<\/p>\n
Pastor Shane Idleman, known for his biblical takes on the issues of the day, has revealed a head and neck cancer diagnosis.<\/p>\n
Idleman, pastor of Westside Christian Fellowship in Leona Valley, California, has long been a health advocate, focusing on fitness. The preacher said he knows some are asking how someone so in touch with well-being could find himself in such a dire struggle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first 30 years of my life, I was a prodigal. \u2026 There\u2019s there\u2019s a lot of damage you can do with the party lifestyle and things like that, No. 1,\u201d he said. \u201cNo. 2 is: there\u2019s no guarantees in life.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued, \u201cSome of the healthiest persons still get sick, and we just don\u2019t know in this life, and that\u2019s why my motto has been, \u2018God\u2019s sovereignty is my sanity.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Ultimately, Idleman said he\u2019s trusting in the Lord as he navigates uncertainty. Upon finding out about having cancer, he said he had a decision to make \u2014 whether to remain silent or share his struggles. The preacher chose to openly discuss his journey and is hoping to help others along the way.<\/p>\n
Idleman said he started feeling unwell in January with night sweats and exhaustion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Man, something\u2019s going on,’\u201d he said. \u201cI \u2026 was literally dying slowly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Testing revealed cancer in the neck area and a possible tumor in the mouth area. Idleman said there are no medical guarantees for treating his condition and that he\u2019s been exploring various alternatives.<\/p>\n
Outside of the medical aspects, Idleman spoke about the spiritual growth he\u2019s experiencing through his struggles.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a deeper anointing or relationship with the Lord that is profound,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, on one hand, I say, \u2018Lord, would you take this away?\u2019 But on the other hand, I say, \u2018Lord, don\u2019t take this away if it means intimacy with You.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Listen to the latest\u00a0episode\u00a0of \u201cQuick Start\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Despite the pain and chaos, Idleman said he\u2019s hearing from people all over America who are inspired by his candid discussion of the struggle \u2014 and he said his church has already grown because of it.<\/p>\n Of course, the journey hasn\u2019t been easy.<\/p>\n \u201c[I] went through all the seasons of fear, anxiety, doubt and, still, of course, you wonder, \u2018What is ahead?’\u201d he said, noting that he knows many interventions can be taken to combat the cancer, but that faith is key. \u201cThere\u2019s only one hope, and that\u2019s in God.\u201d<\/p>\n Idleman continued, \u201cThere\u2019s only one hope when His sovereignty is your sanity. I\u2019ve seen Him heal people conventionally, through alternatives, I\u2019ve seen Him heal people miraculously, and I\u2019ve seen Him bring His saints home.\u201d<\/p>\n Idleman said God\u2019s hand is on his story and that he\u2019s stepping into that realization as he navigates it all. As a preacher, he emphasized the biblical call to take every thought captive, balancing the tension that can arise when people seek miracles with the reality that God\u2019s plans trump all else.<\/p>\n \u201cWe say, \u2018Lord, I\u2019m believing You. I\u2019m trusting You. Lord, I know You know what\u2019s best,’\u201d Idleman said. \u201cAnd we exercise our faith. So it is a constant tension; it\u2019s a constant struggle, and that\u2019s, I think, very healthy \u2026 to say, \u2018Lord, I believe. I absolutely believe. But help my unbelief. And You are sovereign.’\u201d<\/p>\n Idleman knows there are times God heals and times He doesn\u2019t, and he pondered how God might use sickness to \u201cwake somebody \u2026 and draw them back to Him.\u201d<\/p>\n Watch him fully explain his diagnosis and how he\u2019s processed it all.<\/p>\n Please sign up for\u00a0Faithwire\u2019s daily newsletter\u00a0and download the\u00a0CBN News app\u00a0to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pastor Shane Idleman, known for his biblical takes on the issues of the day, has revealed a head and neck cancer diagnosis. Idleman, pastor of Westside Christian Fellowship in Leona Valley, California, has long been a health advocate, focusing on fitness. The preacher said he knows some are asking how someone so in touch with<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[3026,3987,983,2402,184,489],"class_list":["post-29263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jesus","tag-cancer","tag-diagnosis","tag-pastor","tag-popular","tag-pray","tag-reveals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}