THEREFOR WE DO NOT LOSE HEART
Sakkie Parsons
Translated from Afrikaans: Daarom word ek nooit moedeloos nie
Translator: Robin Barker
I want to share with you an article that I read one day. Actually I should say, something that I listened to, but how strange it will be to the readers if I say I listened to something that was in a newspaper.
At that time I received the specific newspaper on tape to listen to. (To those who do not know, I am blind.)
I just know that one day in time, with technology improvement, I would be able to read anything in the newspaper on my own.
The article was about Billy Gallagher. I hope that I have the correct spelling of his name. If you do not know who Billy Gallagher is, I also did not know who Billy Gallagher was but I know about him now.
He was the South African cooking ‘guru’.
One evening he stopped at a traffic light and then he heard knocking on one of the cars windows, when he looked towards it, a man shot him.
When he woke up in the hospital, he was a quadriplegic.
The way he handled the whole traumatic event, I can describe as phenomenal.
He then tells about all the little things he had to learn to deal with.
For example how he puts Marmite on his bread. Just imagine for yourself, this man, who prepared exotic dishes for the rich and famous of the world, cannot even put a bit of Marmite on a piece of bread for himself.
Another thing which was a great problem for him, was that he could not even open his own office door for himself and those are just two of the little things which had changed.
Believe me, I have been involved with many paraplegics and quadriplegics throughout my life, and I can assuredly tell you that those are just two of the hundreds of problems that they have to live with.
The positive manner, in which he approached life after the traumatic experience, really inspired me.
Once again I have realized exactly how easy we complain.
When I was still working, there was this person that I worked with – and on several occasions I would say to myself:
“Sakkie, one day you will be lucky to experience that two or three days will pass in which he will not find fault with something in his life.”
There are not many things in the world that upset me more than when I hear a Christian complains. Let me tell you why:
I say that I am a Christian. In other words, I say that I have been saved by God and I am now in His hands and He is now in control of my whole life.
If I now complain, I am actually saying to the world that I am in the hands of God but that He is not doing His job/work correctly. I am actually saying to the world that my God is a weak/an ineffectual God.
What does the Bible say, in other words – What does our Father say? How must you and I look at the things that happen to us?
2 COR 4:16-18
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Awaiting the New Body
2 COR 5:1-9
1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,
3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.
4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.
7 For we live by faith, not by sight.
8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
A person can easily say that it is easy to talk when all is going right for you but read about a few things that happened with this person, which I have quoted below:
2 COR 11:24-27
24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea,
26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.
27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
In closing, here is one of the two verses that I have adopted as the slogan for my ministry.
PHI 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
The NLT Version is as follows:
PHI 4:4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again–rejoice!
Greetings,
Sakkie