Mary [not her real name] is a lecturer now back home having been working in East Asia. As with a lot of people who have worked abroad, she has many tales to tell. Here is one of them:
“Aren’t you afraid?” asked my companion, a young teacher. We were travelling on the coach which took teachers from one campus of the university to the other. The SARS epidemic was at its height; both campuses were closed to visitors and students were not allowed to leave either compound. In the streets, many people were wearing face masks, disinfectant was apparently selling out in the shops and the anxiety in the air was almost palpable.
“No” I replied, after some thought, “my life is in God’s hands”. It felt a pious answer to give, but it was the truth. What I hadn’t said was that for several weeks, some verses had been strangely impressed on my heart: “Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of men and livestock in it. And I myself will be a wall of fire around it…” (Zechariah 2:4—5a). Working in a different country and culture where the role of foreigners in matters of faith has clearly defined limits, my “walls” of caution were in some cases denying others the chance to hear about God. I could trust God to be my “wall of fire” and now was surely the time to acknowledge that hope and confidence that he alone gives.
My companion didn’t say anything, just looked at me thoughtfully and then nodded.
Two weeks later, the same friend knocked on the door of my flat. “Can I talk to you?” One of her former school friends had been killed in a car crash. My friend was still reeling from the shock and grief, but also the realisation that however careful, clever or powerful we are, we cannot control our destiny. “I haven’t been able to forget what you said about our lives being in God’s hands. Now I know it’s true and I want to know Him myself. Please can you help me?”
She has gone on to join the “great number” of people who make up God’s growing kingdom in that country. What a privilege to be a tiny part in it, and how wonderful that God is able to use my hesitant words… when I trust him.