David Jeremiah

A Bend

in the

Road

A Bend in the Road

Copyright © 2000 W Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Published by W Publishing Group, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, Tennessee 37214.

Book design by Mark McGarry

Set in Weiss

No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations used in this book are from The New King James Version, copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.

Other Scripture references are from the following sources:

The Message (msg), copyright © 1993. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

New American Standard Bible (nasb), © 1960, 1977 by the Lockman Foundation.

The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (nrsv), copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA.

The Holy Bible, New International Version (niv), copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984,
International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

The King James Version of the Bible (kjv).

ISBN 0–8499-1521-X (hc)

ISBN 0–8499-4333–7 (sc)

Printed in the United States of America

03 04 05 06 07 PHX 17 16 15 14 13

This book is dedicated to the faithful members of the
Shadow Mountain Community Church.
Their prayers carried me through my bend in the road
and continue to sustain me to this day!

Contents

Acknowledgments

Foreword by Donna Jeremiah

1. A Bend in the Road

2. Psalm for a Dark Night

3. I Need Your Help, Lord

4. When God Delays

5. Worship in Times of Trouble

6. A Desert Psalm

7. Life’s Ups and Downs

8. Praying under Pressure

9. When You Are at Your Wits’ End

10. Triumph over Trouble

11. The Best Is Yet to Come

Epilogue: Resuming the Journey

Acknowledgments

When I first encountered my bend in the road in the fall of 1994, I did not think I would write a book about my experience. But the lessons I learned have been too valuable to keep to myself. This is not primarily a story about me; it is a record of God’s dealings with me during these traumatic years. As always, He works best through the people He brings next to us at such crucial times.

I cannot say enough about the medical professionals who ministered to me during the crucial days of my illness. Dr. Thomas Witzig was part of the diagnostic team at the Mayo Clinic that walked me through the first stages of lymphoma. His Christian faith and his encouraging words helped me over the first hurdle.

When I returned to San Diego, I was placed in the capable care of Dr. Alan Saven at the Scripps Clinic. He directed the first chemical treatments and diagnosed the disease when it returned in 1998. Dr. Saven is a highly regarded oncologist who takes an aggressive approach to the treatment of cancer and ...