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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 China .  He died in 1972 after spending his last 20 years in prison because of his faith in Jesus.  You might call those years a waste, but were they?  He wrote more than 100 books and pamphlets that have encouraged people world-wide.  His little 36 page book entitled "Why This Waste" makes my point.  It might be worth reading again.  You can find it at: 

 

https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=why+this+waste
+watchman+knee&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss

 

 

 

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