▼ Show Notes

I awakened on Thursday, May 7th, 2026, and thought about my plans for the day like any other day. What I didn’t realize was that life for my wife and me would take a dramatic turn that afternoon. I went to physical therapy for my recently replaced left shoulder early that morning, and I was pleased to learn that the physical therapist was going to allow me to do some harder work since I had just passed the six-week mark from surgery. The day began to change, however, when I stood to leave at the end of the session and felt as close to fainting as I had ever felt.

In this atypical episode of Relentless Truth, I tell the story and convey some of the perspectives we gained from discovering significant arterial blockage that day to open-heart surgery and recovery. Previous cardiac tests had not revealed this very dangerous blockage, and physicians called it “hidden” when they discovered it. God spared my life through this discovery and surgery, and although I can’t quite process all the lessons to be learned at this point, I prepared this episode in an effort to capture my thoughts at this stage.

I hope you find it encouraging and reassuring, and that I conveyed God’s tender mercies and provision through this most peculiar series of events. I find myself reliving the days in the hospital as testing was occurring, and thinking, “What if, after several indications that nothing was wrong, the physicians had sent me home?” Like you in your own trials, I look back and see God’s rich provision at every turn.

Many sections of Scripture stand out as I contemplate these things. 1 Peter 5:6-7 is particularly sweet to me during this season.

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7, ESV

Romans 8:28 also comes to mind.

8 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28, ESV

The entire chapter 8 of Romans is particularly comforting when we suffer or encounter trials.

1 Peter 5:6-7 ESV