Peace With God Through Faith

“Peace with God Through Faith” by Darren Forsythe. October 20, 2010.

Darren teaching youth God's word

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient,but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18ESV)

Over the past decade the effects of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) have advanced in my body causing constant pain, fatigue, muscle weakness and a host of other symptoms. MS is a chronic, progressive, incurable disease that affects the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). I have an area of disease activity in my neck which, if it gets worse would radically change the way in which I experience life. I now use a power wheelchair every day and know that quadriplegia is a distinct possibility in my future.

Often, when I tell people about my medical status I can see their faces turn from a happy disposition to that of serious concern. “Where is God in all this? How can you believe He loves you? If He did,

wouldn’t life be better for you? Why wouldn’t He just cure you? How could you trust a God like that?” Those questions are precisely what I would like to address in this brief series of articles. But, please do

not just take my word for it – I ask that you open up your Bible to see if what I’m saying is true as the Bereans did in Acts 17:11-12.In this age of skepticism and unbelief, people want to be able to see God before believing in Him. It is easy to see evil, but what about good resulting from the bad that comes into a person’s life (Genesis 50:20)? My hope and prayer is this: that I can show you biblically how suffering in the life of a Christian can bring glory to God (Romans 5:1-5) and result in salvation for those who endure to the end in faith (Matthew 24:9-13). That life, lived out in total trust of God, often speaks volumes to the people around them and can show the powerful working of God in their lives.

I was an unbeliever when God brought MS into my life. He used it to first break down my resistance to Him, turn me from sins and trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Now, He uses suffering to draw me closer to Himself each and every day. I never would have chosen this path in life; however, since this is the path He has chosen to lead me into His glorious presence for all eternity, who am I to complain?

In John’s Gospel many of Jesus’ disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him when His teachings were too difficult for them to accept. “So Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as

well?’  Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have he words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.’” (John 6:67-69 ESV) I can do

no less in my own life.

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Darren 2nd article 11-5-2010

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV)

Before I was a believer, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Within a year I had to quit working and file for disability. The following year, I was divorced and needed to move back to my hometown. Friends were no longer interested in my life, and I found myself alone and isolated. The physical toll of powerful medications combined with the sudden loss of everything I had worked for and hoped to achieve caused me to spiral into major depression for about three years. Since I believed in the theory of evolution at the time, I thought that I was one of the weak links in humanity. I had moved from Michigan where the news was filled with accounts of how Dr. Jack Kevorkian had assisted in the suicides of many people with MS. I was disabled, depressed, in pain, and without hope. I wanted to die. The story did not end there, however. In December of 2005, when I was fully broken and acknowledged that I need a Savior and surrendered my life to Jesus Christ, He stepped in and transformed my life!

As December of 2010 approaches, I still have Multiple Sclerosis. I am much more disabled than in 2005, suffer even more physical pain, and have also developed Fibromyalgia. Due to physical weakness from MS, I use a power wheelchair and need help with many of the daily tasks that I once took for granted. I’m considered homebound because the only places I usually go to are the doctor and church – everything else is just too punishing upon my body to make the trip. I need to rest the day before and after leaving my home. I have good days, and bad days because of my disability. I consider it a good day as long as I can shower and brush my teeth.

You may be wondering what has changed for the better in my life since God intervened. The answer is the most profound of all: I now have new life in Christ Jesus my Lord and Savior. God has also blessed me with a wonderful, godly wife. When I wake up these days, I thank God that I can still see. I am also grateful that I can walk far enough to get out of bed and into my power chair without help. I am no longer

depressed. My wife and I have the blessed hope (Titus 2:13) of perfect, glorified bodies when Jesus comes back to reign on the earth (1 Cor. 15:51-52). If I die before His return, I’ll immediately be in His presence and will no longer have any pain or sickness (2 Cor. 5:8).  God has become our treasure (Matthew 13:44). We pray that He will be yours as well.