Paul's Spiritual Warfare

Cancer! Insidious 4th stage cancer. My cousin Paul's throat cancer has metastasized to much of the surrounding tissue. And now a bigger battle, that for his mind, seems to have taken over.

In January, I was reacquainted with Paul after a fifty-year hiatus; he had drifted to California and other states, into one job after another, while I pursued my similar walk but in the northeastern states. My mom's 90th birthday celebration brought about 35 of us together, and all seemed well with him. But it wasn't, for two small lesions had been recently identified. He decided to tell only his brother.

The battle with cancer and its treatment is not just the physical trauma associated with the healing process, but it includes all of the questioning and discouragement that comes with it. I know, for I had cancer surgically removed nearly thirty years ago, yet I remember as if it was yesterday how much I questioned, "Why?"

In my book Joshua's Spiritual Warfare: Understanding the Chiasms of Joshua, I described the process where, against great odds, Joshua led the Israelites to defeat the enemy in the land of Canaan. Spiritual warfare is the battle in our minds between the powers of Good and evil. The Lord is attempting to pull us to Him, and the devil is attempting to manipulate us and deceive us to defeat His process. The doubt and fear associated with cancer is part of that defeating process.

In studying the book of Joshua, I found that he was successful through the process of positive action and an upright lifestyle, and not through the power of intercession. Don't get me wrong – I pray regularly and I believe in the power of prayer. But prayer through the laying on of hands and the power of the Holy Spirit is very different from a prayer spoken in a closet. If we are not willing to walk through the Jordan, we will only be watching the land of Canaan from a distance.

Joshua was a tremendous man of God, having spent many, many days in the tent with Moses, hearing the voice of the Lord and then being obedient to it. When God speaks, that is His part of the prayer process. God has spoken to many people over the years, but without putting legs to His instruction, we insult our God.

I'm not sure if my cousin Paul is sixty-seven or sixty-eight, but either way, he is a relatively young man. [I recently received a birthday card that stated, "He who has the most birthdays lives the longest."] Life on this earth is not about longevity but accomplishing God's will in our lives.

My dear cousin Paul, if you read this, please know that God is not done with you yet. You have testimonies to give, and you have God's messages that you need to deliver to family members, friends, acquaintances and ex-friends. Don't give up and don't let the devil win. As Christians, we are told that there will be difficult times, but they are to build us to be better people.

Love. Love deeply, and let others know that love. "What is important is faith expressing itself in love." Galatians 5:6

The following is an excerpt from the first three pages of Dutch Sheet's Intercessory Prayer book:

I knew the person I was going to pray for was very ill. What I didn't know was that she was comatose with a tracheostomy in her throat, a feeding tube in her stomach and had been in that condition for a year and a half. Seeing her for the first time was like expecting a prescription and receiving brain surgery. Her sister, who had asked me to visit this young lady, had not given me the whole story for fear I wouldn't go at all. She knew if she could just get me there once, I'd probably go back. She was right! The doctors gave Diane (not her real name) no hope for living, let alone coming out of the coma. Even if she did regain consciousness, she would basically be a vegetable because of her extensive brain damage, or so the doctors believed.

...

Yes, God restored Diane! He healed her brain, the outer layer of which the doctors said had been totally destroyed by a virus. Every part of it was covered with infection. "No hope," they said.

...

I had turned to God many times through out the course of that year asking Him if He had really sent me to that little girl. Each time I received His assurance: "I sent you. Don't quit."