“Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
As I waited for my lung biopsy, the doctor entered my cubical, leaned his shoulder on the wall, and introduced himself. His next statement stunned me.
“We’ve got a complication.”
I furrowed my brow. How could we have a complication? I just draped myself in a hospital gown and climbed onto the gurney. They hadn’t done anything yet to complicate.
“The pet scan you had yesterday,” he continued, “showed fluid on your right lung. It has hidden the spot I’m supposed to biopsy, which means we’ll do two procedures today. First, we’ll tap the fluid from your lung, then we’ll do the biopsy as planned.”
Well, knock me over with a feather. Seriously, talk about a plot twist.
Gene asked the next obvious question, “Where’d the fluid come from?”
The doctor said, “The tumor is growing rapidly, demanding the blood vessels feeding it to grow rapidly as well. Blood vessels in adults aren’t supposed to grow. So when they do, they develop leaks through which the fluids, not the blood, in the vessels drain.”
This is serious, I thought.
As though he read my mind, the doctor confirmed my thoughts, “This is very serious. We need your cooperation. When I say stop breathing, I need you to stop. Do not take a deep breath or exhale. Simply stop breathing.”
He explained more of the complications that could arise if I did the wrong thing, which made more nervous. I felt like I was going to take a major exam that I hadn’t studied for. I was sure to fail. So for the next 30 minutes or so, I practiced.
Breathe. Stop. Breathe. Stop. Breathe. Stop.
My stomach twisted into knots. I prayed, “Lord, if I ever needed your peace, I need it now.”
The nurse came for me. Gene kissed me and walked in the opposite direction. Double doors open. Ceiling lights glittered. More double doors open. And I prayed.
We finally reached our destination. I scooted from the gurney to the CT scan table. They positioned me then rolled me into the machine for a preliminary scan. They marked the spot to go in.
I prayed and found myself so relaxed that I almost fell asleep before the gave me the sedative. It was a mild one to relax me. They wanted me awake for both procedures. I only felt a cold sensation when they rubbed a numbing agent on my side and pressure when they inserted the needle. I was so relaxed the doctor never asked me to stop breathing.
God was definitely with me through those procedures that day, as I put into practice Joshua’s command to his army: “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
The Lord’s faithfulness never ceases to amaze me.
How about you? How has God answered your prayer for peace?
See you in a twinkling,
Brenda K. Hendricks
Encouraging Today's Christian 
Brenda, I need that peace now, for a similar situation. I went to the eye doctor yesterday to have a problem with excessive tearing and a little pain checked out. He sent me immediately to a specialist who found that I need double eye surgery asap. A certain medication given to me while I was dealing with those seizures had caused severe eye pain at the time. The specialist then said the problem was taking care of itself with being off the meds. My new neurologist said I should never have been on it.
Now, I have angle reduction glaucoma, not prevalent in the States. It means that the angle around my eye which is normally at 45 degrees in most people has begun to close. Half way around on both eyes is closed and the other half is 15-20 degrees. Complete closure can cause blindness. I know God is in control, but I need that peace you talked about.
The surgeries are scheduled for the 10th and 17th of October, though they’re watching for cancellations to get me in sooner. Prayers for that peace to come over me during the procedure, for which I also will be awake, as well as for the angles to remain open until then and for the surgery to work (concerns because of the advanced state).
Last time I called for this kind of peace, God answered swiftly. It was when my water broke at my mom and dad’s house six weeks premature for our first child. I looked at the gush and said simply, “Lord, take care of my baby.” And I somehow had complete peace that He would … and He did (still does!).
Blessings!
So sorry to hear this, Cathy. Praying for God’s peace to flood your soul and give you His blessed assurance knowing He’s in control.
Brenda and Cathy, I am praying for both of you. Love you, ladies.
You encourage me to keep equiping the body of Christ with my stories with Jesus. Your stories are so captivating me. I rather read blog posts and emails than a whole book. You are so growing in putting your faith in God. It works miracles. I was right in encouraging you to share with your art classes audience.😊
This is a great reminder to trust. I always know God is with me but sometimes my faith wavers when things get really bad. More times than not, when my troubles are mounting, I remember that God is truly with me. Psalm 139:7-12 reminds me that no matter where I go his spirit follows me. He also knows the spiritual warfare happening that I can’t see, so he truly knows the best way to handle each situation. Thank you, Brenda. I hope you are healthy and at peace.