Below is an excerpt from Floored and Delivered by Elizabeth Soldahl
~Sue’s Wise Counsel~
One day I would feel confident and strong with faith and the next I was a wreck. The highs and lows were too much to handle, so I made an appointment with my Christian counselor.
That Thursday, Sue was full of wisdom. She helped me correct some of my wrong thinking about my breast cancer situation. The Bible says to seek Godly counsel, “There is safety in a multitude of counselors.” (Proverbs 11:14)
First and foremost, she reminded me that we need to remember we are nothing without the Lord, that ALL things are possible with God. At the start of each counseling session, we said prayers asking for the Holy Spirit to be present and to guide our meeting. That day was one hour of power. The notes I took say it all:
Me: “I feel like this cancer would have been caught earlier if I was more conscientious. I blew off the doctors.”
Counselor Sue: “The devil wants to condemn and blame. We live in a sinful world, and sin brings disease to the world. God wants us healthy and whole. The enemy says, ‘you are a bad person.’ The enemy is a liar. In fact he hates everyone. The devil is blacker than black. He wants us all dead. The truth is you made informed decisions with your breast health. What the devil intends for evil, the Lord will use for good. God is love, and He promises to always be with us.”
Me: “I feel afraid of the pain, the surgeries, death, hard decisions, and the ‘not knowing’ what is going to happen to me.”
Sue: “You have a choice, Elizabeth, to choose peace or choose fear during this journey.”
Me: “I want to choose peace, but the fearful thoughts creep into my mind. How do I choose peace?”
Sue: “Just do it. It’s like that commercial, just do it. Just choose peace. Refuse to entertain the lies of Satan. Speak the word of God. Say, ‘Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior, I stand on the word of God.’ Say it out loud! The enemy can’t stand in the same room with Jesus, he will flee.”
The counseling session ended with a prayer and a hug. Stepping out of her office, I felt a renewed spirit.
Later that night, at Sue’s instruction, I read:
“Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age.” (Ephesians 6: 11-12)
~Just “Do It”~
So, the next day I decided, “To just do it!” In every room of our home, I posted notes and started speaking forth expectations of healing. I began to recite God’s promises from the Bible out loud:
—Your faith has made you well.
—Resist the devil and he will flee.
—My days of sickness and disease are over!
—God forgives my sins and heals my disease!
—By His stripes I am healed.
—I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!
It was hard for me to see other patients and friends around me suffering and even dying while going through chemotherapy and radiation treatments. One other verse that I clung to was:
A thousand may fall at my side, and ten thousand at my right hand, but it shall not come near me. (Psalms 91:7)
One night I wrote in my journal: Dear God, You have delivered me from childhood sexual abuse, the loss of a baby, the anguish of divorce and custody issues, colon cancer, melanoma, alcohol addiction, bleeding fibroids, and blocked intestines, so surely You will deliver me now!
Link to Floored and Delivered by Elizabeth Soldahl: