Pastor Rick Stratton
Tomorrow I head to the hospital to begin radiation treatment for cancer on my vocal cords. I am the pastor of Salem Assembly of God, in Salem, IL. I have been preaching for over 35 years.
I have had a sore throat and raspy voice many times after preaching. I traveled for 18 years preaching and would preach on an average of five times a week. So to have a raspy voice was nothing new to me.
This time, however, it would not clear up. It stayed that way for well over 4 months. I thought I had developed an allergy but found out later that was not the case.
I finally went to an ENT and was diagnosed with cancer on my vocal cords. I really never asked the question, why me, because the Bible says it rains on the just and the unjust. We live in a corrupted world with imperfect bodies. When I found out, I didn't even know how I felt about it at the time but I did know how I believed. God would take care of this just as He had taken care of things all my life.
I read several articles on the subject from the worst case scenario to the best. None were all that comforting. I finally made the choice to have radiation treatment. That was only made after time spent in prayer.
Before you say, I have a lack of faith, let me say that God clearly spoke into my spirit about this. It was not a difficult nor fearful choice to make once I knew what He had said. There are other things He also spoke to me concerning all this that helped to make sense to this cancer.
I know there have been others, in the church I pastor, that have dealt with cancer and came out victorious and since I know God is no respecter of persons, I too will come out victorious.
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