Happy St. Patrick’s Day to ALL! I wish everyone a joyous, festive, and safe
day. I also would encourage those
celebrating to recognize that St. Patrick’s Day is more than just celebrating a
national heritage; it is the celebration of the spreading of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ and the hope of eternal life that was brought to the people of
Ireland. Below I am sharing an excerpt
from David Jeremiah’s book “Upward Call”, that I hope you will find as
informative and inspirational as I did. Erin Go Bragh!
“Patrick’s
Troubles
“Always
carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus
also may be manifested in our body.” – 2 Corinthians 4:10
Today is the day that the patron saint of Ireland Saint
Patrick is honored. A native of Britain,
he was captured in the late fourth century A.D. by Irish pirates at the age of
sixteen and enslaved for six years in Ireland. During that time he committed
himself to Christianity. He escaped and returned to his family in Britain where
a few years later, he had a vision of the Irish calling him to return and
minister to them.
Rather
than resenting his years as a slave to the Irish, Patrick used the time as a
shepherd to contemplate what it meant to know Christ, what it meant to know God’s
forgiveness. He left Britain as an
unconverted teenager but returned as a believer in Christ. Without those six
years of suffering, who knows how different Patrick’s life may have been. And
who knows how many Irish might have never heard the Gospel through Patrick’s
ministry in Ireland in the 5th century?
Times of
trouble in life, be they brief or extended, require a change in perspective. Instead of asking, “Why is this happening to
me?” we must ask, “What is God doing in my life? What does He want me to learn
in this situation?” “ -David Jeremiah from Upward Call
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