https://bellatorchristi.com/2022/12/24/summary-of-on-the-incarnation/By: Jerry Bogacz, PhD Candidate and Retired Biologist | January 14, 2024.
[Note from the author: This essay is different from the many others posts at Bellator Christi. I have decided to share pastorally and personally about the physical, emotional, and spiritual trauma coupled with loss I experienced in 2023. My journey of healing and restoration in the Lord continues into 2024. My hope is that my experiences will be an encouragement and a challenge to those of you experiencing the consequences of sin, loss, and failure in your life.]
I began January of 2023 dealing with fear, doubts, and depression. There were definitive behaviors that were problematic, but I persisted in my ways in secret and silence. In April, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer that would require surgery. On Memorial Day, I lost my 87-year-old mother. The weight of depression began to increase. In mid-June, I was admitted to the hospital for depression. Upon entering my hospital room, I blacked out and fell to the floor. Subsequent diagnostics revealed that the fall hyperextended my neck causing a herniated disc and damage to my spinal cord. My arms and hands were nonfunctional with a very painful neuropathy. I had spinal fusion surgery days later. The neurosurgeon gave a positive prognosis, but recovery will be measured in terms of 12-24 months. Throughout the 24-day hospitalization, my state of mind was one of deep fear, regret, and uncertainty. I arrived back home on July 8 high on anxiety and low on hope. A Prostatectomy loomed in the future, and I had that surgery in early October. The spiritual, physical, and emotional brokenness were all intertwined. I could not just focus on one. There is a linkage between accountability and consequences. I experienced despondency and angst with having to be accountable and recognize the consequences of my actions and medical issues. My journey of healing and restoration began with repentance and forgiveness with the recognition this was not going to be a solo project. I needed help.
I sought out both a therapist trained in grief/trauma and a spiritual mentor. I have continued to meet weekly with both since July. These two individuals and my wife have supported and guided me as I had to do the hard work of honest, diligent, and prayerful introspection and sharing. With their guidance and insights, I have passed through the difficult time of grief, loss, and failure, and in the last few months, have definitively entered the phase of hope and restoration. I began to understand and own that the trauma of the past year was the Lord providentially getting my attention and pruning me for the new growth that lay ahead.
I want to briefly discuss two scriptural texts that have been important in my pilgrimage of physical, emotional, and spiritual recovery over the past seven months: Isaiah 43 and Philippians 3:13-14. First, Isaiah 40-45 proclaims a prophecy about Israel’s coming restoration from Babylonian captivity. The Babylonians were God’s agents of judgment against Israel for their sins of idolatry and rebellion. The exiled Israelites were placed in the desperate, oppressive circumstances of captivity. Like many other Old Testament events, the Babylonian exile demonstrates God’s judgment of sin and His faithfulness to His people. The redemption of Israel from Babylonian captivity is the message of Isaiah 43. In verses 18-19, he commands Israel, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” Israel is not to remain captive and mired in past failure, sin, and discouragement, lest they miss the “new thing” God is planning. In verses 16-17 Isaiah reminds them of the Exodus. This is meant to encourage them in the present of God’s past restorative faithfulness. The deliverance from Babylon will be different but just as great as the Exodus from Egypt.
Now a look at Philippians 3:13-14, “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Paul exhorts us to follow his lead and strain toward the upward call of God through the resurrection of Jesus. He didn’t nor will we attain it in fullness during this life; however, no matter our age or stage of life we must press on with eternal perspective, “heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Paul’s singular focus and concentrated effort, despite distraction, hardship, and suffering, was knowing Christ and becoming more like him.
The commonality in the message from these two texts:
- Reflects the power of sin to hold us captive.
- Remember the past in terms of God’s great faithfulness.
- Glean wisdom and understanding from our past; the past must be then forsaken to move forward by and through grace to what God has for us in the future.
- Don’t expect past victories to sustain you. Don’t allow past failures to paralyze you.
The Happy New Year proclamations are dissipating. The grind of the new year has begun. There may be a few of you reading this entering 2024 with dread and hopelessness that I experienced through most of 2023. You are chained and captive in silence and secret to your sin, failures, and loss. Or you have become complacent about your sin expressing a “what difference does it make” attitude. Either way, the response often is, “I can fix this myself,” and no one will know. The challenge is to remove yourself from the lies of darkness and bring it into the light and look to Christ. He is the one who came to set the captives free and the reason for us to strain to keep our eyes on him. Seek accountability with trusted individuals in your life. Humble and open yourself to the counsel of a pastor or therapist. Spiritual deliverance is the reality of the gospel by way of faith and grace. Yes, he can do a new thing for you. Do you not perceive it? Yes you can! Our past failures, brokenness, and pain do not define us, condemn us, or rule over us. Your journey of freedom in Christ and restoration is just ahead.
Truth and Grace,
Jerry
About the Author
Jerry Bogacz was born and raised in the Chicago area. Jerry and his wife Kathy relocated to Lexington, Virginia in 2015 where they reside to this day. As a scientist, Jerry worked as a research scientist and project manager in immunodiagnostic and DNA diagnostic product development for Abbott Laboratories in northern Chicago. Jerry is a PhD Candidate in the PhD in Theology and Apologetics program at Liberty University. He graduated from Biola University with two degrees–an MA in in Apologetics and an MA in Science/Religion. He was a resident in 2013 at the C. S. Lewis Fellowship at the Discovery Institute. Also, Jerry received training at the CrossExamined Apologetics training in 2014. Ministerially, he served as a pastoral and teaching elder at Evanston Bible Fellowship in Evanston, IL (2001-2015). Jerry’s primary areas of research are focused around the integration of science and theology, biblical anthropology, bioethics, and worldview studies.
