Have you ever accidentally let go of a helium balloon you really wanted to keep? Maybe you start with it tied to your wrist, but after a while, it starts irritating your skin and you decide to take it off and lose it in the process. As it rapidly flies up into the sky, you watch it fly so high into the air that you lose track of it. You know that eventually it’s going to come back down. But the wind could take it in any direction, and it will probably pop anyway.
Sometimes, that’s what it feels like when I pray for something – like I’m submitting a request to God that will get answered, somehow in some way at some point in time. It might not feel clear how long it will take for that prayer to come back down – and it might not come back in the manner I expect it to at all.
This past Sunday I had an experience so entirely different from that. It felt like a miracle.
Sunday was my first one on one meeting with Allison (Allison is the same girl from my last update, “Water Into Life”). As we chatted on our way towards a milk tea café on campus, I asked Allison if she’d been reading the Bible at all during the week. “YES,” she said, “And I have a lot of questions.” We sat down, opened our books, and jumped in. Allison had read, in English, from John 2 to John 7! Five chapters in a foreign language is kind of a big deal (we talked for 2 ½ hours and only made it through John 4:43).
The study we had was incredible. Allison was picking up really major things from the story about Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman at the well. She asked deep questions like, “what does it mean to be born again?” And, “Did Jesus die for everyone, or just people who believe in him?” One thing Allison said really amazed me.
“OH! So…the first thing is that we need to realize we have sin! And Jesus can take it away from us.”
Isn’t that so true? Salvation means nothing to those who don’t even know they’re dying. Why would we need a relationship with Christ if we can do life and be pretty happy by ourselves? When she said that, my heart paused at the irony of her realization. Yes…we do need to realize that, Allison. And then I remembered; That morning, even though I’d only really intended on hanging out and getting to know Allison better, I had prayed saying, “God, glorify your name. Let Allison get a revelation of the cross.”
How quickly He answered! He is so faithful to us. God really loves Allison, and He is revealing the truth to her in this season in a big way! Pray with me for her that the truth is planted deep in her heart, for her salvation, and that the Holy Spirit continues to bring glory to His name through her life, through my team, and through me.
For the Glory of God,
Autumn