During the closing session of the State Evangelism Conference Feb. 27, state Baptist leaders gathered around state Evangelism Director Sammy Gilbreath to petition God for his continued health and strength.
Gilbreath, who has dealt with a deteriorating heart for two years, was recently deemed inoperable by physicians and removed from candidacy for a heart transplant. With his condition — hypertrophic cardiomyopathy — he battles daily with ever-worsening symptoms including shortness of breath, fatigue and sometimes even congestive heart failure.
“This has now exhausted our medical options … but just the fact that medical science can’t do anything else doesn’t mean the Great Physician can’t do anything else,” Gilbreath said in a later interview. “It’s all right for [the doctors] to say, ‘Sammy, we can’t go in and grow your stem cells. We can’t go in and remove the aneurism.’ God knows my condition — He has a master plan and I totally trust Him.”
So Gilbreath continues to ask God daily for one simple request: “I pray for today to be what God needs it to be — I’m not going to ask Him for tomorrow.”
He asked for prayer from Alabama Baptists for physical energy, godly wisdom and Holy Spirit anointing to continue in his calling.
Gilbreath said he plans to honor every appointment and continue to accept invitations “from anyone anywhere to equip them with an evangelism strategy and to preach the gospel like a dying man to dying people for the cause of Christ.” (TAB)
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