Strengthen your brothers!

Luke 22: 31,32 says: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

Tomorrow morning I start the last of two and one half years of chemotherapy for a blood cancer called Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. It has been a rough ride and it is not over yet. The doctor says that the studies on the type of drug they use for my therapy only have about a 3 year history thus far. So they will complete this last one and then stop ALL treatment. Sounds a little scary but I am confident in God that all will be well.

After this treatment and because there is no cure for my type of cancer, they will simply wait for the symptoms to return again and test to decide whether I am strong enough for the Bone Marrow Transplant.

On the day of my diagnosis I explained to the Oncologist that there was nothing that she could do outside of God’s will for my life. I explained that she was welcome to treat me but my life was in God’s hands. I have lived the last 2 ½ years with that attitude and God has blessed me beyond the measure that I expected. I have had the pleasure of praying with and leading a precious old lady to Christ, with a chemo needle stuck in my chest. God has been with me through all of it so far, and I don’t expect Him to leave me, ever.

It has taken me these 2 ½ years to develop my testimony and it is “ever changing” but it is available if anyone wishes to read it at www.nowwhataz.org.

After this treatment, my family and I will celebrate Christmas together and then Barb and I will try to do some traveling. We love to just “be gone” so we will try to do as much as we can until it becomes necessary to start treatment again. Your prayer support is primarily why we are where we are today. I could not be more grateful for those prayers and they cannot stop now. I am following the lead of the passage above and I lean totally on God’s love and grace to see me through.

Now that Rest Ministries is publishing some of my devotions, I will continue to write as much as I can. Thank you and my God show you the kindness He has shared with me.

Dave Stallings lives in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife of 36 years, Barbara, and their dog, Captain Jack…along with their kids and grand kids ! Dave is a semi-retired pastor and loves to blog on his personal web page since being diagnosed with Stage IV incurable non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma two years ago..his motto is “It is what it is and God is not surprised”….his website is www.nowwhataz.blogspot.com and can be reached by email at dstallings2@qwest.net.