Nabeel Qureshi Says He Has Not Lost Hope God Will Heal Him From Cancer
Christian apologist Nabeel Qureshi has assured that he has not lost hope that God will defy the odds and author a miracle in order to heal him from advanced stage stomach cancer.
Qureshi, an ex-Muslim author and former speaker with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, posted an update on his YouTube vlog on Wednesday telling his followers that he still believes God will use his medical condition to glorify His name.
The vlog update came after Zacharias posted a heartfelt tribute to Qureshi on his website in which he explained that Qureshi attended the recent RZIM itinerant team meeting in Atlanta to say his "preliminary goodbye" to RZIM team members last Monday just in case his health condition take a serious turn for the worse before the next time they are able to meet again for the next team meeting.
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"Their next itinerant team meeting isn't until the following year. So, I just wanted to make sure while I was there that I got to say goodbye to the people I love because I love the speaking team," Qureshi said. "There are people there on the team that are like brothers and sisters to me and Dr. Zacharias is like a spiritual father to me. So, I wanted to make sure we had a good, proper chance, in case the worse should happen, to say goodbye."
"Lots of them are very busy. They travel over 100 days a year. It's very difficult for them to come out," he added. "I just wanted to make sure that I was able to say to them, 'Should the worse happen, I am here.'"
Qureshi, who is believed to have about a 1 percent chance of survival after scans recently revealed that radiation hasn't worked, said he received many calls and messages from people asking if he had given up hope after Zacharias posted his tribute on Monday.
"No, I haven't given up hope. I really, truly, honestly do believe that I will be healed, against all medical odds, all medical statistics," Qureshi said. "I believe that God's intent is to glorify Himself through my miraculous healing."
Qureshi explained the context of the meeting with the RZIM team, saying that the meeting happened just days after he found out that his cancer had metastasized and treatment hadn't worked.
"When the results came back and the scan and they saw that my cancer had spread into my chest, I was really distraught and it was right after that that I met with the team," Qureshi said. "So the context of that meeting was that — the most recent scan. They were very gracious. By the way, I haven't worked with RZIM since I was diagnosed. I haven't been able to do any work at all. I have spoken at a few places here and there. Otherwise, I hadn't really had a job since August."
"Seeing them last Monday was my first time seeing almost all of them since August. It was a very emotional time. I had just received the news from the radiation results that hadn't worked," he added. "I told them, 'I am hoping in the Lord. God can and still could do a miracle. I am actually hoping for Him to do a miracle and believe He will. But, in case He does not, this may be the last time I will see you.'"
RZIM has paid for Qureshi's healthcare and to relocate his family to Houston, Texas, so he can receive treatment.
Although he was distraught after receiving the news of the radiation's failure, Qureshi explained that his hope was "restored" after seeing all the prayer and fasting efforts being done on his behalf when he returned home from Houston last week.
"Walking back into my home in Houston, there was actually a worship night going on in my house. People were singing to the Lord and just praising Him and clapping and dancing. We had a great time in prayer and I was really encouraged by that," he said. "Then two days after that, Acts 17 Apologetics hosted a day of fasting and prayer for me. A couple days after that, I saw a bunch flyers online where people were fasting and praying for me and asking God to move His hand miraculously."
"Over those days, I have regained a sense of hope," Qureshi explained. "Like I said, going from a 4 percent to 1 percent chance of survival, your hope is in the Lord and He hasn't changed, nothing about Him has changed, nothing about His arm has changed. It is not too short to save. I came back to terms with that."
Qureshi further explained the reason why he's so optimistic that the Lord will heal him.
"When you look through Scripture, when God heals people, it brings Him glory. Now, that's not to say that suffering well can't bring God glory. Absolutely, it can," Qureshi said. "When I look at Scripture, I look at God bringing glory to Himself through healing people. I pray that is what He will do in my case. He has not changed. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever."
Qureshi said that he we went to the doctor last Wednesday and was told that the doctor is looking into providing second-line treatments, one of which is a immunotherapy.
According to Qureshi, immunotherapy treatment has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for stomach cancer and would require Qureshi to get approval from the hospital if his insurance covers it.
"'If you can get it, there is a 20 percent chance that it will work and for those on whom it works, it extends life for quite a while,'" Qureshi recalled the doctor telling him. "I think quite a while in this context is maybe half a year to a year and there is like a 20 percent chance that it will work."
"God can work miracles through these things. Maybe it will be that I am the first person that when immunotherapy is given to them, the person is totally healed," he continued. "Who knows? It could happen. I still believe God does miracles through medicine."
