Raising a family, going to school full time, being an athlete with no scholarship money, being a full-time worker and trying to pay tuition—all at the same time—broke my spirit. I suffered immensely in university. But I look back now, and I thank God for that season of life. I wouldn’t have the selective indifference I have today if it weren’t for that sad season. It’s reminiscent of David who was abused by the authority of his dad and was left behind to serve sheep while his brothers served the nation as soldiers. Imagine the brokenness David felt. Yet he was able to turn this into invincibility. If the bear and lion couldn’t touch him, then this uncircumcised Philistine, Goliath, couldn’t as well. Goliath’s entire existence, as far as David was concerned, was to elevate him to the status of Bayete Nkosi.
From Suffering to Invincibility
This brokenness also was evident in the life of Nelson Mandela. Left to rot in various jails (mostly Robben Island) for 27 years in an effort to break his proud Xhosa (Native tribe) spirit, Mandela turned this suffering into invincibility. When asked to compromise in order to get freedom for himself, Mr. Mandela refused for nothing short of freedom for all South Africans. In return he was revered, Bayete Nkosi. It’s the brokenness of Desmond Tutu who, through much suffering, emerged a Nobel Peace prize winner. He became the voice of moral conscience for his nation, Bayete Nkosi.
Perhaps it requires such depth of oppression to create such heights of character. – Nelson Madela
It’s the brokenness of Shaka Zulu, the “bastard son” and his “whore” mother, who abandoned to die by his dad, survived and became Bayete Nkosi. He was a legendary king, arguably the greatest military genius of his time, whose invincibility is still being told many years after his reign. It’s the brokenness of Gandhi who suffered indignity as an immigrant, yet used it to build an immense capacity to suffer, deploying this invincibility through moral defiance into freedom for his people. Today, Gandhi appears on every currency note in his Country, as Bayete Nkosi.
Don’t Waste Your Suffering
These stories of invincibility are the gift I brought back to you from South Africa. Stories of natives who went from being broken to Bayete Nkosi. They bid you do the same. Truth is, you’ve suffered at different points in your life. Perhaps you are going through suffering now. You need to cash in on it. Don’t waste that suffering. Use it to beat your path towards Bayete Nkosi. Your Father is Nkosi Yamakhosi (means “King of King’s” in Zulu), and it’s only befitting you take your rightful status with Him as Bayete Nkosi (exalted King).
Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. – Acts 14:22
