Trying Times
By Dr. Ken Matto
2 Corinthians 8:2 (KJV) How that in a great trial
of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto
the riches of their liberality.
Let us face reality! Many of us are going to undergo
physical problems in this life which are going to change the direction of our
lives. I remember seeing an advertisement on TV for supplemental health
insurance and the woman is walking in the park and states “I’m only in my
sixties, I have a long life ahead of me, big plans.” She speaks as if she is in
control of her life and that she will be directing everything coming at her. I
have news for her and those who think like her that as much planning as you do,
can never negate any trials or permanent changes which may come into your life.
I speak from experience because on August 28, 2003 I
woke up and tried to get out of bed as I did the day before. I had trouble with
my hip and thought maybe I had just hurt it and it would be a temporary thing.
Well, that was the beginning of a permanent situation in my life which extends
to this day. I have severe snapping in my left leg which sometimes feels like
someone is sticking a knife in me with the pain going up my back. Combine this
with the fact that I can barely walk and when I do, it causes much pain. I am
basically house bound and cannot even go into a store. Now this became a
sobering reality that as a person who loves to travel, I will never be able to
travel again. I live in New Jersey and love the west but now I can only look at
it on my computer through the Google maps. I wanted to share this, not as a
complaint, but as one who is writing this out of experience and not theory. Many
write books about troubles and next thing they are flying away to Hawaii on a
vacation.
I have met people in my life who never even had a
headache and told me that they could not even tell me what that would feel like.
At the time I met this person, I suffered from sinus headaches so bad they
caused me to have to sit in a chair with a towel over my eyes. I can sympathize
with those who suffer from cluster or migraine headaches. I thank the Lord that
I no longer have those headaches but they have been replaced by present
problems. We have all heard of Joni Eareckson Tada who became a quadriplegic at
the age of 17 and has spent 45 years in a wheelchair. We could pose the
question. “Could not God have used her in a different way to send forth the
Gospel?” Let us look at the results of her ministry. Many have come to Christ,
she has given encouragement to those who suffer from disabilities, and her
ministry sends wheelchairs all over the world for the poor who cannot afford
one. Maybe God may answer these questions for us but the reality is, God is
under no obligation to give us a response plus He is the potter and we are the
clay which means He can mold us any way He chooses.
We know that everything God does He does out of all
knowing wisdom and He never makes a mistake, yet when trying times happens to
us, all of a sudden, the situation does not look like it was handled with divine
wisdom. Oh how fickle we can be. Remember Job’s response to his wife? Job
2:10 (KJV) But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women
speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not
receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. Just as we receive
good from the hand of God, we need to be prepared to receive any calamity from
the hand of God. Even in trying times when our bodies are less than responsive,
God still gives us the strength to make it through each day and to make it
through difficult situations.
Deuteronomy 33:25 (KJV) Thy shoes shall be iron
and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be. I count on this
promise personally every single day since I live alone and do not have help to
do any regular tasks. The reason I decided to write this type of article is to
hopefully impart some encouragement to those who are going through trying times
which may be permanent. (Did you ever notice that the word “through” has the
word “rough” in it? [th-rough]) Being disabled is not for cowards because it
brings with it new challenges each day but we have a great God who is right
there to strengthen us and see us through each day.
Revelation 21:4 (KJV) And God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed
away. This day is coming since it is already appointed and because we do
not know when, we continue each day to do the best we can under our present
circumstances. We must never use our disabilities to hide or shirk our Christian
responsibilities. God is fully aware of our situation and will never expect us
to do more than our bodies are able to do. Exodus 4:11 (KJV) And the LORD
said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or
the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Here the LORD is telling us
that it is He that made the deaf, blind, and dumb which means it is not the
devil, but God who is the Creator and can recreate us according to His will. We
must never forget that.
Your Situation Does Not Affect Your Salvation
If there is one thing we must understand is that our
physical conditions in our body does not indicate we have lost our salvation.
One of the greatest teachings in the Bible is that fact that a true born again
Christian cannot lose their salvation. Salvation was purchased by the Lord Jesus
Christ on Calvary and was given to His Elect. The Elect did nothing to earn it.
The only thing the Elect of God did was to receive it.
Romans 8:38-39 (KJV) {38} For I am persuaded, that
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to come, {39} Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,
shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
As we can see in Romans 8:38-39, there is nothing
which can separate us from the love of God in Christ. This simply means that God
loves His children and nothing in this world will ever separate us from that
love if we are true children of God.
John 6:37 (KJV) All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
When we look at John 6:37, we have the promise
directly from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ that whomever the Father gives
to Him, He will in no wise ever cast them out. These are just two verses among
many verses which give these great promises. So never feel that just because
something has happened to your body that it affects your salvation. That is a
tool of the devil to turn your faith in God to distrust and fear.
Your Christian Life Is Not Over, Instead You
Have a New Direction
The fact that you are still a child of God means that
you are not out of the plan of God. What has happened to you is not punishment
but it means that God has planned a new direction for you. Can you imagine the
surprise that Saul of Tarsus had when he was on his way to Damascus to try and
arrest all the Christians? Did you think that he ever thought that he would be
joining the very ones he was persecuting. Saul had all his plans laid out and
was even in league with others. Then something happened on the way to Damascus.
He met the risen and ascended Savior. From that moment on, Saul’s life had
changed and he went from being Saul to Paul. He was about to embark on a journey
which included much spiritual learning and much physical hardship. When Paul was
in prison, do you not think that he would have desired to be elsewhere bringing
the gospel to people and working with the Christians in churches? I am sure he
would have but God had different plans for him and even though he suffered many
physical setbacks, his impact on Christianity was great. So do not despair
because your life is taking on a new direction and that by the hand of God. He
will reveal it to you in His time.
Limit Yourself To What Your Body Can Do, Not
What It Can’t
Mark 10:46-47 (KJV) {46} And they came to Jericho:
and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people,
blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. {47} And
when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say,
Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. Here we have the man known as
blind Bartimaeus who could not see because he was blind. What he did was, he
heard that it was Jesus who was approaching and yelled out to Him. He could not
see to get up and go to Jesus instead he did what he could do and that was to
exercise his voice and yell to get the attention of Jesus. He did what he could.
This is a major principle in living a contented life in the condition you are
now in. You cannot do what you used to do so only focus on what you can do.
There was a time when I was able to preach twice on Sunday and visit rescue
missions and preach the word. Now I can barely stand up and because of my lower
back involvement in my situation, I am unable to stand for periods of time
longer than a few minutes. So I must accept the fact that I can no longer do
itinerant preaching or even attend church and teach Sunday School. I started
this website back in November 1997 and since August 28, 2003, it has become my
primary ministry. I had once applied to three missionary ministries and was
rejected by all three. I didn’t know the reasons for rejection but God knew that
soon I would have a major change in direction and I would be unable to continue
on my mission. Two of the places I applied was the Yukon and Puerto Rico. The
third was right here in the USA.
Here is the wisdom of God in action. I had a desire to
be part of missions and if I would have been accepted in any of those three
ministries, I would only have reached one country. Now because of my website, I
reach an average of over 160 countries every month. The Lord allowed me to
fulfill my desires but in His way. So I am able to work on my website and do
ministry through my website because I am sitting down, plus I read about 2 to 5
books per month. When you accept the fact that you can only do what your body
can do, God will pave the way for some type of ministry for you and if you apply
yourself it will have a great impact. A good friend of mine was a missionary in
Liberia and because she had twelve concussions, she had to come back home and
felt that she was a failure. I encouraged her in telling her that she can only
do what her body can do and when you work within the confines of that, you will
garner great contentment in your life.
Your Life Has Changed
If there is one thing that you must accept, it is the
fact that your life has changed. Can you imagine how Joni Eareckson felt when
she made that dive into shallow water. When her friends picked her up out of the
water, her life had completely changed. On August 28, 2003, my life completely
changed. Before that day, I could come and go as I wanted and I needed no help.
Now I need the help of stabilizer bars in the bathroom, a cane, extended
reachers, long shoehorns, and a long toenail clipper. I have had to make
adjustments in my life for almost every phase of my life. Isaiah 43:2 (KJV)
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the
rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou
shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. God has
promised to see us through all the problems in our life. He may not remove them
but His promise is that He will go through them with us. We face drastic changes
in our life when we go from a healthy life to one of a disability. We must
accept those changes and work to adapt to those changes so there will be a
smooth transition into whatever situation we are in. Life “A” is yesterday, and
life “B” is the reality of today. We cannot live in the past but we continue to
progress into our new lifestyle. Philippians 3:13 (KJV) Brethren, I count
not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things
which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, To
live a fulfilled Christian life, we must now fully adapt to the present life we
now have and we cannot attempt to live in the past life because we will only
face discouragement.
Complaining
Psalms 77:3 (KJV) I remembered God, and was
troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. If there is
one thing which can begin a downward spiral toward depression, it is
complaining. All the complaining in the world is not going to change your
circumstances and as a believer, if we catch ourselves complaining, then we need
to stop immediately. Psalms 42:5 (KJV) Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him
for the help of his countenance. Our hope is in the Lord because it is He
that has engineered your circumstances. Notice what it says in Psalm 42:5 that
the Psalmist will yet praise the Lord. Complaining will never accomplish
anything, in fact, it makes a situation worse because most of the times we start
listening to our own complaints and it brings us down. The way to stop
complaining is simple. Planning! When I first became disabled, I would drop
things on the floor and it would be very difficult for me to pick them up. So
instead of complaining, I purchased about 8 extended reachers and placed them in
locations where I will be. For example, I have one in my car, kitchen, bathroom,
two in the bedroom, laundry room, living room and dining room. Now if I drop
something, I don’t have to complain, I am prepared, especially when you put 14
socks in the dryer and 13 comes out. (He who has ears to hear) The Lord knows
the frustrations we face as disabled people and He is right there to help, all
we have to do is send up a prayer instead of filling His holy ears with
complaints.
Bitterness
Ephesians 4:31 (KJV) Let all bitterness, and
wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all
malice: Right on the heels of complaining is having a heart of bitterness.
We may begin to start asking the question, “why me?” Having a bitter spirit in
us will only make our lives a living hell. Bitterness is basically an extreme
enmity or a hatred. It can cause us to sink into the depths of depression and
also makes it hard for anyone to speak with us. A bitter spirit will repel the
very people who may want to help us. Many people who become disabled or
chronically sick make their condition worse by allowing a spirit of bitterness
to rule their lives. Just like complaining, no matter how bitter we get, we will
not change our situation. In fact, the bitterness will change our situation
because if we do not expunge that from our lives, then God may have to chastise
us to remove it. Even though we are disabled, we are still children of God
responsible for maintaining our testimony and a bitter spirit will not do that.
James 3:11 (KJV) Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water
and bitter? James asks a very important question. As Christians, we are to
have the sweetness of the Holy Spirit living in us and if He is indwelling us,
then how can we send forth bitter water out of His holy cistern? There may be a
time of bitterness when we first become disabled or sick, but if we allow it to
fester, then we will only be hurting ourselves. There must be a removal of all
bitterness from our lives and if for no other reason, then to remain a good
testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ. It may take time but God will help you peel
away all the bitterness and by doing that, your spiritual eyes will become much
clearer.
Jealousy
Proverbs 6:34 (KJV) For jealousy is the rage of a
man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. Along with
complaining and bitterness, another evil which can crop up in the life of a
disabled person is jealousy. When I first became disabled, I had allowed this to
crop up in my life. I was so bewildered as to why this happened to me that I was
making remarks, rooted in jealousy, about Christians who could walk and would
not attend church, or would be doing absolutely nothing to further the Gospel.
Here I was doing itinerant preaching and teaching Sunday School and I was now on
the sidelines watching other Christians with the ability to walk do nothing. I
guess part of that was the preacher in me wanting to motivate my fellow
believers but a good part of that was from jealousy. They could walk and I could
not. As time went on, it waned and I was not making those comments anymore. If I
would have allowed the jealousy to continue, I still would not have been able to
walk as before but it would have robbed me of my peace and testimony. Proverbs
6:34 likens a jealous person to one who is an unbeliever and if you sow a life
like an unbeliever, you will reap the rewards of the unbeliever. So never look
at one with jealous eyes. If they have a healthy body and are doing nothing for
the Lord, the Lord will deal with them. You focus on your relationship with the
Lord and your own situation.
Self-Pity
There is another debilitating attitude which must be
avoided at all costs and that is self-pity. We can get into the doldrums of
self-pity and it will have the ability to destroy us as quickly as the other bad
attitudes I have mentioned. We continue to feel sorry for ourselves and if we
allow it to continue, that sorrow will lead to depression and lethargy to the
point of us not wanting to do anything for ourselves. It will also repel people
because who wants to visit someone who is always feeling sorry for themselves.
2 Corinthians 7:10 (KJV) For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation
not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. Worldly
sorrow not only leads to eternal damnation because it means you are unsaved but
worldly sorrow leads to death through causing the body to become weak and
susceptible to diseases because of a compromised immune system. Self-pity can be
a major problem and if we find it in our lives, then we need to expunge it
quickly.
Seeming Dead End
When we become disabled and we had an active life
which must be redirected we come to the conclusion that our life now has a hit a
dead end. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Yes, it is true that the
plans we have before becoming disabled will have to be re-evaluated in light of
the new circumstances. One thing we can be sure of is that we serve a limitless
God and our circumstances are not a hindrance to Him. He will tailor our life
according to our condition. He will never ask of us more than we can do but He
does not expect us to do less than we can do. There is no such thing in
Christianity as a dead end. Christianity produces life and not dead ends.
Christians deal in life and not dead ends. The impact we have on the world can
be just as powerful as the life we had before. In fact, owing to the disability,
your Christian walk may become more intense and fruitful because all the
distractions we had are no longer in our lives. So don’t view your life as
having reached a dead end because that is what Satan would love for you to
believe so you can be discouraged to the point of depression. View your life as
having reached a junction and now you need to seek the Lord as to which
direction you need to go.
One Day At A Time
James 4:13-15 (KJV) Go to now, ye that say, To day
or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and
sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is
your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then
vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and
do this, or that. If there is one thing which you must stay away from, it
is trying to anticipate the future. There is much truth in taking one day at a
time instead of borrowing from the future. If you borrow from the future, you
may not be able to pay the interest. This does not mean you do not plan things
but it does mean trying to stay from anticipated scenarios. Matthew 6:34
(KJV) Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take
thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Anticipation is normally worse than the actual event itself. I remember some
years ago I needed a double root canal and I was anticipating the pain and
troubles in having it done. In fact, I was almost depressed because of it. Well
guess what, the day arrived and I went to the dentist and he numbed it so well
that I was on the couch for three hours on the first of four sessions and I did
not feel a thing. I had allowed Satan to let crazy thoughts run through my mind
and it was no more than if he was drilling and filling a cavity. Never borrow
anxieties from the next day because it will always lead to discouragement and if
Satan can get you discouraged, the next thing he will do is get you to blame God
for your situation.
Understanding Your Situation
If we can understand our situation, then we can better
understand our limitations and our capabilities. Understanding our situation
does not necessarily mean that you will be able to experience healing but it
does allow you to function better and more efficiently to be able to face life
each day. It will also put your ministry capabilities in perspective so you will
be able to perform it more competently. Working within your bodily limits will
allow you to be comfortable in your ministry thus being able to increase
ministry as you get used to your situation. You will then be surprised as to
what you can accomplish and when you look back, you will be surprised as to what
you have accomplished. In my own ministry, I do not only give every study away
for free but I also offer free literature that I can mail to a person and many
have taken advantage of my offer and requested the literature. This means I have
expanded my ministry while staying within the limits of what I can physically
do. Understanding what you can do will be a great help in expanding your own
ministry.
You Are Not Forsaken But Friends And Family
Will Leave
Deuteronomy 4:31 (KJV) (For the LORD thy God is a
merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the
covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them. If there is one thing
that is definitely going to happen, it is the reality that many of your friends
are going to leave you. Their visiting you will become very sparse and some will
not even come to visit anymore. Some friends may become closer but the majority
are going to go their own way. Be prepared for this. Sometimes people do not
want to face the disability of others because in them, they see their own
vulnerability and the possibility that it could happen to them. I spend about
99% of my time alone and the type of visits I get are phone calls. I have a
large extended family and only three of them have visited me. Even my own
brother stayed away. When I first became disabled I had to become a care giver
for my aged father and I received no help from my brother. So here was the
disabled taking care of the terminally ill and believe me it was not easy but
the Lord strengthened me through those four years. So you can almost count on
the fact that friends will forsake you and family also. Except for one extended
family member who e-mails me and calls me from California, I have heard nothing
from my extended family here in New Jersey in years. Not even a phone call to
see if I am alive. I have come to accept that fact and do not allow that to
interfere with my daily ministry and my daily routine.
Acceptance
The sooner you begin to accept your circumstances, the
sooner you will once again be a highly functional Christian in the Kingdom of
God. If you continue to wallow in self-pity, you will never have a ministry to
others. Ministry is always others centered but if you are self-centered it will
only hurt you. Sit down and do an assessment and see if self-pity will change
your circumstances. It will not, it will only keep you in emotional bondage and
hurt you worse. It will make you ineffectual for ministry. Accepting an
unchangeable situation will make you more pliable in the hands of God as He will
begin to redirect your life and ministry. Acceptance of a disabled physical
condition may be one of the hardest things to do but God will guide you through
and will be there to help you. Your outlook will become much better and even
though you suffer from some debilitating challenge, your health may even improve
and you will begin to experience the joy of the Lord. Nehemiah 8:10 (KJV)
Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send
portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our
Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
Contentment
1 Timothy 6:6 (KJV) But godliness with contentment
is great gain. Believe it or not, as you progress in your situation leaving
it in the hands of the Lord, you will not only experience the joy of the Lord
but that joy will under gird your life and you will experience contentment in
your present situation. Now that may sound crazy but the Lord will strengthen
you spiritually and give you joy and contentment in your life. I have come to
experience this contentment. Now would I love to be able to walk so I can travel
or even shop? Of course, that goes without saying and because I no longer fight
my situation but live according to it, I have been able to live with godly
contentment. As I previously stated, every month I look at the statistics of my
site and see that it reaches over 160 countries with the Gospel. I am very
contented and joyful about that since my ministry from my home is having a world
wide impact. Once I absorb the number of countries my site reaches, it brings
great contentment that I am doing my part in the Great Commission despite my
present disability. Mark 16:15 (KJV) And he said unto them, Go ye into all
the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Be A Comfort To Others
2 Corinthians 1:4 (KJV) Who comforteth us in all
our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble,
by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. If there is one
major aspect of being a disabled Christian, it is our ability to comfort those
who are also suffering a debilitating disability. I had previously mentioned
Joni Eareckson Tada who has become a worldwide encouragement to all who suffer
from physical maladies. Since the majority of us are not in the public eye, it
does not mean we cannot be a testimony of the Lord’s keeping power to others.
People become disabled every day and may not know how to handle the initial
shock and the subsequent days of disability. This is where we come in. We can
help another cope with their situation even if their disability is of a
different kind. When you get down to it, all disabilities call for a
re-direction in a person’s life. We can make suggestions on how to do things and
what to do when certain situations arise. We may not be able to live their lives
for them but we can be there to help them and guide them making their transition
from a healthy body to a limited body much easier. Only a person who has a
disability can minister in reality to another who has a disability because they
know the realities of being disabled. In other words, if possible make yourself
available to help.
The Next Life
Revelation 21:4 (KJV) And God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed
away. We have only a few years on this earth to suffer from our
disabilities but there is going to come a day when all this will end. All the
hell a believer will ever face is here on earth. Once the last day comes and the
Lord descends from Heaven to claim His own, the end of pain will be a reality. I
tell people that I am contented with the fact that even though I am experiencing
physical pain, the fact is that there is a scheduled end to it all. Acts
17:31 (KJV) Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the
world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given
assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. This is
why I say that the days on earth are short and in case you have not noticed,
there is a divine phenomenon occurring today, and that is, that time seems to
have been sped up without it going any faster. Have you noticed how fast the
days are going and how fast they turn into months and how fast the months turn
into years? This why even in our limited capacities, we need to get busy getting
the Gospel out to the world for once the trump sounds, that will be the end of
all ministry and pain. I know I will walk again and just like the song says,
“I’m gonna walk in Jerusalem just like John.” Of course, that will be the New
Jerusalem where all the believers will be gathered. I am not focusing on this
life except where the ministry of the Word is concerned. I am focusing on the
next life which will be eternal without one shred of pain. John 6:40 (KJV)
And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son,
and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the
last day. Can you fathom that? Everlasting Life without one of the
challenges we face here on this present earth. What a Mighty God we serve! So
don’t see things as bleak but look up for your redemption draweth nigh.
James 5:8 (KJV) Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the
Lord draweth nigh.
Summary
I have given sixteen areas where those who suffer from
disabilities need to look at that I have drawn from personal experience.
Disability does not mean the end of your present usefulness. If you are no
longer able to go to work, that does not mean your working days are over. God
will re-direct your life in the direction He has planned for you and that also
means He will never forsake you. You will have to make major adjustments in your
life which you will have to get used to. Your life is not over, it has just
taken a new direction and if you accept your situation, then God will give you
contentment in whatever situation you are in. You can be a great encourager to
others and that will boost your ministry mightily. Keep in mind that the days of
disability have an appointed end but until that time we need to keep busy in
Kingdom work getting the Gospel out to the world. 1 Peter 4:7 (KJV) But the
end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.