- "My
loved ones and my friends
stand aloof from my plague.
- And
my relatives stand afar
off." Psalm 38:21-22
D.
Venkanna (we will call him
"D") is a man that
lives in India. I met him on our e3
mission trip in November, 2008. Our
team was asked to pray for D
as we shared the gospel in a
village. When we found him, he was
lying on a cot outside, extremely
thin and obviously ill. We were told
he had TB.
D
was desperate … he was lonely,
sick, and as it seemed to us, left
to die. He told us that his family
and friends would not care for him.
The Holy Spirit drew me immediately
to Him and if I could have, I would
have picked him up and held in my
arms to comfort him.
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I
was oblivious to the team member’s
around me because God had put the
burden of this man on my heart. I
remember walking up to his cot, but
I honestly don’t remember how we
began to minister to him, how it was
me sitting on his cot, and how long
we were there! I just know that
there was nothing holding me back
from ministering to this man. I
wanted him to know how much Jesus
cared for him and through our
conversation, it was clear he knew
Jesus. I pulled out a laminated
picture I had of Jesus in my
backpack, and I held it up for him
to see. Over and over I told him
that Jesus loved him and cared for
him. As he looked at the picture and
heard the words, he began to weep
loudly. I handed him the picture of
Jesus and he clutched it tightly to
his chest. I began to pray for D
… again, I don’t remember what I
prayed or for how long, but "as
I prayed" the words lifted up
to God began to comfort D
just as if I were holding him
in my arms and comforting him. My
prayer ended as D whimpered
his last cry. He was given a dose of
God’s love through His people.
"The
days fashioned for me, when as yet
there were none of them."
(Psalm 139:16b) How did our team end
up 12,000 miles from home in a
small, remote village in the middle
of India to pray for D at
this very time? God knew before we
were born how our days would be
fashioned! We responded in obedience
to go to India … despite many
obstacles that seem insurmountable
to even getting there!
This
raises a question in my mind … how
far are we willing to go to be
obedient to God? How far will we go
to be blessed by God?
It was not easy to get to D in
that village in India. In fact, it
took months of spiritual
preparation, logistical preparation,
spiritual attacks, raising money,
getting shots, calming fears,
carving out time … sounds like a
lot of "me" obstacles! But
despite everything we thought we
were doing for God, He had already
fashioned His wonderful, intricate,
purposeful plan for our lives to be
there with D that day.
God
used my encounter with D to
have an encounter with Him. Thank
you Lord for using D in order
to share Your glory with others!!!
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