‘I encountered God through Psalm 23 in the midst of my cancer treatment’

When Alex MacDougall was diagnosed with cancer, his world fell apart. In the depth of painful treatment and uncertainty, he had a radical encounter with God. Here, he tells the story of how a psalm set to music brought him peace and hope

As an 18-year-old and fresh out of school, I was invited to attend a Billy Graham crusade in Anaheim, California. That night Mr Graham preached on 2 Corinthians 5:17, and I too wanted to become a “new creation in Christ”, and so I tearfully went forward at his invitation. One of the songs sung that night in 1969 was the hymn ‘Surely goodness and mercy’, based on the words of Psalm 23. I have never forgotten it, nor has my life ever been the same.

Many years later, aged 71, I was teaching and enjoying life when I began to experience some difficulty swallowing. By the time I was able to get to a doctor, several months had passed. Then came the words that changed everything: “You have oesophageal cancer”.