Torch, Summer 1986

6 My Shipwreck by Jeff Bergandine Our human minds are unable to understand why our Lord allows certain things to happen to certain people. We as Christians tend mostly to think in the here and now rather than having our minds tuned into the eternal. This can be the beginning of discouragement in our lives. The discouragement I have felt in my life had its beginning on April 30, 1986 . As was the custom on Wednesday nights, a particular group of Cedarville College students set out for Young's Dairy to get doughnuts. Although I usually didn't go with my friends, I made an exception this particular Wednesday . (I took along my accounting textbook to justify the excursion!) Less than 60 seconds from our destination, we were involved in a head-on collision with another automobile . Two of my friends were killed instantly; two others were injured . I was hurled into the back of the front seat, and all my facial bones were fractured. I was to be in the hospital for four weeks. Never had I fathomed the degree of pain and discouragement that ensued. The apostle Paul surely felt his share of discouragement. On his way to evangelize Rome , he was shipwrecked on the the island of Malta . The natives who greeted him so hospitably wound up turning on him - accusing him of being a murderer. Yet Paul penned the exhortation to the Ephesians, " ... giving thanks always for all things unto God ... ." What a prime example of being a spirit-filled saint, able to thank the Lord even during life's unexpected, unpleasant events. I, like Paul, was "rudely interrupted" while doing what I thought was right. I was a sophomore at Cedarville, president of my class, editor of the yearbook, and I was anticipating an accounting internship at General Motors Corporation in the summer. That is when my shipwreck happened, causing me to miss the last six weeks of school because of my injuries. When I was seemingly on the road to recovery, a series of physical setbacks forced me to decline the much desired internship. MORE DISCOURAGEMENT! To me, the only consolation during discouraging times is knowing that our Lord allows only those events in our lives which glorify Him. Paul states it so well in Romans 8: 18, " ... the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us ." The apostle Peter claims that we as followers of Christ are called to suffer; so why arc we so surprised and discouraged when life's trials come our way? It is sin when we refuse to let the Lord work through the circumstances and glorify Himself. My experience has taught me that the only way to overcome this discouragement is to claim passages like Romans 8: 18 and pray that God will be glorified!