YOUR PLANS FOR US ARE TOO NUMEROUS TO LIST – YOU HAVE NO EQUAL
A Personal Testimony
Sakkie Parsons
Translated from Afrikaans: “U Planne vir ons kan met niks vergelyk word nie.”
I would like to share with you today about my conversation with our Lord regarding my wonderful wife Cornelia, who is now with Jesus. After a stroke a few years ago and because of dementia that was already advanced, she could not communicate with me anymore or move herself. However, she had the peace of our Lord in her heart.
Every day, for 5 years, I walked with my guide dog, Pedro (you can see our pictures on the website) about 10km back and forth to the Care unit to visit her, which was sometimes a challenge if you take into account that the road has about 25 crossings, as well as nasty, free running dogs, trying to attack Pedro.
(For those who do not know yet, I'm physically blind).
People have asked me why I visit her every day if she is not able to communicate anymore, but as her husband who loves her very dearly, I would take care of her to the best of my abilities and love her until she takes her last step out of this life to be with our Lord forever.
One day after I greeted her when I had to return home, I walked and talked with our Lord.
I said to him: "Lord, I know that for your children, everything works out for the good, because that's what You say and I have no doubt about it":
ROM 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together[a] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
While I was walking, talking to Him about her circumstances, our Lord showed me in His great love the following:
I say – He showed me it in his great love – because remember: He is the Potter; I'm just one of the jars He created for His glory. He doesn’t need to explain why He does as He does.
You know the story of Lazarus, his sister Mary who always sat at Jesus' feet and their sister Martha – the three with whom Jesus had this intimate love relationship. (You can read this particular story about Jesus and them in JOH 11.)
Well, what our Lord was bringing under my attention so beautifully in His loving manner as I walked, was the following:
I knew that Jesus and their relationship was so intimate that when Lazarus got sick, they could send the following message to Jesus:
JOH 11:3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, "Lord, he whom you love is ill."
About Jesus' love for this family, His Word testifies as follows:
JOH 11:5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
Remember, at that time, the ordinary people were traveling by foot.
With this in mind, we see the following:
Jesus Christ, God, who became human, is unruffled in doing what God Almighty wants Him to do. Even though He knew when the messengers came to him, that Lazarus is already in the grave.
Because we read:
JOH 11:6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
Then we read a little further these words of Jesus:
JOH 11:11 After saying these things, he said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him."
Then, knowing that Jesus stayed two days where He was after receiving the message, as well as His words that Lazarus sleeps, we read these words of Martha, when Jesus, humanly speaking, finally arrived:
JOH 11:39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days."
Then!
What is the end of this, from a human point of view, heartbreaking tragedy?
JOH 11:41-44
41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me.
42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me."
43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out."
44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
Just think of the tremendous trauma and sadness that Martha and Mary had to go through, as they see how their brother weakened and Jesus (God who became human) went through everything with them – His friends for whom He loved so much – even though they did not know – but other than them, He knew what the end of the trial would be and what was the end!
44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
I believe and you will also see it in your heart and agree with me:
If you would ask Martha or Mary – after Lazarus walked out of that grave and all the linen strips lay aside in a heap – “Yes, now that you experienced all this terrible sadness and have the knowing hindsight, humanly, how Jesus took His time –
Would you go through this again if you had a choice beforehand? "
I am sure they would answer:
"Yes! A thousand times yes! "
Now you and I also have "hindsight," because we have the case of Lazarus as an example – and now Jesus is asking us to walk our path with Him right now in the trial or temptation that you and I are at this moment.
Should I say now; No, thank you Lord, not for me?
No! A thousand times, No!
For example, if someone were to ask me today:
“If you could have your life all over again, taking in consideration all that happened in your life over which you had no control, would you want it differently? – I would say: “No, a thousand times, no.”
Because firstly, what happened in my life, my Creator allowed to happen – and it is therefore the best thing that could happen to me and secondly: our Lord used me and through all the crises I had to go through, I could meet many people and testify wonderfully about the greatness of the wonderful God we serve.
What you and I have to do through the crises we are experiencing is to move forward in faith and keep our eyes on Jesus:
HEB 12:2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
HEB 12:3 Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
I now have Lazarus as hindsight!
Now I cry out and proclaim as I groan in my humanity from the terrifying sadness and pain in my life:
HAB 3:17-19
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
Yes!
I can cry out, even though the tears sometimes run down my face:
PSM 18:6 In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.
I do not know when He will answer me.
It may only be over two divine days, and my circumstances may smell for the people around me, but eventually you and my death cloths / circumstances will lie in a bundle on one side and we shall stand in His glory for everyone to see what the Lord can do!
I do not know why Lazarus had to stay in the grave for 4 days and why it had to go so far and whether he ever got sick again and what the circumstances were when he eventually died.
Just as I do not know how long I have to be in my current circumstances and how many trials still awaits me.
Just as I did not know in the past why I had to become blind and why I had to get melanoma cancer – but I know is that I live in a sinful world and that there is a satan who will do his best to let me lose my faith in my God and finally to end my life in hell
Therefore my friend,
For now, I keep my eyes firmly on our Lord and do my best with what He allow me how to handle the circumstances. For, praise the Name of our Lord! – I'm in good, no; I’m in the best hands! – Because I am in the hands of Him who created the universe and who also created me.
We believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, so we can now rejoice in victory together with David:
PSM 40:5 You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.
The New Living Translation reads as follows:
5 O LORD my God, you have performed many wonders for us.
Your plans for us are too numerous to list.
You have no equal.
If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds,
I would never come to the end of them.
Greetings,
Sakkie