American-Israeli, pro basketball player, Elijah Hirsh shares a powerful testimony following the unfortunate death of his son, Josiah at birth.
The 25-year-old athlete first talked about how his grandmother accepted Christ after listening to tapes given by a Christian lady at the grocery store and how she was disowned by her parents for becoming a Christian.
Hirsh also recollects growing up in a big Christian family and reading the Bible every night together, listening to the many stories of the Bible. He also expressed his gratitude to his parents for giving him and his 12 other siblings a good Christian foundation and education.
Hirsh remembers one time, being kicked out of the classroom in college for telling his Buddhist professor that ‘Buddhism was not an equal religion to Christianity’.
In one of the assignment papers, he wrote that ‘Jesus was the way and the truth and the life’ and argued that every other religion was a distraction by satan to sway people away from the true faith. Although he passed the assignment, he received a long email from the professor that he did not like what he had written. In hindsight, Hirsh said that he had been borderline rude but the professor had been tolerant and generous with him.
The athlete also talked about meeting, Mary, his would-be wife while in college just before moving back to Israel and how he learned more about Jesus through her and was amazed by the kind of loving relationship she had with God which was foreign to him. A year and a half later, they got married and were soon-to-be parents, when the most unexpected thing happened.
Late last year, Hirsh’s wife, ended up in 40-hour labor which took a toll on her. Despite the efforts and medical interventions, the baby was stuck inside, unable to come out for nearly three hours and then his heartbeat dropped to zero.
With the baby still inside, an emergency c-section surgery had to be performed to deliver the baby. It was the most trying and intense moment, as Hirsh waited outside with his mother-in-law, praying to God and hoping for a miracle.
Praying all the while for God’s will to be done and for him to be able to accept whatever the outcome may be, he felt something inside of him, a feeling that his son was not going to make it. However, instead of fear or dread, he felt some sort of peace. He then started singing ‘Amazing Grace’.
Moments later, doctors informed him that they were not able to resuscitate Josiah and that he he had unfortunately passed away. Elijah recollects, being comforted by the thought that even God lost His only Son and that he is not alone in his suffering.
The 25-year-old also said that living at the peak of his life, doing what he loves to do, that is, playing basketball for a living, living in a great country, and having a loving Christian wife was all good but then for his son to be taken away in front of his eyes naturally had a great toll on his mental health. He even came close to taking his own life but then he found comfort in Jesus and in the hope of eternal life He has promised to those who believe in him.
“God is here and I want to chase him as much as I can because what hope is there without eternal life if this is the best we got”, he said.
Nothing that we amass on earth could ever gratify us. Our only security and fulfillment are in Jesus. Let us chase after God and seek first His Kingdom. Rest assured, everything will be added unto us.
