Shout his Name

Bro Adriel Chan

On 15 July 2024, one day after my graduation ceremony, I received news that the recent scan showed suspicions of cancer. There were places in my right lung and right hip that looked abnormal to the doctor. Hearing this, I was reminded of how fickle and fragile life is, but at the same time I knew that God- the Author of life, was in complete control. I told God that I was going to still trust Him. And right there in the doctor’s office, His peace was tangible.

When I went home that day, I remember pouring my heart before the Lord. I did not carry my sorrow and pain with my strength, but I told Him, “They are Yours, I give them all to You”. And I told Him, “Though I may not fully understand, I will still trust You regardless of what happens. You are still my God, and I will still praise You and use this life to bless Your Name.”

During this time, my Christian friends, my cell groups prayed and encouraged me.

I also shared the news with some pastors, who prayed alongside me.

I had to go for a second scan three days later, which would give a more definitive result. Around this time, I came across Psalm 143 which spoke deeply to me. I began to read it as a private prayer to the Lord daily. The 2 verses which spoke most to me were:

Verse 7: Answer me quickly, Lord; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me, or I will be like those who go down to the pit.

Verse 11: For your name’s sake, Lord, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.

On July 28^th, I responded to an altar call in the youth service. To my surprise, someone prayed from Psalm 143 for me. I had not mentioned Psalm 143 to anybody, except to the Lord. For this person to use Psalm 143 to encourage me, was God meeting me where I was, telling me that He knew everything, and heard my prayer. And that was enough for me. I stood in awe and in brokenness before the Lord.

On Aug 1^st, when I walked into the doctor’s room to collect the results of the second scan, the confidence and grace of God was with me. I did not know if the result was going to be good or bad, but I knew three things:

Jesus was with me
Psalm 143 is God’s word in season for me
Jesus will walk the journey with me, whatever it may be

Thanks be to God, I received an excellent scan result, showing that my whole body was cleared of cancer. All previous suspicious results from the first scan turned out to be either inaccuracies from the scanning machine or abnormal bone development due to past chemotherapy treatment that I underwent.

I would like to end off with a personal thought. Life is transient- we do not know when we will be taken back home. But He who has all the days of our life written in His book, He calls us to live for Him. Through all of life’s ups and downs, joys, brokenness, heartaches, Jesus says, “Come, follow me”. I pray that His Spirit will give us strength to live this life for Him. I pray that we will be reminded again of how worthy it is to live for Jesus.

To Jesus alone be all the glory!