God Stories

Our God is faithful. Always faithful to give me a swift kick in the behind. Two times in the same week He reminded me that He was there and that I should start listening. So I thought you might enjoy these stories. (If you read my latest update, these names may sound familiar. But it’s the background to the stories.)

Story #1 - So I have been meeting with a dear friend Janet to study Women of the Bible. When we first met she told me that she believed in many different things. Her faith was a mix of Islam and Christianity. Since that point, she has been faithfully studying the Bible and the Spirit has been showing her that Jesus is the only way. So recently, she informed me that she didn’t consider herself a Muslim. I wasn’t sure if that meant she had actually received Christ as her Savior or what. But I realized that I’m not the ultimate judge. So I just kept trusting in the Lord and praying that He would bring her unto Himself. While I was attending a meeting with other missionaries one weekend, God clearly told me to talk to Janet about baptism. This would be a clear sign of her obedience to Christ. So on the way home I was praying and thinking about how to introduce the topic of baptism. We have been studying women of the Bible and we had just finished Ruth. So I tried to think of a woman in the Bible who was baptized. The best example I could come up with was Lydia. But Ruth to Lydia seemed like quite a jump. Well Tuesday rolled around quickly which was the day of our Bible study. That morning I had little time to prepare so I decided to stick with the originally planned study on Hannah and that we would talk about Lydia next week when I had more time to prepare. When I arrived in Janet’s room we spent the first hour just talking about life. About the time we were going to start the study she says, “So I was reading this Christian newspaper the other day about Lydia. I didn’t read much of it. But do you know the story of Lydia?” I couldn’t help but laugh and say a little prayer of forgiveness all at the same time. So God’s plan prevailed and we talked about Lydia that day. We continued to talk about baptism during our next few studies and she is praying for clarity on this subject. Pray that she will choose to follow the Lord in obedience no matter what the cost is. Pray that she will be able to stand firm under the persecution from her family and friends.

Story #2 – We have a sweet young house worker named Selina. She comes three days a week to help around the house. She is amazing and we have developed quite a friendship. Back in November I was journaling and I felt in my heart that I needed to share my faith with Selina. She knew that we were here doing Bible studies with students, so I thought it strange that I didn’t share any truth with her. But like the sinner that I am, I didn’t obey God’s calling. I was very nervous about trying to talk in Swahili with her about my faith. So I kept it on my to-do list, but conveniently ignored it every day. Around February, I felt the same call on my heart. This time I prayed even more about it. I was paralyzed by fear because of my lack of Swahili. I knew it would flop if I tried to study with her in a foreign language. “I’m just not good enough,” I kept saying to God. One day in March, I was standing in the kitchen talking to her. We started to talk about church and I asked her what she had learned that Sunday. She told me that at her church they talk about the Word of God, but not the Bible. I was a little confused by this statement, because the Bible is the Word of God. But I soon learned that she hears about God at church, but never really connects it to Scripture in the Bible. Immediately, I turned to God and said, “Okay… I see what you’re doing here.” Well if she hadn’t already opened the door up enough, she just kept opening it even wider. She started to ask about my studies at the University. She asked how I do them. And eventually, if I do them in Swahili. I laughed and told her that she knows my Swahili is not good enough for that. Then I turned back to God and said, “Okay, Lord, I will follow wherever You lead.” So I told Selina I would be happy to try and study in Swahili. Since then, we have had two wonderful Bible studies in Swahili. And she has been faithful to tell these stories to her friends and family. I am so excited to see what God does through Selina’s faithfulness. Please pray for both of us as we continue to try and communicate with one another.

Praise God that He is faithful, even when we are not. I also thank God that these reminders of His calling were rather gentle ones. He carefully and gently guided me back onto His path when I tried to stray. I pray that I will continue to walk each step in His will.