Peace in God's Timing

"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety." ~ Psalm 4:8

For the first time in a long time, Sarah slept peacefully three nights in a row last weekend when she stayed with us. She slept in a room that overflowed with God’s peace and was surrounded with His protection. Each night we rebuked any demons that were planning to interfere or cause trouble, and we prayed in faith that God would put a hedge of protection around us and that we would enjoy a restful night’s sleep. God answered so many prayers that weekend, He is so faithful!

In our last update we left off telling you that she woke up wanting to know more about Christ, and so we spent the much of our Saturday reading through the gospels of John and Luke. Each time we discussed it with her she would say she believed and yet she couldn’t bring herself to make a commitment, she didn’t exactly know why she was a Muslim but she also didn’t want to turn her back on it. It’s as if anytime she is faced with the decision, confusion fogs her mind, in fact her speech often becomes a bit disconnected. Even still she insisted she wanted to keep learning. Saturday afternoon we went to the market, enjoyed some ice cream and baked dinner for the family, it was certainly a blessed time. The next morning we went to church, Sarah hadn’t known that we wanted her join us and was thrilled when we assured her she would be coming.

This was Sarah’s first time in church, so we were careful to be prepared for anything. We arrived early to find that a time of prayer was taking place before the service and so we joined in. At one point everyone was asked to spend time in prayer alone but aloud. About five minutes in, I asked Sarah how she felt, I was not surprised to hear that her head was burning and that she had the strong urge to run out of the room. She said despite the pain and struggle to remain inside the building, she felt peace in the church and was doing her best enjoy the service. Throughout the actual service her behavior and level of pain heavily depended on what was going on. During times of worship and prayer she felt something kicking her back, and Bethany and I were consistently feeling heat on her head and responding with prayers for healing. During announcements or church news she felt very little, but again any reading of scripture or talk of Christ brought about more physical pain. Despite her apparent discomfort I could not help but tear up and lift my hands in praise as I watched her smile and sincerely seem to be allowing the words of each worship song to wash over her in joy as she attempted to clap and sing along.

The rest of the day we walked around town, she remained quiet and seemed a bit out of sorts, but I suppose so would I if I spent most of my life in the slum and had only been outside its walls for medical attention or a drive to the upcountry. Bethany and I were so excited to eat at an American type restaurant that we hadn’t even considered the fact that she had never been to a restaurant let alone a nice one. She didn’t know how to order or use the menu, and I struggled much of the day with whether we were treating her to a nice lunch or if the amount spent was more of an insult than a blessing. Ironically enough, mine and Bethany’s food choice turned out disappointing while she ordered what ended up being the best dish on the menu. We walked around town some more and finally took a matatu home.

It was a long day, and Bethany and I knew it was our last night with Sarah, we were all tired but we wanted to make the most of our time left. God’s timing is never our timing, and we had both hoped by that time some sort of decision would have been apparent, or that some deliverance could take place, but God is sovereign and His will never ceases to amaze me. We ended up watching a movie and practicing a bit of our Kiswahili before bed, certainly not what I expected the night to look like. Her family was planning on leaving for Tanzania Tuesday and we knew that Sunday night may be all the time we had left with her. Nonetheless Bethany and I both had a peace that God was working things out in a timeline He would soon reveal to us, and so he did when she walked into the school office at 1 o clock on Wednesday after we had given up hope of seeing her again…

We are working on writing out all that followed that afternoon and hope to post it soon.

P.S. Thank you all for your prayers, we cannot communicate enough how comforted and empowered we were and are by the prayers of our friends and family. God is good, and He heard your prayers.