Barbra Gentry-Pugh

DON’T IGNORE THE SIGNS! Early Detection Can Change Everything

October 4, 2026

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Psalms 139:23-24 (NLT)

October is recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign that began in 1985 through a partnership between the American Cancer Society and a pharmaceutical division of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). Over the years, the pink ribbon has become a powerful and recognizable symbol of breast cancer awareness, solidarity, and hope. Today, Breast Cancer Awareness Month is recognized around the world, bringing increased attention to breast health, screening, and early detection, while honoring survivors, remembering those we have lost, and supporting individuals and families who continue to face this disease.

For me, Breast Cancer Awareness Month is more than wearing pink. It brings to mind patients I have cared for throughout my years as a nurse, but it also causes me to remember two dear friends whose lives were touched by breast cancer.

Hazel Rucker was a dear friend and served as President of our Royal Ambassadors for Christ Outreach Ministry. Imari, another dear friend, discovered that she had breast cancer through a routine mammogram. Both women eventually passed away, but their lives and their journeys with breast cancer remain in my heart.

When October comes around, I don’t simply think about pink ribbons. I remember names. I remember faces. I remember people I loved.

There is another patient I remember. Years ago, while working in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Providence Hospital, I cared for a woman who was dying from breast cancer. Her condition became critical, and for approximately five hours, the physician and I fought to sustain her life. We pumped blood into her body almost as quickly as she was losing it. We did everything medically possible, but eventually, there was nothing more we could do. Sadly, she passed away shortly afterward.

I have never forgotten that experience. It reinforced something I have carried with me for years: There are some conditions you don’t want to discover late.

After more than 35 years in the medical profession and completing thousands of clinical and behavioral health assessments, the main focus is to identify the signs and symptoms. A symptom is generally what the patient experiences and reports. A sign is something that can be observed or detected through examination or testing.

And here is what is Important: Sometimes we don’t feel anything is wrong.

Something can be developing beneath the surface without producing an obvious symptom. That is one reason awareness, appropriate screening, and early detection are so important. Early detection does not guarantee a particular outcome, but discovering disease earlier may provide more opportunities for treatment and intervention. As I thought about the importance of early detection in the body, the Lord turned my attention toward another kind of examination: What about early detection in the heart?

We understand the importance of examining our physical bodies. We schedule appointments. We undergo screenings. We pay attention to changes. We seek medical attention when something doesn’t seem right. But when was the last time we allowed God to perform a thorough examination of our HEARTS?

Just as we should not ignore concerns regarding our physical health, neither should we ignore the warning signs of what may be developing within us.

Bitterness can grow beneath the surface.

Unforgiveness can remain hidden.

Pride can disguise itself.

Envy can hide behind a smile.

Anger can manifest through our words, attitudes, silence, or behavior.

Compromise can gradually become comfortable.

And sometimes the outward symptom is merely evidence of a deeper root. David understood the importance of examination when he prayed in Psalm 139:23-24. He says Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (NLT)

David was essentially saying, “God, examine me. Reveal what I cannot see for myself.” Because the truth is:

We cannot address what we refuse to examine.

And we cannot experience Healing From Within while continually ignoring what God is revealing within.

~ DON’T IGNORE THE SIGNS ~

Sometimes what God allows us to recognize on the surface is His invitation to look deeper, to move beyond the SYMPTOM, confront the ROOT, examine the HEART, and begin the journey toward HEALING and WHOLENESS.

HEART CHECK: Just as we understand the importance of paying attention to changes in our physical bodies, we must also be willing to examine what is happening within our hearts. What signs have you been ignoring?

Is there bitterness you have learned to live with?
Unforgiveness you keep justifying?
Pride you refuse to acknowledge?
Envy you disguise as criticism?
Anger that shows up in your attitude?
Guilt or shame you continue to carry?
A compromise that has slowly become comfortable?
Ask yourself: “Lord, is there something developing within my heart that I have failed, or refused to address?”

“Search me, O God, and know my heart… Point out anything in me that offends you.” Psalm 139:23-24. (NLT)

HEART CHALLENGE: This week, don’t wait for the symptoms to become impossible to ignore.

Invite God to examine your heart. When He reveals something, don’t excuse it, minimize it, blame someone else, or cover it up.
Name it. Confess it. Repent of it. Address it with the truth of God’s Word.

Remember:

Early detection requires examination.
Biblical change requires confrontation.
Healing From Within requires honesty.

Don’t be afraid of what God reveals. Be willing to respond to what He shows you!

GOD’S STANDING ORDERS ~ The Master Physician’s Prescription For Your Life.  

God’s Word  is the prescription;

Obedience is the administration.

We must take a daily dose, never skip doses, and administer consistently!

ORDER #1: SCHEDULE REGULAR HEART EXAMINATIONS. Don’t wait until there is a crisis to examine your heart. Lamentations 3:40, “Let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the LORD.” (NLT)

ORDER #2: DON’T IGNORE THE WARNING SIGNS. Pay attention when your words, attitudes, reactions, relationships, or choices reveal that something within needs attention. Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (NLT)

ORDER #3: ASK GOD TO REVEAL WHAT YOU CANNOT SEE. Some things are easier to recognize in others than in ourselves. Give God permission to uncover your blind spots. Psalm 139:23 “Search me, O God, and know my heart…” NLT

ORDER #4: DON’T JUST TREAT THE SYMPTOM~CONFRONT THE ROOT. Changing outward behavior without addressing the heart can leave the underlying problem untouched. Matthew 12:34 “For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.” (NLT)

ORDER #5: RESPOND WHEN GOD REVEALS IT. Conviction calls for action. Don’t postpone confession, repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation, or whatever act of obedience God’s Word requires. James 1:22, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says.” (NLT)

ORDER #6: BRING IT INTO THE LIGHT. What we hide can continue to control us. What we honestly confess before God can be addressed through His grace and truth. 1 John 1:9, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” (NLT)

ORDER #7: KEEP YOUR FOLLOW-UP APPOINTMENTS. One examination is not enough. Spiritual growth requires an ongoing willingness to let God’s Word examine, correct, teach, and transform us. Romans 12:2, “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” (NLT)

HEALING FROM WITHIN: Early detection begins with examination. Don’t be afraid to ask God to search the places within you that you cannot see, or perhaps don’t want to see. When He reveals bitterness, unforgiveness, pride, compromise, guilt, shame, or anything else that does not belong, He is not showing it to you so you can hide it. He is bringing it to the light so it can be confronted by His truth. Don’t ignore the signs. Don’t simply treat the symptoms. Allow God to reveal the root. Because healing the heart makes room for restored hope, and restored hope prepares us to walk in God’s purpose.

LET’S PRAY: Father God, thank You for Your authoritative, inerrant, and inspired Word! Father, thank You for loving us enough to reveal what needs Your attention within our hearts. Give us the courage not to ignore the signs, excuse what You expose, or hide what You are calling us to confront. Search us, O God! Examine our thoughts, motives, attitudes, desires, and behaviors. Reveal bitterness, unforgiveness, pride, envy, anger, compromise, guilt, shame, or anything else within us that does not reflect You. When You show us something, help us not to look at someone else, but to look honestly at ourselves. Give us a heart that is quick to confess, willing to repent, and ready to obey Your Word. Lord, don’t allow us to simply manage symptoms while ignoring the root. Do Your transforming work within us. Heal our hearts. Restore our hope. Release us to walk fully in the purpose and assignment You have for our lives, in the Precious, Powerful, and Preeminent Name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.