Nick Vijicic does not have any limbs. Yet he lives a very rich, fulfilling life for God and touches millions of lives every single day. I watched this video and cried. It made my heart ache and a lump swell in my throat and stay there as steady streams wet my face. Sometimes I just don't understand why God chooses to do things one way over another. He knows what is best but sometimes I seriously question Him on why what He has chosen really is the best. We go through trials to keep us humble, to enable us to come to the realisation we need God in our lives. It is ultimately for our own good. We go through trials so we can understand other peoples' pain and not live in a self absorbed bubble, unconcerned with everything else.
But is there really no way around certain things? Did Nick really have to be born without limbs to make the same impact on peoples' lives? I admit the message would not be the same or as strong had what he had to say to others come from someone who was not in his position. But God has enabled so many to make a huge difference across the world with a fully able body. Would it be cheating if God just did not let anyone be born without limbs or have to lose their limbs? Does God have to let one of His children, who follows Him, be riddled with MS and not give them physical healing? We do not choose things like this but God allows them. If one day I was diagnosed with a disease that could not be cured fully, perhaps only managed somewhat, but it was one that was degenerative. One that would eventually take my life and I would leave this earth prematurely but having lived many years of pain and anguish. If I had to endure this, I would be forced into a situation where I could either choose life or death. I could make the most out of the time I had, of the opportunity to find rest and strength in God and tell of His goodness despite what I was enduring. Or I could choose to fall into depression and make my last years even more miserable than they had to be, not to mention bring down the ones who love me who choose to care for me even more. It's so hard to be in that position.
Couldn't God choose another way for us to reach out to others, to empathise with their pain? Does sin have to be so horrendous that children have to be forced into prostitution, or abused so badly that their innocence and childhood is ripped away from them? Is there no other way around all of this? The Bible tells us that God's thoughts and ways are higher. I have been told by some that I should not question God. It is not my place. Not my right. Who am I to do so? God rebuked Job's so-called friends when they offered what may have seemed to be godly advice but were words that would put doubt into Job's heart towards God. He is God and we are not. It always frustrated me to hear all this. I have always wanted answers. Explanations. But would I really be satisfied with what God would have to say to my incessant questions? Would I be able to handle the truth? It is true that I am not in a position to ask God to give me what I want and to demand that His responses meet my expectations. That His answers meet my standard of what is good, fair, just. My standard should be based on His because His is perfect and mine is damaged by sin. It is ironic I should be telling God that He is not fair. That He should change His methods.
I still remember my pastor's words one Sunday afternoon in 2007. It was explained to us that God does not have to limit His sovereignty in order for mankind to have complete freewill as He promised when creating the world. So too, He does not have to limit the freewill of mankind (or sin) in order to be fully sovereign over every situation. This means that though I strongly believe that God should have capped sin to some degree because some acts of man are just too gruesome and should not be allowed to take place, if He really does this, then He is backing out on His promise of free will. And, if He really does create a certain threshold beyond which sin cannot rear its ugly head, then it means He is telling us that His ability to work all things out for the good of those who love Him isn't really true. If He is able to work all things for good, then He has to allow for all things to happen at any time throughout history. The thing is, had God really placed a limit on how far sin could go, would we ever know? Would we say, "You know, I could do this but something is holding me back. Something is fishy here. I think God is not being completely truthful about His freewill promise, that cheater bug!" Well, no, we wouldn't know. We wouldn't be able to say that. But God, being perfect, would never lie even if no one could possibly find out He was being untruthful. Lying simply is against who He is.
Though I battle with thoughts of how people cope in the face of life threatening illnesses or traumatising experiences, be it a death of a loved one while heavily pregnant, or repeated abuse or a horrific accident that leaves one alive but paralysed from the shoulders down. Though I think it is too much to ask of us, too much for us to bear. Though I have a million and one questions and rebuttals, it doesn't change that God knows everything. He knows all the little details that I don't. He knows what that person has the capacity to endure because He has given them the capacity that they just need to tap into. Even if that person lives a life never hearing about God, and one day gets brutally gang raped and murdered, God knows what to do. I wonder if that person will get the chance to be with Him in eternity. Something tells me God has that all worked out even if it does not make an inch of sense to me.
What, though, do I have to say to those who have come through life overcoming one great challenge and trauma after another, who have endured and grown stronger, yet done everything apart from God? From the start they told themselves that God does not exist if He could let such a thing happen. But they determine to live on, to make the best of what they have. They gain knowledge and apply it. They gain wisdom from the knowledge acquired and tested; from experiences, both good and bad. They make decisions and face up to the consequences. They go through one tribulation after the other. What do I, someone whose life has been a breeze, have to say about God to them? I can tell them that it was God who gave them all they needed to come out the way they did. But to them that is just a convenient explanation. A bad thing happens and we say it is not of God but God allowed it for good purpose. A good thing happens and we say it has to be God, there is no coincidence or it was not just a matter of time even if the good outcome was a result of years of hard work. They will look at the times where people deemed to be good Christians were thrown into bad situations and not saved or were really ill, prayed so hard but never healed. They will look at all these things and question us about the validity of our God. But there is so much that is in the unseen. Yet how do I explain this when I myself struggle to understand the picture? It all goes back to seeking Him. Seeking His heart, His face and not just His hands to meet our demands or help us out of sticky places we put ourselves in. His love will give me the strength to wait upon Him, to wait for His timing to make all things well again, to rely on His grace and let go of all I am clinging so hard too.
I love this song by Lincoln Brewster. It's called The Power of Your Name - on his album Today is the Day. It talks about us going into a broken world in need of compassion, in need of a Saviour.
People who have lived on their own strength, no matter how strong they are, no matter what they think or say, they too need a Saviour. They need His rest. To let Him take over and do the hard work. To fully heal and restore them from all that has happened in the past. To release them from pain, from guilt or shame or fear or resentment or bitterness or hardness or misconceptions that rob them of true life without them knowing.
But is there really no way around certain things? Did Nick really have to be born without limbs to make the same impact on peoples' lives? I admit the message would not be the same or as strong had what he had to say to others come from someone who was not in his position. But God has enabled so many to make a huge difference across the world with a fully able body. Would it be cheating if God just did not let anyone be born without limbs or have to lose their limbs? Does God have to let one of His children, who follows Him, be riddled with MS and not give them physical healing? We do not choose things like this but God allows them. If one day I was diagnosed with a disease that could not be cured fully, perhaps only managed somewhat, but it was one that was degenerative. One that would eventually take my life and I would leave this earth prematurely but having lived many years of pain and anguish. If I had to endure this, I would be forced into a situation where I could either choose life or death. I could make the most out of the time I had, of the opportunity to find rest and strength in God and tell of His goodness despite what I was enduring. Or I could choose to fall into depression and make my last years even more miserable than they had to be, not to mention bring down the ones who love me who choose to care for me even more. It's so hard to be in that position.
Couldn't God choose another way for us to reach out to others, to empathise with their pain? Does sin have to be so horrendous that children have to be forced into prostitution, or abused so badly that their innocence and childhood is ripped away from them? Is there no other way around all of this? The Bible tells us that God's thoughts and ways are higher. I have been told by some that I should not question God. It is not my place. Not my right. Who am I to do so? God rebuked Job's so-called friends when they offered what may have seemed to be godly advice but were words that would put doubt into Job's heart towards God. He is God and we are not. It always frustrated me to hear all this. I have always wanted answers. Explanations. But would I really be satisfied with what God would have to say to my incessant questions? Would I be able to handle the truth? It is true that I am not in a position to ask God to give me what I want and to demand that His responses meet my expectations. That His answers meet my standard of what is good, fair, just. My standard should be based on His because His is perfect and mine is damaged by sin. It is ironic I should be telling God that He is not fair. That He should change His methods.
I still remember my pastor's words one Sunday afternoon in 2007. It was explained to us that God does not have to limit His sovereignty in order for mankind to have complete freewill as He promised when creating the world. So too, He does not have to limit the freewill of mankind (or sin) in order to be fully sovereign over every situation. This means that though I strongly believe that God should have capped sin to some degree because some acts of man are just too gruesome and should not be allowed to take place, if He really does this, then He is backing out on His promise of free will. And, if He really does create a certain threshold beyond which sin cannot rear its ugly head, then it means He is telling us that His ability to work all things out for the good of those who love Him isn't really true. If He is able to work all things for good, then He has to allow for all things to happen at any time throughout history. The thing is, had God really placed a limit on how far sin could go, would we ever know? Would we say, "You know, I could do this but something is holding me back. Something is fishy here. I think God is not being completely truthful about His freewill promise, that cheater bug!" Well, no, we wouldn't know. We wouldn't be able to say that. But God, being perfect, would never lie even if no one could possibly find out He was being untruthful. Lying simply is against who He is.
Though I battle with thoughts of how people cope in the face of life threatening illnesses or traumatising experiences, be it a death of a loved one while heavily pregnant, or repeated abuse or a horrific accident that leaves one alive but paralysed from the shoulders down. Though I think it is too much to ask of us, too much for us to bear. Though I have a million and one questions and rebuttals, it doesn't change that God knows everything. He knows all the little details that I don't. He knows what that person has the capacity to endure because He has given them the capacity that they just need to tap into. Even if that person lives a life never hearing about God, and one day gets brutally gang raped and murdered, God knows what to do. I wonder if that person will get the chance to be with Him in eternity. Something tells me God has that all worked out even if it does not make an inch of sense to me.
What, though, do I have to say to those who have come through life overcoming one great challenge and trauma after another, who have endured and grown stronger, yet done everything apart from God? From the start they told themselves that God does not exist if He could let such a thing happen. But they determine to live on, to make the best of what they have. They gain knowledge and apply it. They gain wisdom from the knowledge acquired and tested; from experiences, both good and bad. They make decisions and face up to the consequences. They go through one tribulation after the other. What do I, someone whose life has been a breeze, have to say about God to them? I can tell them that it was God who gave them all they needed to come out the way they did. But to them that is just a convenient explanation. A bad thing happens and we say it is not of God but God allowed it for good purpose. A good thing happens and we say it has to be God, there is no coincidence or it was not just a matter of time even if the good outcome was a result of years of hard work. They will look at the times where people deemed to be good Christians were thrown into bad situations and not saved or were really ill, prayed so hard but never healed. They will look at all these things and question us about the validity of our God. But there is so much that is in the unseen. Yet how do I explain this when I myself struggle to understand the picture? It all goes back to seeking Him. Seeking His heart, His face and not just His hands to meet our demands or help us out of sticky places we put ourselves in. His love will give me the strength to wait upon Him, to wait for His timing to make all things well again, to rely on His grace and let go of all I am clinging so hard too.
I love this song by Lincoln Brewster. It's called The Power of Your Name - on his album Today is the Day. It talks about us going into a broken world in need of compassion, in need of a Saviour.
People who have lived on their own strength, no matter how strong they are, no matter what they think or say, they too need a Saviour. They need His rest. To let Him take over and do the hard work. To fully heal and restore them from all that has happened in the past. To release them from pain, from guilt or shame or fear or resentment or bitterness or hardness or misconceptions that rob them of true life without them knowing.
No comments:
Post a Comment