|
About Jesus - Steve Sweetman Legally
Blind - Such A Waste? In Canada, one is considered legally blind if he has less than ten percent vision in
both eyes with the aid of corrective lenses. That makes me me legally blind
from birth. I have about three
percent vision in both eyes and glasses don't improve on that.
Over
the years countless people, including famous people with healing ministries,
have laid hands on me in prayer, prophesied over me, attempted to cast
demons out of me, supposedly saw visions and dreams about me, claimed my
healing by faith, fasted and prayed, and more, but I'm still legally blind.
Some full-of-faith folk have rebuked me for what they call my lack of
faith. Then, there are those
kind-hearted souls who say I may be legally blind but I am certainly not
spiritually blind, but still I wonder at times.
I could have been much more useful to Jesus over the years if I could
have only seen better.
"What a waste," I have sometimes thought.
When
thinking of this apparent waste I recall the Apostle Paul.
He spent two years in what could have been a rat infested, hell hole,
of a prison cell in Caesarea (Acts 24:27).
I cannot help but wonder if he ever felt that his imprisonment was a
waste of valuable time. He could
have been leading countless people to Jesus across the country-side, but
there he was, wasting away in a jail cell.
Where's the logic there? To
confuse matters more, Paul was arrested because of a failed plan proposed by
the Jerusalem
elders. The deal the elders made
with Paul was meant to appease the Jewish Christians who didn't fully trust
Paul, but it went all wrong. One
miscalculated compromise plunged Paul into prison (Acts 21:17 - 26).
Despite
being warned by the Holy Spirit of pending imprisonment (Acts 20:24) Paul
maintained his motivation to complete his mission.
"I am ready not only to be bound but also to die for the name of
the Lord Jesus," he said (Acts 21:13).
Within days of first meeting Jesus he knew God would place him on the
path to proclaiming the gospel to the governing authorities in Rome
(Acts 9:15 - 16). As it was, the
road to Rome passed through prison. Search
the Scriptures for yourself. Jesus
never promised us a life of ease. He
promised just the opposite (John 16:33).
In 2 Corinthians 12:9 Paul wrote that God's "power is made
perfect in weakness," a concept that is seen throughout the pages
of the Bible. We should, then,
not be so quick to rebuke the devil or claim relief from our weaknesses,
inabilities, and trials. Such
apparent wastes disable our self-promoting ways that allow God's power and
grace to be seen in our lives.
Despite
my apparent waste, wondering about what could have been does nothing for
what can be. If allowed, Jesus
can use any apparent waste for His glorious will.
Paul was right when he said that "God has chosen what is weak in
the world to shame the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27 CSB)." Post
Script Whatchman
Nee was a Christian pastor in
https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=why+this+waste
|