In 1994, Dr. David Jeremiah was already a well-known pastor and teacher. As the senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in San Diego, California, and the founder of Turning Point Ministries, he was reaching millions of people through radio, television, and publishing. His teaching style — clear, warm, deeply rooted in Scripture — had earned him a reputation as one of the most trusted Bible teachers in America.
Then came a diagnosis that threatened to end everything.
The Diagnosis
Lymphoma. Cancer of the lymphatic system. The diagnosis arrived at a moment when David Jeremiah's ministry was growing, when Turning Point was expanding, when the future seemed bright and full of possibility. Cancer does not check your calendar.
For a pastor, a cancer diagnosis carries a unique weight. You are not just a patient. You are a shepherd. Thousands of people are looking to you for guidance, for stability, for spiritual leadership. And suddenly you are the one who needs help.
David faced the diagnosis with the same honesty that characterised his preaching. He did not hide. He told his congregation. He asked for prayer. He submitted to treatment.
The Battle
Lymphoma treatment in 1994 was gruelling. Chemotherapy. The physical toll of drugs designed to kill cancer cells but that cannot help but damage healthy ones too. The nausea, the fatigue, the vulnerability of a body fighting on two fronts — against the cancer and against the cure.
David continued to preach when he could. There were weeks when he stood behind the pulpit having come directly from a treatment session. There were Sundays when the congregation could see the toll on his face and in his frame. He was thinner. He was weaker. But he was there.
His congregation prayed with an intensity that matched the severity of the diagnosis. Shadow Mountain Community Church was not going to lose their pastor without a fight. The prayer was constant, specific, and unwavering.
The Healing
After treatment and sustained prayer, David Jeremiah was declared cancer-free. The lymphoma was gone. The scans were clear. The blood work confirmed what the prayers had asked for.
But the story does not end with the healing. It begins there.
Thirty Years of Testimony
What makes David Jeremiah's cancer testimony extraordinary is not just the healing — it is what happened afterward. From 1994 to the present day, more than thirty years, David has used his cancer experience as one of the foundational testimonies of his ministry.
He wrote about it. He preached about it. He used it to connect with every cancer patient, every frightened family, every person sitting in a hospital waiting room wondering if God was still there. His book A Bend in the Road chronicled the journey and became a lifeline for thousands.
Turning Point Ministries grew exponentially after his healing. The very thing that could have ended his ministry became the catalyst for its greatest expansion. David has said that God used the worst season of his life to launch the most fruitful season of his ministry.
What This Means for You
If you are in the middle of a diagnosis and you are wondering whether God can bring anything good out of this — look at David Jeremiah. Lymphoma in 1994. Cancer-free for thirty years. And every year since, using that testimony to give hope to someone else.
Your diagnosis is not the end of your story. It might be the beginning of a testimony that encourages people for decades. You do not know yet what God plans to do with the season you are walking through.
David Jeremiah did not know in 1994 that his cancer would become one of the most impactful parts of his legacy. He just knew he was sick and he needed God. That was enough. It is enough for you too.
