Famed evangelist Luis Palau revealed in a video this week that he has stage 4 lung cancer and that it would “literally take a miracle” for him to be healed.
Palau, 83, who is known around the globe for boldly preaching the gospel, stood next to his sons, Andrew and Keven, as he revealed that his first reaction to the news was to cry over the fact that he won’t be able to hear his sons’ voices anymore.
But despite feeling sadness, the evangelist said that the Bible is sustaining him, especially the promise that he will get to meet Jesus.
“I don’t feel panic or horror,” Palau said. “Many people are praying that the Lord would do a miracle. It would literally take a miracle, medically speaking … stage 4 is big time.”
The evangelist said that he is “ready” if God chooses to take him in a few months, two years or at any other time. Palau also expressed a happiness to go to heaven — a spiritual realm that he has often preached about over the years.
“If the Lord wants to take me home in the next few months, or two years, or whatever it is, I’m ready. I know it sounds crazy, it’s not like, ‘Ooh, I can’t wait to go to heaven.’ Yes it’s true. I actually [am],” he said. “I’ve preached about heaven a lot, and … now it’s reality for me.”
Watch Palau speak about his diagnosis below:
Palau’s son, Kevin, who has been leading the Luis Palau Association as president and CEO for the past decade, explained that his father’s diagnosis came in early December after Palau returned from a trip with a cold that didn’t seem to pass.
After initial tests doctors found cancer in one of Palau’s lungs, but it wasn’t until recently that the family learned it is stage 4. It’s a diagnosis that also initially left Palau in initial disbelief.
“It was a shock,” he said. “I haven’t been in a hospital one night, except when I broke a bone back in 1984 after Mission to London.”
But despite the emotional pain, he said verses like Isaiah 41:10 have been resonating with him in a truly sustaining way. That verse reads, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Prayers up for Palau and his family.
(H/T: Christianity Today)