2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for
my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more
gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Doug and Margaret Nichols have faced their share of
obstacles. After surgery for colon cancer in April 1993, Doug sat across from
his doctor and listened in disbelief. "I'm sorry, Doug," said the
doctor nervously, "but you do have a 30 percent chance of recovery."
"You mean I have a 70 percent chance of dying?"
Asked Doug, with a grin.
"I wouldn't put it that way," said a surprised
doctor. "But my best estimate is that you have about three months to
live."
"Well, let me tell you something, Doc," said
Nichols. "Whatever happens, I have a 100 percent chance of going to
heaven."
One year later radiation and chemo treatments had left
Doug's body wracked with pain. Though he kept his humor well-oiled, both Doug
and Margaret knew the end might be near. But their world was not the only one
collapsing. Nightly news reports from Rwanda indicated that civil war had
spiraled out of control and more than a million people had been slaughtered
many by their own neighbors and trusted friends. The carnage was beyond belief.
Terrified Rwandans by the thousands had fled across the border into Zaire and
crowded into filthy, ill-equipped refugee camps, where diseases such as cholera
found a ready home. People were dying everywhere-50,000 in three days alone in
the little town of Goma. As Margaret and Doug read the terrible accounts and
saw the images on TV, their hearts were broken. But what could one couple do?
"I knew I was going to die," Doug said,
"but I wanted to do something before leaving this earth. I just wanted to
hold some of those children in my arms and try to offer hope."
Soon Doug found himself traveling with a team of doctors
and nurses through the heart of Rwanda, with no idea of the adventure that lay
ahead.
A Rwandan Christian leader whom Doug had worked with
before had hired 300 refugees as stretcher bearers to bury the daily masses of
dead and transport the sick so doctors could do their best. One day the leader
approached Doug with an expression of deep concern. "Mr. Nichols," he
said, "we have a problem."
"What is it?" Doug asked.
"I was given only so much money to hire these
people, and now they want to go on strike."
"What? In the middle of all this death arid
destruction these men want to go on strike?"
"They want more money."
"But we have no more money," Doug informed him
"We've spent everything. If they don't work, thousands will die."
His friend shrugged his shoulders. "They're not
going to work. They want more money."
"Well, can I talk to them?"
"It won't do any good. They're angry. Who knows what
they'll do?"
Finally Doug's friend agreed. Walking over to an old
burned-out school building, Doug climbed the steps wondering what on earth he
could say. Three hundred angry men surrounded the Rwandan who would act as
interpreter. "Mr. Nichols wants to say something," he called above
the clamor as Doug desperately searched for words that would get through to
them.
"I can't possibly understand the pain you've
experienced," Doug began, "and now, seeing your wives and children
dying from cholera, I can never understand how that feels. Maybe you want more
money for food and water and medical supplies for your families. I've never
been in that position either. Nothing tragic has ever happened in my life that
compares to what you've suffered. The only thing that's ever happened to me is
that I've got cancer."
He was about to go on when the interpreter stopped.
"Excuse me," he said, "did you say cancer?"
"Yes."
"And you came over here? Did your doctor say you
could come?"
"He told me that if I came to Africa I'd probably be
dead in three days."
"Your doctor told you that and you still came? What
did you come for? And what if you die?"
"I'm here because God led us to come and do
something for these people in His name," Doug told him. "I'm no hero.
If I die, just bury me out in that field where you bury everybody else."
To Doug's utter amazement the man began to weep. Then,
with tears flowing down his face, he turned back to the workers and began to
preach. "This man has cancer," he told the crowd, which suddenly grew
very quiet. In Rwanda, cancer is an automatic death sentence. "He came
over here willing to die for our people," the interpreter continued,
"and we're going on strike just to get a little bit more money? We should
be ashamed!"
Suddenly men on all sides began falling to their knees in
tears. Doug had no idea what was going on because no one had bothered to
translate. To his great embarrassment, one fellow crawled over and threw his
arms around Doug's legs. Dumbfounded, Doug watched as people stood to their
feet, walked over to their stretchers, and went quietly back to work.
Later, as the interpreter recounted the whole story, Doug
thought to himself, What did I do? Nothing. It wasn't my ability to care for
the sick. It wasn't my ability to organize. All I did was get cancer. But God
used that very weakness to move the hearts of people. Because they went back to
work, thousands of lives were saved, and many heard the good news of Jesus
Christ.
So many of us are discouraged by weakness. We feel that
God could never use us; we have nothing to offer. But you can get sick, can't
you? You can simply obey God and do what He calls you to do-whether you feel
you have the ability to do the job or not. Sickness and weakness-those things
we think God cannot use-are many times the exact things God uses to glorify His
name. But so often much is left undone in the world because we are so concerned
about what people will think about us. We are under qualified; we've never done
that before. And so we sit back as spectators.
Are you going to just sit back or will today be the day
you look beyond your weakness.
Dear Lord, help us not be discouraged by our weakness.
Help us see what is before us and do the best with what You have given to us.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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