Submitted by Dr. Robert F. Lane on
After quoting Philippians 1:6, Wendell told me that his calling was to be on the pulpit of the church up the street every Sunday, “so Doc, give me the best stuff you got that will get me on that pulpit in two days and every Sunday thereafter for long as possible".
Flabbergasted, I figured he just hadn’t heard what I had just said; many people don’t hear anything after I say the words “cancer “or “leukemia”. So I explained again how the arduous treatment was really the only one of significant possible benefit and it would entail his being in the hospital for several weeks and missing several Sundays, but it stood the best chance of getting him on the pulpit for more Sundays in the long run – give up 6-12 Sundays now and get 90 or more later. Then he pointed out that “God's promise in Philippians has nothing to do with time. It is outside time.”
That is exactly where it seemed to me Wendell was stepping and I was clueless. It was definitely outside my training and life experience.
Wendell was certain that God would complete his life in meaningful and wonderful ways in whatever time there was left. And it was God's responsibility to figure out the timeframe. Wendell wasn't going to interfere with that nor worry about it. Instead he was going to get on with his calling. He told me he would rather trust in God’s promises than in doctor’s statistics.
Whoa! I was pretty much jaw-dropped speechless at that point. There was no fear present, not a hint of that sulfurous dragon breath. So I gave him some mild stuff in the office, little more than a placebo and then....
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