99- Fire on the Ships

 

St-Takla.org Image: Ships of fire صورة في موقع الأنبا تكلا: سفن تحترق، مراكب تشتعل فيها النار

On the 1st of January 1996, a believer woman passed away after struggling with cancer for nearly two months. The cancer had spread quickly in the brain.

I asked myself, “Why does God allow many of His believers to suffer from such malignant diseases before passing from this world?”

God allows this to happen so that the believer may place all his hope in heaven. That he may desire not what is carnal, rather what is for his eternal glory. As if He is assuring His beloved of the importance of placing one’s hand on the plough, aspiring to the heavenly Canaan and never looking back.

This reminds me of what Green tells of the Spanish explorer Cortez.⁽¹³⁾ He landed his ships at Vera Cruz in 1519 to begin his conquest of Mexico. He had a small troop of only seven hundred men. Once his men were ashore he quickly set fire to his eleven ships that were in the Gulf of Mexico. He set fire to his ships before his men to make them realize that they have no means of retreat from battle. The only direction to move now was forward into Mexico to confront the situation whatever it was.

So also does our Lord Jesus Christ allow the destruction of our means of comfort to make us realize that there is no other way to enter heaven except to engage in battle with the enemy of peace. That our hearts may not be attached to anything except victory and receiving the crown.

Many times Christ permits that every broad path before us be blocked so that we have no choice but to take the narrow path.

→ English translation of the story here at St-Takla.org: نار في السفن!

I thank You, O amazing and wise Leader.

You bring me to the spiritual battle.

You take me under Your leadership, O grantor of victory.

You burn around me all the ships so that I have no means of retreat.

I will find all my comfort and victory in You not in the ships of this world.

You enter with me into confrontation with the enemy of peace, the devil.

You hide me so that I do not become a side in the battle.

With and through You I will always win,

For You have promised,

“Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16.33).

Footnotes and references for this page here at St-Takla.org: