I walked through the construction zone marred with rubble to a collection of brick shanty homes with tin roofs. Fires blazed in the alleys where five or six bodies huddled near the flames attempting to keep warm in the cool of the northern Indian evening. I followed the figure of my contact around one corner where I turned into an open brick home with a bed made of boards, covered with a thin blanket, which five of us crawled up on top of after removing our shoes. As soon as we situated ourselves on the bench that served as someone’s bed, various people began piling into the one-room home with flat wooden stools. I had just entered an underground church meeting. Soon, I looked around and counted a total of 17 people crowded into this shack, all staring at us with a mix of curiosity and hope scrawled across their faces.
As our contact and translator spoke and prayed, I looked at the faces and offered smiles to anyone willing to make eye contact. The returned smiles brought joy to my heart and I knew that the Lord was present in that place. I could sense their hunger for God and his presence. As illiterate Nepalese people, searching for jobs in India where they were disregarded, their desire and need for God was real and palpable. I was humbled and honored to be invited into a home where the people gathered within had a desire for God that outweighed the need for safety, the security of reputation, or the pull of prosperity. This was a group of people that knew their true need could only be fulfilled by the God of the universe who is the only true Hope-giver, Dream-fulfiller, and Lavish lover.
How often have I complained about my circumstances? How often have I taken my position, talents, provision, and blessing for granted? Can I truly say that I have sought God as wholeheartedly as these people who are down to nothing? Can I say that I have smiled during my trials with an ounce of the hope conveyed in the faces of these beautiful Nepalese people? Can I truly say that I have reached the bottom of myself and found my strength in the immensity of God?
How much faith does it take to lay everything down to come to a prayer meeting, knowing that my only hope is the ability of the Lord to answer my prayers? Without an answer, I will be left to the tossing winds and tumultuous seas of the circumstances of this life, without a leg to stand on. I know that the faces of these people will be forever burned into my mind and I will never forget the faith and hope I saw lingering on the shimmering faces, reflecting the Lord’s glory in the glow of the campfires.
