, trying to come up with the answers myself, I would go to God and read the Bible. For example, fast forward a couple months after reading that Bible verse, I get a video link from my friend who sends me somebody on the Discovery Channel who is running a half marathon barefoot in the snow in the polar circle, and they portrayed him as this superhuman that is able to do greater things than we could do. And in that moment, this Bible verse came back to mind. Greater things. And I felt like God nudged me to look into that. And although I was a college student with pretty much no funds, God would lead me on a journey to not only figure out how that guy could do what he could do, But, also go fly across the world to train with him in Amsterdam, Spain, France, Finland, all over Europe. And what was previously thought that this guy was just born like that, I would go on to learn that what he could do, anyone could do if they would simply believe and take a few steps in that direction. Now, I had never traveled abroad before, and a lot of people, even my family, disapproved of me going to train with some random person on the other side of the world. But, it was in that journey that I found my faith in Christ. Because every step of the way, I would go to scripture and I would consult God. Is this what you want me to do? Now, there are times where I almost got hypothermia, frostbite, and at the end of it all, that guy, whose name was Wim Hof, also known as the Iceman, him and I were in Finland, and he ran a 10K barefoot in the snow in just shorts in the polar circle, and he had me run a 5K to prove that anybody in the world can do this with a little bit of training in under a year. And we wrote a book about it. But, the point isn't the book. The point is, I questioned what I believed, found scripture, asked God to see me through it, and he did. And God showed me how we can find him in scripture. Cuz it's not just scripture, it's not just historical records. Scripture says the word of God is alive and active. This is real. So, when we seek God, we see God if we're willing to. Because there would be moments where I was hanging off the edge of a cliff, rock climbing in the middle of Spain, I'm not a rock climber, with no gear or harnesses holding me on. No one knows where I am except this one guy, Wim Hof, that is leading me up this mountain. And so, what do I do? The entire time, God, help me get through this next step. God, I'm here because I believe you brought me here. I'm trying to discern if you want me to continue, if you want me to go back. Please help me get through this. Use this as a way to prove to others how you are real. And he did. Survived, wrote a book on it, and talked about Jesus in that book, showing how God can do greater things. Because when Jesus went to the Father, he sent the advocate, the Holy Spirit, to work in our life and through our life to help others see God, too. Now, how does this tie into cancer? Well, because after that whole journey, I remember being in my childhood home and looking out the screen door in the back, I said to God, "I believe you can do anything. What I just walked through is a really great example of that. Thank you for helping me survive that, and I believe you can also heal people like you explained in the Bible. So, God, one day, if you want to give me cancer so that you could do something incredible through it, I would be okay with that." This is 15 years ago. Then after hearing concerns about my sister possibly having cancer, it prompted me to go to the doctor, especially when I realized that my mom and grandmother also had it. I got checked, they sent me to have an ultrasound, but then the ultrasound found two bumps on my thyroid. And they're like, "It's nothing to be concerned about. We see this all the time. Most of the time it's benign, no cause for concern." But you know what I thought of? That prayer from 15 years ago, wondering, "What if I have cancer?" So then my mind starts going all over the place. This can't be real. I have a wife, I have two daughters, I'm in my 30s, I was afraid. Why did I pray that prayer? Fast forward a couple weeks and my sister reports to our family, confirmed, papillary thyroid cancer. Now, if you're unfamiliar with thyroid cancer, based on what I've learned recently, it has one of the best survival rate. The surgery involves taking out your thyroid. Now, your thyroid is what helps stimulate your metabolism. It's how you eat, grow hair, sleep well, recover in your body, which begs the question, what happens when you take it out? The answer is, you have to go on medication for the rest of your life because you still need to digest food, you still need to sleep. And if you don't take that medication, that's it. Now, people can have thyroid cancer and still go on for a while. They can watch it, keep an eye on it, but it also has the possibility of progressing, going to lymph nodes, going to other parts of your body. So, they typically recommend a removal. So, then I just start spinning. I start Googling, I start AI-ing in between appointments. Okay, if I have cancer, is there a way to take out half of it? Is there a way to not cut it out? And I'm just going through all these different rabbit trails and just praying that God would take it out of me. That it would not be real, that it would not be cancer. Sometimes I'd be in the middle of working and I my heart would just start racing cuz it's all I could think about. I didn't tell anybody at first except my wife. And I didn't tell my family until my sister announced to all of us on the call that she had papillary thyroid cancer. And my mom was saying, "Don't worry guys, you're probably fine. You should get checked." And that's when I told the rest the family that I got checked and I have two concerning bumps, nodules on my thyroid. It became even more real. So then I'm in this place of trying to figure out how to process through it. I believe in God. I believe in the Bible. I remember this prayer from 15 years ago and I'm frustrated by it. Cuz nobody wants to have cancer. So I finally get to this place where I can get a referral scheduled with a group that is specialized in this. Really great at diagnosing, is this truly thyroid cancer? So as I'm preparing for this appointment, I pray to God, "Please take it away." As I'm talking to God, I'm trying to figure out, do I tell anybody? Should I tell my boss at work because I'm going to need to go to this appointment. But do I tell my friends? Do I ask people to pray for me? Cuz I don't want them to think that just trying to get attention. Like I don't want that. But then I remember I told God, "I'll be okay with it if you help me walk through it and you use it to help other people." And by me not telling the people closest to me that want to be praying for me, not only did I feel like I was denying it, but also not letting God use it to help other people. So I told some of the people closest to me that I don't know what's going to happen, but this is what I've seen in my family. This is where I'm at right now and I got an appointment coming up. And so they prayed for me. Some of them anointed me with oil. Prayed hard that it would be gone in Jesus' name. But then right before I went to my appointment, I was going out to get gas and I was alone in my car and God reminded me of a few important things. First, he reminded me of a sermon my pastor preached a long time ago talking about whenever you read the Bible and you see something like in Romans 12:1. Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters. Whenever you see the word therefore in the Bible, ask yourself, what is it there for? Cuz the Bible's very intentional. To understand the word therefore, you have to look at the context before it. And it led me to pause. And instead of saying, God, just take it away from me. Please don't let it be cancer. It led me to ask, if it is cancer, what is it there for? Could it be to help other people? 15 years ago, I didn't have a YouTube channel. But for some reason in this last year, our channel has gone from 5,000 subscribers to over 64,000 subscribers on YouTube. Coincidence? Or could God just be preparing the possibility of it being used to help other people? Two. Every summer my wife and I, we serve at our church in outreach events. Several months earlier, we signed up for an event that was coming up next week. Well, that day, I got an email telling me what the event was actually about. We were going to be bowling with kids who have cancer. Now, I didn't know that when I signed up. I just saw bowling. But I also saw that the event was scheduled right after my appointment where I would find out if I had thyroid cancer. So, imagine the posture that I would bring into bowling if I had cancer and these kids have cancer. Do you think I would think about it differently? Do you think I would say things differently? Empathize with it differently? Interesting timing, isn't it? Because also on that same day, earlier that morning, I spoke to somebody that has been helping people on their health journey. They grew a huge following on social media, not for fun, but simply to help people. They'd lost over 200 lb and they just wanted to encourage and help other people do the same. And they were talking about how important it is to be authentic, to be real, to be transparent. And so, as I'm driving, I I think, okay, God, what is it there for? Is it to help other people? Wait a second. Next week, I'm going to be with kids that have cancer. Wait a second. I have a platform with over 64,000 people and this morning I was being told to be transparent and authentic. And so, as I was driving, all of this hit me and I just all of a sudden had peace. Not this peace telling me that I don't have it, but this peace telling me that if I did, I could trust God was going to use it and he had purpose in it. And yes, I could be sad about it, but I could also say to God, all right, I'm willing. Let's do this. I want to use this, whatever this is, this hardship, this opportunity, this affliction, to help show people that God is real, that he can walk with you through anything. Nothing is too weighty to bring to God. Paul says in Philippians 1:12, "Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel." When I said to God, if you want to give me cancer, I'm good with it because I want to trust you through it. I don't want it to be just words. I want it to be real. And so, we're going to walk through this journey together. Yesterday I had my appointment, got the bumps here. They laid me down, did an ultrasound, and the doctor specialist taps me on the shoulder. She looks down at me and says, "It's papillary thyroid cancer." Now, I'll be real with you. I did have tears that that started to come out, but that peace that God gave me from that revelation, asking what it is there for, what he could want to use it for, has stayed with me. Now, she said, "We're going to send off the biopsies to confirm it, but she's seen enough times that she knows." But here's the thing. I've seen God enough times to know that he's not going to leave us. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. And this story is only going to get better because God is in it. So, okay, in a few days we get the biopsy back and if it confirms what that doctor knows, we're going to walk through this together. We can be assured that as we walk through this, we're not alone. He's in it with us and we can know that God is going to use this in a powerful way to help other people. So, what if it's cancer? Some of the most powerful stories in the Bible are when Jesus helped the sick. We all get sick at some point in our life. And so, the question is, how will we choose to worship God through it? This isn't a time to shrink back. God wants to use you to help other people, family, friends, online. We can show people how to have hope in Christ even when there's an uncertain future. You can do that through your story. Bible says when we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, it is holy and pleasing to God. So, let's do this together. Let's choose to see God in it and trust him through it. God, I pray you bless our friends today. Give them strength, and wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Guide us on their journeys. Help us trust you more and more every day. Whatever we're facing, whatever we're walking through, whether it be cancer or something else, Lord, we know that you are Lord. Jesus is Lord. Romans 10:9 says, "If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. And everyone who calls in the name of the Lord will be saved." That by accepting the salvation of your son, Jesus, the sacrifice you made for us, so that we can have this relationship again. We can have the assurance that we will spend eternity with you. But, we don't need to wait for that to happen. We can live for you right now, today. And help other people understand the peace that we can have when we trust in you. So, God, I pray that for our friends today. Whatever they're walking through, give them strength and peace in only the way that you can. We love you. It's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. God bless you, friends. We'll see you again soon.