Stage IV lung cancer went into her brain, then God touched her

Stage IV lung cancer went into her brain, then God touched her

By Mark Ellis
Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (ANS) -- Messianic Jewish believer Bobbie Barsky likes to identify herself as a completed Jew. When she went through a horrific health battle with metastasizing cancer, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob gave her assurance every step of the way.

Bobbie and David

"God made the difference!" Barsky exclaims three times to emphasize her gratitude. Barsky and her husband, Rabbi Dr. David Barsky, oversee Congregation Beth Hillel in Coral Springs, Florida, a messianic synagogue.

Long before her cancer diagnosis she received a vision that helped prepare her for what was coming. "It wasn't my imagination, because I couldn't turn off what I was seeing," she notes in her book, "The Silver Lining" (Gazelle Press). In the vision, she sat in a hospital bed but appeared healthy - as if a crisis had passed - and many people were lined up to see her.

After the vision she shared her concern with husband David. "Something is going to happen," she told him.

"We have to pray against it," he said.
When the crisis hit, none of her symptoms conveyed anything serious. But a stubborn case of bronchitis didn't respond to antibiotics, so her doctor ordered a chest x-ray. "I was never sick a day in my life," Barsky says. She wasn't concerned.

He called a few days later to deliver the stunn ing news: she had a large mass in her right lung. Later it was identified as adenocarcinoma, one of the deadliest and most aggressive forms of lung cancer. Over 90 % of sufferers die within eight months.

"I thought he made a horrible goof," Barsky says.

God doesn't have to get my attention, she thought, because I'm already serving Him. I'm leading all these people to the Lord. What are you doing, God?

Barsky confesses she was angry with God for several weeks, then a Matt Redman song, "He Never Lets Go," ministered a spiritual breakthrough in her soul.

Surgeons wanted to remove one-third of her lung, but the surgery was cancelled when it was discovered the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. Her doctor warned her the cancer was so aggressive it might also spread to her brain, so he ordered a brain scan.
Four days later, he called with an urgent tone in his voice. Bobbie and David must come to his office right away. "I have some bad news," he told them after they arrived. "You have a large metastatic brain tumor."

David began to quietly sob, as both wondered whether they should plan for brain surgery or a funeral. But then something unusual happened in the doctor's office.

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