Former U.S. Sen. Dr. Ben Sasse (R-NE) shared in a recent podcast conversation what God has been teaching him as he has been facing his impending death from cancer. Sasse said that a comment from the late Tim Keller about suffering and prayer now makes sense to him.
“I knew Tim Keller relatively well and talked with him a handful of times as he was dying, ironically, of pancreatic cancer as well,” Sasse said in a conversation published to Sola Media’s YouTube channel. “And one of the weird lines Tim would use is, he said, ‘I hate this, but I would never want to go back to the prayer life I had before pancreatic cancer,’ which I thought sounded pretty weird.”
Ben Sasse: Pain ‘Shattered Idols Really Fast’
In addition to being a former U.S. senator, Ben Sasse was formerly director of White Horse Inn, president of the University of Florida, and executive editor of modern reformation at Sola Media. The description of Sola Media on YouTube says, “Home to White Horse Inn, Know What You Believe, Core Christianity, Modern Reformation, Theo Global, & Tell Me A Story.”
In December 2025, Sasse publicly announced that he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer and knew that he would die from it. However, he said he would not be “going down without a fight” and expressed that his hope was in God. “We hope in a real Deliverer—a rescuing God, born at a real time, in a real place,” he said. “But the eternal city—with foundations and without cancer—is not yet.”
RELATED: Despite Terminal Cancer, Ben Sasse Has ‘Hope in a Real Deliverer’
At least two podcast conversations Sasse recently recorded have been circulating on X, with many commending Sasse for his faith and the attitude with which he is facing the end of his life.
So, so, so good. https://t.co/AZrNRkZB7s
— Greg Stier (@gregstier) February 18, 2026
Sasse’s Sola Media discussion was with Dan Bryant, former chairman of the board for Sola Media and Michael Horton, founder of Sola Media. The interview was recorded Feb. 7 and aired on Feb. 18.
Sasse said that it had been seven weeks since he was diagnosed and that, while he had originally started out with pancreatic cancer, he now has “five-ish kinds of cancer.” Pancreatic cancer is “the worst” a person can get as far as the survival rate, he said, because once it is found it is usually advanced. Sasse’s “torso is chock full of tumors,” and there is no point in him having surgery.
“To live is Christ, to die is gain,” Sasse said. “We felt amazingly blessed that Melissa, my wife, and I immediately were at peace about all this.” The former senator said he has two daughters, ages 22 and 24, and one son who is age 14 and is still at home. Because their son still lives with them, Sasse “felt an obligation to try to fight a little bit.”
Former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse shared what God has been teaching him as he has been facing his impending death from cancer.Click to Post
