Merciful God, oh abounding in Love! Faithful to all who draw near You!

Dude.

So you know how God has recently been showing me that I need to pray more confidently and trust Him completely? Well, guess what!

Shortly after posting "Confidence is Keen" (which desperately needs a better name, btw), my friend and brother in Christ received a preliminary diagnosis of Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system. This is a particularly terrifying diagnosis to me. Your lymphatic system spreads all over your body, so when the cancer is there it soon spreads everywhere. I know this, because that's the cancer that killed my biological father.

My friend did some research and said that this type of cancer has a very high survival rate. My brain wouldn't accept this, but of course I didn't tell him that. Instead I prayed. I prayed and prayed and prayed. Several times I was tempted to pray my doubting prayers of before, but God gave me some remarkable confidence. I knew of course that He was completely in control, but that didn't change my earnest pleading that the cancer be taken care of quickly. When I learned that it was, in fact, a preliminary diagnosis and not set in stone, I prayed that there was no cancer. That the doctor was mistaken. More than anything, I prayed that salvation would come to my friend's family through this. I know firsthand that God makes all things good, and uses the darkest moments to create the most beautiful results.

Guess what my friend learned yesterday.

No cancer! None! How gracious, how glorious, how merciful our God is! I've been thanking Him off and on all morning and evening. I'm so thankful to the Lord for sparing him that trial, and so blessed to have been able to pray for him. If you want to read his full story, you can find it here.

What a beautiful, caring God we serve! Rejoice in Him today, my friends. He is always good, always! But sometimes, like now, His goodness is readily and abundantly apparent. Praise Him for His goodness.

Peace,

Sarah