{"id":967604,"date":"2017-06-21T09:10:53","date_gmt":"2017-06-21T14:10:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/?p=967604"},"modified":"2019-03-13T14:43:32","modified_gmt":"2019-03-13T19:43:32","slug":"blindness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/?p=967604","title":{"rendered":"Blindness"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"In February of 2014, I woke up one morning and couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see very well. I later came to learn that I had gone 70% blind in my left eye.<\/h3>\n

My world changed suddenly.<\/h3>\n

For days, I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get medical attention because ophthalmologists in our region didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have available time to see a new patient \u00e2\u20ac\u201c even one with an urgent problem. We then considered going out of state to get help \u00e2\u20ac\u201c any help.<\/h3>\n

Finally, an optometrist in Tulsa agreed to check out my situation. My left optic nerve was swollen \u00e2\u20ac\u0153off the charts,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d they said. \u00c2\u00a0It was in the process of dying due to a lack of blood supply. \u00c2\u00a0They didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what was causing it.<\/h3>\n

For some reason, they couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get me in to see the specialist who worked in the same practice and office building just a few doors down and was familiar with the realm where my problem was centered: he was a diabetic eye specialist.<\/h3>\n

Instead, they sent me on a wild ride of medical tests at the local hospitals including an MRI, a neurologist, and a lumbar puncture (spinal tap).<\/h3>\n

At the end of all of those procedures and multiple visual field\u00c2\u00a0tests, I had none of the most-dreaded problems that were suspected to be causing my partial blindness (like multiple sclerosis or a brain tumor), and yet I was\u00c2\u00a0still partially blind.<\/h3>\n

And even now, my vision continues to slowly weaken. My eyeglasses prescriptions can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t keep up with my declining vision. I now preach using electronic notes on a tablet with ever-increasing fonts.<\/h3>\n

All of this background is to say that God has full\u00c2\u00a0control of my vision. God has lovingly ordained this trial for my good and for the good of my family.<\/h3>\n

Like Paul\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:1-10), I have prayed multiple times that the Lord would remove this thorn and restore my sight. I know He is able to do so. But I also know that He has multiple purposes in all of our afflictions that will be our resounding themes of glory in the age to come.<\/h3>\n

But for now we live in this valley of the shadow of death; and yet, we may fear no evil (at least, no ultimate evil) for the Lord Himself is with us. He is present in our afflictions. He is with us in our darkness and disabilities.<\/h3>\n

The purposes of Christ for His people are always exceedingly good. \u00c2\u00a0Yet in this life, they are seldom easy to bear or appealing to our flesh.<\/h3>\n

And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the point\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 or that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s at least one<\/em> of the points. You and I were not made to live forever in this fallen present world.<\/h3>\n

We were created by God to live with Him forever in a new world without sin, without sickness, and without death. No more fears, no more losses, and no more tears.<\/h3>\n

The trials of this present life serve to make us homesick for the life to come.<\/h3>\n

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day.
\nEarth\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s joys grow dim; its glories pass away.
\nChange and decay in all around I see
\nO Thou, who changest not, abide with me!<\/h3>\n

Rejoice, believer! God is on His throne and the best is yet to come!<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

.<\/span><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In February of 2014, I woke up one morning and couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see very well. I later came to learn that I had gone 70% blind in my left eye. My world changed suddenly. For days, I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get medical attention because ophthalmologists in our region didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have available time to see a new patient \u00e2\u20ac\u201c … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Blindness”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":967605,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/967604"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=967604"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/967604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":967693,"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/967604\/revisions\/967693"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/967605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=967604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=967604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/provbaptist.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=967604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}