With all the tragic news of late, the Lord asked me to share with you today a story of hope and remaining faithful in love. Because love is what matters.
Estelle* had never heard of Jesus when we first met her. How could she? Her government persecutes Christians and forbids missionaries. There is no Bible in her language. In fact, we were the first to ever tell her the Good News. But, like most people from her unreached people group we shared with in those early years of covert missions, she had no interest.
So, we loved her. A year or two later, Estelle married a foreigner and moved to England, leaving her family and home country behind for the hope of greater freedom and opportunity. But we never stopped loving her family. We visited them whenever we traveled to their town; and when they traveled to our city to sell their wares on the street, they stayed in our home. Two of her sisters even came to Christ.
We didn’t hear from Estelle for 20 years. But then one day, a car hit her parents, killing her father and hospitalizing her mother. She raced home from England, and found us sitting beside her mother’s hospital bed, holding her hand and sharing Christ’s love with her in her heart language. Her eyes widened, and she nearly tripped at the sight. She had no idea that all those years we had continued to be present in her family’s lives when she could not.
As we left the hospital that day, Estelle accompanied us to the lobby. Then she grabbed my arm, urgently holding us back from walking out the front door. “I remember you told me something important all those years ago.” She pleaded, “Don’t leave today without telling me how I can know Jesus.”
My beautiful friend who grew up in darkness and crossed the world looking for freedom found it at last in Jesus’ arms.
Don’t give up. Just as the Lord pursued you with His never-ending love, He is also pursuing that person you’ve been praying for — the one that He just brought to your mind as you read this story — that family member, friend, co-worker, shopkeeper, neighbor you are about to lose hope for because they’ve run from Christ so long. He is patient, even when we think someone is a lost cause.
What ways is He calling you to love that person into His arms? Ask Him.
Standing on His promise in 2 Peter 3:9, write your prayer for their salvation in the comments. You don’t have to say their real name. *Estelle isn’t my friend’s given name, either. For security reasons, to keep her family safe from persecution, I can’t tell you her country, people group or name. But God knows who she is.
Let’s boldly ask Him together as one for new life today — for the lost to be saved and the prodigals to come home … to Jesus, their true Home.
If you would like to pray for unreached people groups like Estelle’s who live in countries closed off from the Gospel, join us here at the Prayer Wall for 30 Days of Prayer for Global Awakening March 23-April 21, 2023.
Mikaela Vincent and her husband are missionaries who live by faith, trusting in God to provide for their needs as they pray for and share Christ with the nations. If you would like to help their ministry through a donation, or by finding gifts for those you love at Mikaela’s online bookstore, click the buttons below:
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