ENCOURAGING ANGELS: Who Has Hurt You Today? In A Time Of Heavy Burdens Jesus Gives Us Answers And Can Carry Our Heavy Load

My wife and I had what I initially thought was a not so good experience this past weekend sharing our journey in disability .

We (www.encouragingangels.org) had been asked to come to a church to minister by a pastor I have known for the better part of 10 years. My job was to perform the worship music (solo bass guitar and singing) and to speak for 10 minutes.

As far as the music goes, everything went fine. The speaking part however provided some unforeseen fireworks.

My message was not just about my daughter who at age 2 stopped talking, at 2 1/2 stopped walking; falling and not even sticking her arms out to save herself. At 2 3/4 the seizures started. She was diagnosed with Williams Syndrome at this point, but still going down hill with her hands and feet regularly turning blue and purple. At 4 1/4 She was diagnosed with Late Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis where the children are relegated to being bedridden, demented, blind and die in the throes of seizures that no amount of anti-seizure medication can stop. I along with a Boston Chemist (Dr. Suresh Srivastava) co-developed a therapy that normalized her blood work, reduced her seizures appropriately 90%, stopped her hands and feet from turning blue and purple and added almost 5 good years to her life. Dr. Srivastava’s company and I co-own 4 granted US Patents regarding this work; hopefully we may see our work commercialized to help others and see some return on almost a decade and a half of work.

Because of our commitment to care for our daughter we also know about:

• using all your retirement and savings funds to save someone you love

• Having utilities like water shut off because you didn’t have the money to pay

• Providing ICU level of care at home with no nurse

• Losing most of your friends and family because after a while they just can’t take it when they ask ‘How’s it going?’ and they can’t take the answers you give any longer

• Recognizing a bad situation when we see one and finding a way to deal with it

So when I spoke this past weekend I brought whatever authority that I had regarding knowing real suffering and hardship to warn the church of what is bearing down on them and yet, most cannot recognize it.

In my brief message, I shared the harm of the ‘prosperity gospel’ in regard to preparedness. I related the current world war and economic situation detailing how (hyper) inflation is designed to steal their money and that it is the leaders of our country who are truce breakers who also have most of the characteristics of those mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:2-4 (KJV):

“For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;”

While all of the unthinking people on Social Media put up their blue and yellow flags they do not know that it was the US/NATO who broke promises over the last 30 years with Russia. As stated in the excellent piece via The Guardian by Patrick Wintour 1/12/22:

…’The current confrontation between Russia and the west is fueled by many grievances, but the greatest is the belief in Moscow that the west tricked the former Soviet Union by breaking promises made at the end of the cold war in 1989-1990 that Nato would not expand to the east.’…

Because NATO (led by the US of course) broke its promises (‘trucebreakers’) and oversaw an  aggressive expansion of NATO all the way up to the very border of Russia since the beginning of the 1990’s it becomes easy to see why Russia has been unnerved and concerned by the actions directed by US/NATO policy.

Do you remember your history regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis when the Russians had stationed ICBM’s just 90 miles from the coast of the United States? If the US was ready to engage the former USSR in a nuclear exchange then why wouldn’t you think that when the shoe is on the other foot that today the Russians wouldn’t be ready to do the same to defend their country when the US has funded NATO as well as the multiple bioweapons labs next door to Russia in the Ukraine? I am not an apologist for Putin or Russia; just asking questions and trying to make sense of events.

What I told the church congregation should be obvious:

…’if the U.S. and Ukraine‘s other Western allies continue to arm the country as it battles Moscow’s invading forces, the risk of the war escalating into a nuclear conflict “should not be underestimated.”…(CBS News)

At this point the pastor vocally interrupted me because he didn’t like what I was saying. I politely told him that I could stop, but I only had another 45 seconds or so to go before I finished so I was going to finish and I was still inside my allotted 10 minutes.

I finished by saying that we need to repent because our country is under judgement. I said that you need to procure whatever food you can RIGHT NOW as the supply chain has already been severely disrupted. I told them that Noah prepared fo a flood when the world had never seen rain (Genesis 6) and that Joseph prepared for famine in Egypt even though Egypt was an opulent society (Genesis 41, Genesis 47). And finally you need to ask if this message I gave was of God and if so, to trust God.

My wife and I left with nothing in our hand after delivering ministry of music and message (we had ministered there a few years ago and received an honorarium then so we know that they know what is customary protocol in treating visiting ministries) which is why I waited until the next weekend to decide how to express this event.

In my humanity, I might feel justified in giving someone a piece of my mind but when you read the following I think you will see why I’m glad I did not do that.

I had lunch with a friend of mine yesterday, a Godly musician who is a good friend and who I respect a lot. After I told him what happened he asked me: ‘What do you think it means when Jesus said’:

…’ Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven’…(Matthew 18:18 KJV)

Even though I feel I had a good grasp on that verse, my research actually took me back just a few verses:

…“Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.”…Matthew 18:15 KJV

Since I had not been faithful in following the Lord’s command in this verse, it was I who was convinced of my own shortcomings.

I contacted the Pastor today and he was sorry that we had not received an honorarium and would rectify that immediately. He apologized for cutting me off and told me that the congregation was blessed by what I had to share during my time on the platform. (Now if Matt.18:15 does not bring your particular situation to resolution, please see Matt. 18:16-17 to continue the resolution process. If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, please consider reading the Gospel of John to see if Jesus is who He says He is and if He is worthy of your trust.)

So because a good friend prompted me with The Word (Matt. 18:18) and then in doing my own research into how I should conduct myself in light of the slight (Matt. 18:15), The Lord Jesus provided the answer that I needed regarding my own predispose toward judgement, the matter of the honorarium and keeping my friendship with the pastor intact.

I hope that sharing my own deficiencies is a demonstration of what we are all humanely capable (in the power of God) of doing during a time when we face shortages of food, parts and goods, high prices if not heading into hyper-inflated prices, and even a nuclear exchange between super powers. Because we have God’s Word in print and in our friends who truly know the Word, we can work on keeping our relationships together instead of contributing to seeing them torn apart. We can use our situations as an opportunity to look into His Word for our answers. And in a time and place of heavy burdens, we can give them to Jesus who said:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 KJV

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Stan Szymanski (or Encouraging Angels) is not a medical doctor. This is not medical advice. In all matters pertaining to the health and care of a human being consult a medical doctor. This is not legal, financial or personal advice. Consult appropriate professionals in those fields for that type of advice.