Inside Story: Poland ~ TED
Faithful Soldier in Poland
By Slawomir Pacek
When the Polish military phased out MiG-21s for newer jets, I had the opportunity to leave my job as a mechanic for a new career.
Image © Pacific Press
I chose to work as an air traffic controller and took intensive classes for six months. But when I graduated, an eye doctor disqualified me, saying my vision wasn’t good enough.
Sadness overwhelmed me, and I prayed, “Why, God?”
I ended up doing odd jobs around the military base. The work left me with plenty of down time, and I spent hours reading the Bible. A desire to know God grew within me.
At home, my wife, Aneta, joined me in reading the Bible. We noticed that several passages didn’t agree with what we had learned in our church. We read that the dead sleep in the ground, not in heaven or hell, and that the seventh day is the Sabbath.
One Saturday, Aneta and I decided to visit an Adventist church. We resolved to walk out immediately if we heard anything that disagreed with the Bible. We have never left.
A pastor gave us Bible studies, and I knew it was only a matter of time until I left the military. I could not keep the Sabbath and serve at the same time. But no Sabbath trouble arose. It was easy to trade Sabbath work shifts with other soldiers.
After several years, an opportunity came to be promoted to the position of leader of a mobile radar unit. I spoke openly with my commander about my faith and how I had been keeping the Sabbath.
The commander was surprised. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were trading shifts with your friends?” he asked. “As long as I’m in charge, you will be free every Saturday”.
Word about my faith spread, and soldiers came to me with spiritual questions. But the impact of my faith only became clear when I prepared to retire after 29 years in the military.
A commander called me to his office for a private talk.
“I’ve started to read the Bible”, he said. “I have some questions for you”.
Looking back, I understand why God shut the door to the job of air traffic controller. If I had taken it, I would not have had time to study the Bible. I would not have been able to trade shifts to take off the Sabbath. I would not have been able to share my faith with so many soldiers.
Not everything went according to my plans, but God’s plans are the best.
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Hello, Slawomir - what a blessing to read your account how our heavenly Father has blessed your life - yes, God's plans are the best! God works in mysterious ways - all He asks us is to love Him and have faith; and this is what you did!
I am thanking God for his providence and praise His faithfulness!
'Not everything went according to my plans, but God’s plans are the best'. Amen to that!
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me .....Jer 29:11-13
Many times when things don't go according to our plans all we can see is God had forsaken us, or he is blocking the way to our happiness and promotion. Instead, he is working for us more that we knew. Thanks for sharing.
We often dwell on what is hearsay and fail to gather truth. Only by reading the Holy word may we realize what a great saviour we have. I am looking at the global pandemic COVID-19 reliefs, the sanitisation, the hygiene, the masks, the lockdowns etc being imposed on us and liken it to the fig leaves Adam and Eve had sewn for themselves, not any good but God provided the animal skin, He will always be besides us if we call on Him for our aid. Let's trust in God
There is a very big difference between being saved by the grace of Jesus and being safe in the current COVID-19 Pandemic. COVID-19 is one of the most contagious diseases around and has an unacceptably high mortality rate. It makes good sense to practice sanitation, good hygiene, abide by isolation and social distancing rules, and appropriately wear masks. Incidentally there are number of church situations where people have ignored some of these rules and have in turn become contact centres for the propagation of this disease. By all means, trust in God, but use good common-sense based behaviour to protect ourselves and others and reduce the spread of COVID-19. The loss of personal freedom at this time is the price we have to pay for the protection of others.
Maurice - I do not think Maya's description of the list of figurative 'fig leaves', which are promoted to protect from the Covid-19 virus, imply anything related to Salvation.
As I understand her post, she is pointing out that they are just like the 'fig leaves' - not sufficient to protect completely, but - "God provided the animal skin".
She does not consider them as worthless 'hearsay'; she rather recognizes that we can only do so much to protect ourselves from the virus - ultimately understanding as she says: "that He will always be beside us if we call on Him for our aid. Let's trust in God!"
It might be because this is a very sensitive issue for you that you interpreted her post as you did.
I take your point Brigitte, but at the same time, I am hearing Christian pushback against the preventative measures that we are advised to, and in many instances forced to take. I want to be clear that God expects us to take preventative measures in the interests of the health and safety of others.
I agree. In my church, many hours and dollars are spent on teaching the health message... by people who refuse to wear a simple face mask that will protect others because "it's a free country and I can do what I want."
I believe that God is watching this and is not pleased with the selfishness it shows.
Let's trust in God and focus on the beauty of God's word on this site. Facebook is a better place to discuss differences regarding Covid-19.
Hi Steven. While I think we should appreciate the beauty of God's Word, we also need to find practical application of the Gospel we love. One of the big pictures I get from reading the Gospels is that Jesus' focus was on helping others. One of the criticisms I hear from outside the church is that we are so heavenly minded, we are of no earthly use. And while that may be a somewhat trite observation, we need to continually seek to share the love of Jesus in practical ways.
COVID-19 is currently one of the biggest, if not the biggest challenge we face. And with that challenge comes the opportunity to share with others. Part of that sharing is to show that we are socially responsible. Singing, praying, praising, listening to sermons, and discussing on forums, has to be balanced by practical application. Maybe COVID-19 is a God-given opportunity!
Maurice,I do not agree with you. What the Wuhan virus has shown me is how easy it is to impinge on our individual rights. You cannot sing in church,but thousands can demonstrate and scream inflammatory words at police.