1. Manna issue 61 - Giving Thanks in All Circumstances 無論什麼情況都感謝神
Giving Thanks in All Circumstances 無論什麼情況都感謝神
Maria Santi Inggriani—Edmonton, Canada 加拿大愛民頓
GROWING IN FAITH 主內成長
I grew up in a large family in Indonesia.
I was the oldest of five children,
and even though we didn’t have much,
we never felt poor because we were always provided for.
My father worked very hard at several jobs
and my mother was a teacher.
我是在印尼的一個大家庭長大。
我是五個孩子中的長女，
儘管我們不很富有，
我們從未感到貧窮，因為我們總是得到幫助。
我父親很努力身兼數職，
我母親是一名教師。
We were baptized in the church as children
and were used to attending services and praying,
but I didn’t truly understand what faith was.
I didn’t understand why I needed to pray and go to church,
and I didn’t know Jesus or have a close relationship with Him.
However, I did have a good role model in my mother,
who prayed for one to two hours every morning.
我們小時候就在教會受洗，
並常常習慣參加聚會和禱告，
但我並不是真正明白什麼是信仰。
我不明白為什麼自已需要禱告和去教會，
我並不認識耶穌，也沒有與祂有親密的關係。
不過，我母親確實是一個很好的榜樣，
她會每天早上禱告一到兩個小時。
After I graduated from high school,
I attended a university in a city two hours away from home.
I felt lonely because I had no friends,
and I was away from my family.
Even though I lived with my father,
who had established a new business there,
I no longer had my siblings or my mother nearby.
And because my father worked so hard to provide for us,
I didn’t get to spend much time with him.
高中畢業後，
我就讀大學的城市，離家兩小時車程。
因為沒有朋友，我就感到孤獨，
我離開了自已的家庭。
即使我和父親住在一起，
他在那裡設立了新事業，
我身邊不再有兄弟姊妹或母親。
因為我父親很辛勤工作要養活我們，
我並沒有花太多時間和他相處。
I felt so alone and helpless that I contemplated suicide.
But one day I decided that I would ask God to help me overcome my hopelessness.
I started to pray every day for thirty minutes to an hour.
I started reading the Bible, and sometimes I even fasted.
Little by little, God healed me.
I received encouragement from reading the Bible,
from the sermons at church,
and from talking to other brothers and sisters.
我感到很孤獨和無助，以至於自已想過自殺。
但有一天我決定祈求神幫助我勝過絕望。
我開始每天禱告三十分鐘到一小時。
我開始讀經，有時甚至會禁食。
漸漸的，神醫治了我。
我從讀聖經，從教會的講道，以及與其他弟兄姐妹的交談，得到安慰。
My outlook changed and I became happier and friendlier to others.
More importantly, I felt at peace
and understood how blessed I was to be a child of God and to know Him.
I finally understood what faith was and why it was important,
and it stayed with me through both good and bad times.
我的觀點發生了變化，我變得更快樂，對別人也更友善。
更重要的是，我覺得很平安，
並且明白自已身為神的子女，並且認識祂是有多麼的幸運。
我終於明白信仰是什麼，以及為什麼信仰很重要，
無論順境或逆境，信心都陪伴著我。
MONEY TROUBLES 財務困難
Indonesia suffered an economic crisis at the beginning of 2009
as part of a worldwide recession.
My father’s business was greatly affected by the bad economy,
and, with no income,
our family was unable to pay the debts that we owed.
2009年初印尼發生經濟危機，
是全球經濟衰退的一部分。
我父親的生意因經濟不景氣而受到很大影響，
並且因為沒有收入，
我們家就無力償還所欠的債務。
Everything changed at home,
which became a somber place with no more peace or laughter.
My father was under a lot of stress
and began to worry about our future.
He talked to me about many issues that showed his anxiety,
such as if he were to die soon
and the family could not pay off the debts,
or what would happen if he were put in prison.
家裡一切都變了，
這裡變成了一個陰森的地方，不再有平安或笑聲。
我父親承受了很大的壓力，
並開始擔心我們的未來。
他跟我談了他所擔心的很多問題，
就好像假如他很快就死了，
家庭無力還清債務，
或者如果他進監獄會發生什麼事。
He told me about his insurance
and asked me to take care of the family
because I was the oldest child.
He even taught me how to rebuild his business
if he had to declare bankruptcy.
It made me so sad and scared to see my father like this.
他告訴我他的保險，
並且請我照顧全家，
因為我是最大的孩子。
他甚至教我如何重建他的事業，
假如果他必須宣布破產。
看到父親變成這樣，我感到非常傷心害怕。
I had never seen my father cry before,
but I saw him shed tears in front of the family because of these problems.
It broke my heart.
Our situation was difficult to accept
because I didn’t want to end up being poor.
I was afraid of what would happen to us
and didn’t know what I could do to help.
我從來沒有看過我父親哭泣，
但我看到他因為這些問題在全家面前流淚。
這讓我好心碎。
我們的處境很難忍受，
因為我不想到最後變貧窮。
我害怕我們會發生什麼事，
並不知道自已能提供什麼幫助。
ACCEPTING POVERTY 接受貧窮
When the crisis hit my father’s business,
he didn’t tell my younger siblings how difficult things were.
They only knew that the business wasn’t doing well,
and they did what they could to help the family.
當這種危機打擊我父親的事業時，
他沒有告訴我弟弟妹妹情況有多困難。
他們只知道生意不是很好，
他們盡力來幫助這個家。
Every day I prayed for thirty minutes to one hour.
Whenever I prayed to God, I would shed tears over our difficulties.
I had so many questions about what would happen if we lost everything.
How would I continue my father’s business?
What could I do to feed my family?
And what would I need to do to complete my final year of university?
我每天禱告三十分鐘到一小時。
每當我向神禱告時，我都會因我們的困難而流淚。
我有很多疑問，如果我們失去一切會發生什麼事。
我該如何繼續父親的事業呢？
我能做什麼來養活自已的家人？
我需要做什麼才能完成大學最後一年的學業？
I told Jesus everything.
During my prayers I felt that my heart was telling me,
“This is a chance to prove your faith.
This is an opportunity to use your faith in any situation.
Prove that everything is given by God
so that no matter what happens,
you will say ‘Thank God.’”
我把一切都告訴了耶穌。
在我祈禱的過程中，我感覺自已的內心在告訴我：
“這是一個證明你信仰的機會。
這是一個在任何情況下運用你信心的機會。
證明一切都是神所賜的，
所以無論發生什麼，
你會說‘感謝神。’”
After this experience, I faced a dilemma:
on one hand I didn’t want to be poor,
but on the other hand this was a chance for me to put my faith into action.
So, I tried to accept the possibility that we would lose everything.
經過這次經歷，我遇到了兩難：
一方面我不想變窮，
但另一方面，這是我將信心付諸行動的機會。
所以，我試著接受我們將會失去一切的可能性。
I imagined what it would be like if I didn’t have money to buy food
—maybe I would have to eat rice and salt every day.
I would be dirty and hungry all the time.
Maybe I would have to walk everywhere, including to church.
我想像如果我沒有錢買食物，情況會變成什麼樣子，
—也許我每天都得吃飯配鹽。
我會一直又髒又餓。
也許我必須步行到全部的地方，包括去教會。
After I imagined all of these negative things happening, I accepted it.
I could even thank God because I would still be alive
even if I became poor and hungry.
As long as I was alive, I would still be able to serve Him,
and I realized that living for God was all that I needed.
當我想起所有這些消極的事情發生的情況，我接受了它。
我甚至可以感謝神，因為我還活著，
即使我變得貧窮飢餓。
只要我還活著，我就能事奉他，
我明白了為神而活就是我所需要的一切。
Encouraged By a Miracle 神蹟激勵
Even though our problems were still unresolved,
I was no longer scared or worried.
I knew that God would take care of us,
and all we had to do was to have faith and trust in Him.
儘管我們的問題還沒有解決，
我不再害怕擔心。
我知道神會照顧我們，
我們所要做的，就是對祂有信心和信靠祂。
My father decided to sell his car to help pay off some of the debts,
and I helped him put an advertisement online.
I found someone who wanted to purchase the car
and we were ready to hand it over to him after we received his payment.
But when we were making arrangements for him to take the car,
he said that he didn’t want the car anymore.
我父親決定賣掉他的車來償還一些債務，
我還幫他在網路上打廣告。
我發現有人想要買車，
紐我們收到他付款後，就準備好將車交給他。
但是當我們為他安排來取車時，
他說他不再想要這輛車了。
He explained that he knew we needed the car
and that we could keep the money he had already paid.
We were so surprised and yet thankful to God.
It was a miracle that encouraged us when we didn’t know what to do.
他解釋說, 他知道我們需要這輛車,
我們可以保留他已經付的金錢。
我們很驚訝，但同時也感謝神。
當我們不知道該怎麼做時，這是一個鼓勵我們的奇蹟。
The money that we received helped us greatly.
We still had a lot of debt, but we were able to pay for our daily expenses,
and that was enough for us.
我們所收到的錢大大幫助了我們。
我們仍有很多債務，但我們還能夠支付日常開銷，
這對我們來說就足夠了。
JESUS IS ALL WE NEED 耶穌是我們所要的一切
After going through this difficult time,
I learned that trials help us understand things that we didn’t understand before.
It is a chance for us to grow.
If our life is smooth, we don’t need any help.
But if we never need help,
we cannot understand what it means to trust and rely on God.
經歷了這段艱難的時期之後，
我明白到，試煉可以幫助我們了解以前不理解的事。
這是我們成長的機會。
如果我們的生活很順逐，我們就不需要任何幫助。
但如果我們永遠不需要幫助，
我們就無法理解信靠依賴神是什麼意思。
God sent me this trial so that I could learn about faith.
What was important was that I accepted the situation
and trusted everything to God.
Like Job said,
“The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the LORD”
(Job 1:21).
神給我這次考驗，是為了讓我學習信仰。
重要的是，我接受了這種情況，
並且一切都信靠神。
正如約伯所說，
“21賞賜的是耶和華，收取的也是耶和華。
耶和華的名是應當稱頌的。”
（伯 1：21）。
Even though it was very painful to think of what could happen,
I overcame all of my worries and fears because of Jesus.
If we lose everything
—money, friends, children, or parents
—we can still survive.
We will have Jesus, our wonderful Lord,
and that is all that we need.
儘管一想到可能發生的事情就非常痛苦，
因為耶穌，我克服了所有的憂慮和恐懼。
如果我們失去一切，
—金錢、朋友、子女或父母，
—我們還能生存。
我們將擁有耶穌，我們奇妙的救主，
這就是一切我們所需要的。
As it says in Ecclesiastes,
everything in this world is vanity.
What makes our lives worthwhile is having Jesus,
pleasing Him, and serving Him with all our heart until our last breath.
正如傳道書所說，
這世間的一切都是虛空。
讓我們的生命變得有價值的是擁有耶穌，
討祂喜稅，全心全意事奉他，直到我們的最後一口氣。
Matthew 6:33 says,
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and all these things shall be added to you.”
This promise from Jesus is true.
I know because I experienced it firsthand.
馬太福音 6 章 33 章說，
“33你們要先求他的國和他的義，
這些東西都要加給你們了。”
這個耶穌的應許是真的。
我知道，因為我親身體驗過。
God knows our heart.
If we seek after worldly things, our life will be pointless.
But when we seek after God,
He will not let us go through something that we cannot handle.
If we face hard times, all we need to do is trust Him,
because He has a purpose in what He has planned for us, and it is for the best.
神知道我們的內心。
如果我們追求世俗的事物，我們的生命將毫無意義。
但當我們尋求神時，
祂不會讓我們經歷一些我們無法處理的事情。
如果我們面臨困難，我們所需要做的就是相信祂，
因為祂給我們計劃的事情是有用意的，而且那是最好的。
[W]e also glory in tribulations,
knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;
and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Now hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit
who was given to us.
(Rom 5:3-5)
3患難中也是歡歡喜喜的；
因為知道患難生忍耐，
4忍耐生老練，老練生盼望；
5盼望不至於羞恥，
因為所賜給我們的聖靈將神的愛澆灌在我們心裡。
（羅 5：3-5）
God is our strength and reliance.
No matter what happens,
we are doing what is right and pleasing to Him
when we give thanks in all circumstances.
神是我們的力量和依靠。
不論發生什麼事，
我們正在進行正確的事，且討祂喜悅
在任何情況下我都會感謝。
[I]n everything give thanks;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
(1 Thess 5:18)
18凡事謝恩；
因為這是神在基督耶穌裡向你們所定的旨意。
（帖前 5：18）
小頁 markvmax@hotmail.com
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