Wellness Wednesday Positive Affirmations; An Example from the life of William Carey

Wellness Wednesday
Positive Affirmations; An Example from the life of William Carey

How do you feel when you get disappointed or experience a bad day? What words do you blurt out in those moments? It is true that people respond to situations differently. The difference between people who respond positively no matter the situation and the people who speak negatively when they encounter a wall or turbulent situation is discipline.
Yes, they got the revelation of staying positive and disciplined themselves to remain positive no matter the situation.

Let me tell you a story about a man named William Carey as told by E. Michael and Sharon Rustin, an excerpt from the book, The One Year Book of Christian History:

Carey was a missionary who was dedicated to spreading the Gospel in India where he served until his death in 1834. He supervised the creation of India’s first printing press. He established a large print shop in the city of Serampore, where he did his Bible translation. The building was two hundred by fifty feet, and twenty translators worked there in addition to typesetters, compositors, pressmen, binders, and other writers.

On March 11, 1812, Carey was teaching in Calcutta. While he was gone, a fire started in the printing room…. Despite many hours of exhaustive efforts to fight the fire, the building burned to the ground. Just five pieces of equipment were saved.

Carey’s entire library, his completed Sanskrit dictionary, part of his Bengal dictionary, two grammar books, and ten translations of the Bible were lost. Gone also were the type sets for printing fourteen different languages. Vast quantities of English paper, priceless dictionaries, deeds, and account books were all gone.

When Carey returned to Serampore and surveyed the scene, he wept and said,

“In one short evening the labours of years are consumed. How unsearchable are the ways of God. I had lately brought some things to the utmost perfection of which they seemed capable, and contemplated the missionary establishment with perhaps too much self-congratulation. The Lord has laid me low, that I may look more simply to him”.

Although he was heartbroken, he did not take much time to mourn. With great resiliency Carey wrote,

“The loss is heavy, but as traveling a road the second time is usually done with greater ease than the first time, so I trust the work will lose nothing of real value. We are not discouraged; indeed the work is already begun again in every language. We are cast down but not in despair.”

Carey resolved to trust God that from the embers would come a better press and more scholarly translations. Within a few months Carey had set up shop in a warehouse.

Little did Carey know that the fire would bring him and his work to the attention of people all over Europe and America as well as India. In just fifty days in England and Scotland alone, about ten thousand pounds were raised for rebuilding Carey’s publishing enterprise. So much money was coming in that Andrew Fuller, Carey’s friend and a leader of his mission in England, told his committee when he returned from a fund-raising trip, “We must stop the contributions.”

Many volunteers came to India to help as well. By 1832 Carey’s rebuilt and expanded printing operation had published complete Bibles or portions of the Bible in forty-four languages and dialects!

What great courage to bounce back. When we speak and act positively in negative situations, God responds in unfathomable ways.

We must take note of the three things that make people react negatively to situations; fear, self doubt and ignorance of the power of God in their lives. If we can replace fear with faith, self doubt with self believe and replace ignorance of the power of God in our lives with the knowledge of the power of the Word of the God, we can say to mountains, become plain, and they obey.

Here is what Joel Osteen says about positive affirmations

“Your life will move in the direction of your words. You are planting seeds when you talk and there would come a time you would have to eat that seed. My challenge is that you plant the right seeds. You can’t talk negative and expect to have a positive life…If you have a poor mouth, you will have a poor life.

‘Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?’. Matthew 6:31

Notice the take no thoughts. Negative thoughts come to all of us but you only get snared when you say it. Thoughts will die still born if you don’t say it. Don’t verbalize it. Don’t get trapped by your words. You can talk yourself out of your destiny. When you face challenges in life when you face challenges, you have to do like David, prophesy your future. Prophesy victory over your life”.

And finally, look on the bright side of life. No matter the storm, always remember, ‘we are cast down but not in despair’. Remember, if you have a poor mouth, you will have a poor life. This is one major secret to living a healthy and thriving life; positive affirmations.

Sources:
– Sermon on ‘The Profitability of Hope’ by Dr Pastor Paul Enenche.
– Shepherd.
– The One Year Book of Christian History.

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