"Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways" Proverbs 20:30 TEV
Here is one of five ways God uses problems and persecution in your life: God
uses problems and persecution to DIRECT you.
Idris Nalos was an African animist converted to the Christian faith in
southern Sudan. Soon after his conversion he became an evangelist. He went out
preaching in the remotest places. Within a few years, he planted three churches.
Soon considered as dangerous because of his activities, he was arrested by the
Islamic authorities and put in prison. There he suffered torture to make him to
deny his Christian faith. Beaten for hours every day, he was also totally
deprived of sleep.
About to collapse, Idris prayed, “Lord, prevent me from being like Peter. I
am about to give up, help me.” And God answered in giving Idris a vision where
he saw all those to whom he had preached the gospel and who, in turn, proclaimed
the good news to other people.
“I saw those who were saved,” he said. In this vision, he realized that even
if his life was taken, others had already taken up the baton. From this moment,
Idris was no longer afraid for his life. After three weeks of ceaseless torment,
his torturers released him without explanation.
To avoid another arrest he immigrated to Khartoum in the north, where he
founded three new churches in a fundamentalist Muslim territory. He had learned
how to trust and wasn’t afraid anymore. God showed him where to go and what to
do.
Sometimes God must light a fire under us to get us moving. Problems and
pressures often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Is God
trying to get your attention?
RESPONSE: God is at work in my life—even when I do not recognize it
or understand it. It is much easier and more profitable when I cooperate with
Him. This is the way to victory!
PRAYER: Lord, point me in the direction of Your will. May I not need
problems and persecution for You to get my attention.