It was an incredibly hot day in Sungai Petani, Malaysia this past Tuesday. Afternoon hours, which are not scheduled with ministry, are usually spent walking to the gym to work out, finding a quiet(er), cool(er) place somewhere around our home to spend with the Lord, or spending sweet time with a teammate. Em and I sat in the shade of the garage chatting, while our feet soaked in the kiddie pool we’d inflated (you’ll never know the value of a tiny area of cool water until you get to a place where its 90+ degrees everyday, and no body of water in site– feet in a kiddie pool feels like luxury).
Em and I wanted this hour to ourselves to catch up with each other during some intentional conversation that we’d been missing in the busy day-to-day happenings. It was just us, and we were thrilled! But moments into the start of our conversation, a sweet face popped up above the connecting wall to the next-door-neighbors home. For the sake of anonymity and a fun perspective in the story line, we’re going to call him Emmanuel. He is the man that is solely responsible for all of the remodeling and home construction in the house right beside ours.
Emmanuel was a very small framed, tiny man. His skin looked aged and resembled the color of sun kissed dark chocolate. Paint and caulking splatters danced up his arms from his fingertips. His hair was a mixture of ash and white; thin but full across his head with small patches standing erect at random angles. He was missing several teeth, and his eyes told the stories of struggle and exhaustion. He surely didn’t lack in energy or a smile though.
Within moments, Em and I knew that our conversation would have to wait, as Emmanuel had many things that he wanted to share with us. Though a few others on our team had spoken to him in the several days we’d been in the home, this was my first interaction. Through a great deal of broken English, he shared with us about his family– his 4 daughters and 1 son, and all about their careers and lives. He told us about how much he loved Jesus. He told us about struggles with money and finances through seeking consistent work to survive. He told us how he drinks too much and how that’s caused great pain and challenge in his life and his faith. He told us of bad dreams and his difficulty in sleeping. And he told us how poorly people have treated him here because of his faith.
We listened and asked questions trying to gather the full story of everything he was revealing to us so rapidly. He was a stranger who truly needed to unload some things from his heart to two others that were totally willing to stop and listen. I told him of my struggles with partying and how I hadn’t drank in 9 months. I related to him. I shared scriptures about being sober-minded and being fiercely loved by God; that when we follow Jesus, we are called higher and to live by examples of love and light to others.
By what seemed like the end of the conversation, and relating to one another as much as we could, I asked him if I could pray for him. Em and I took each of his hands and I began to talk to God. As the Holy Spirit informed my words, I began to praise God for Emmanuel’s life– for all that God had been revealing to him in these critical seasons of spiritual growth. “Thank you Jesus” phrases flowed throughout my prayer from Emmanuel’s lips. I also began to speak of chains of bondage and darkness and addiction being broken in Jesus name. Upon verbalizing these words, I felt Emmanuel’s hand twitching in mine, and found out later from Em that she had felt the same from the hand she was holding. I’ve personally not experienced a lot of spiritual warfare in the physical realm aside from one other time. But I do believe that there was a darkness desperately fighting through him as I prayed for this new freedom in Jesus’ name.
The prayers I prayed were simple, but weighted. And with a final “amen,” Em and I opened our eyes to look at Emmanuel. Tears quickly began to stream down his face as he rubbed his eyes with paint stained fingers. Tears quickly began to stream down my face at this site, and even now are swelling in my eyes as I type these words.
“Holy Spirit is speaking to you, sweet Emmanuel,” I told him. “He loves you! You’ve been fighting hard lately, and God wants you to just rest and experience His love. Maybe we were here so that we could show you that; to help you experience that.”
As we poured out encouragement and comfort from the Lord, we quickly invited him to join us in two days at the church that we are serving at this month. For the sake of simple terms, it is a Christian Indian church in the middle of Malaysia. The gatherings are bilingual, so both English and Tamil are spoken there. Different from the language of most locals, Emmanuel happens to speak Tamil. Praise the Lord 🙂 He informed us that he doesn’t enjoy church, and I’m curious if he’s even been honestly. But when we shared that we are the ones leading worship and preaching, he excitedly said he would join us. Within seconds, he was making a phone call and putting me on the phone with his friend, Matthew, to share what had just happened… Matthew happens to be the brother of the pastor of our church. Praise the Lord 🙂 I held Emmanuel’s arm with love and care as I chatted with Matthew on the phone; sharing what I thought the Holy Spirit was doing. We rejoiced together in freedom, and held onto hopeful excitement for what church would be like all together this week.
That afternoon was meant to be a time for me and Em. But God had other plans. Bigger plans, and all He needed was our yes, and our willingness.
Be interruptable today.
Put your plans, your intentions, and your desires aside.
Even in the moments you don’t want to or “don’t have time.”
Make time.
Let Him use you to show up boldly in someone else’s life that needs you; someone that needs a little more of Jesus.
We forget that more often than not, life is simply not about us. It’s not about our wants or needs for the day, but rather what God wants to do in the midst of our setups. I’d be lying if I didn’t selfishly want to talk to Em in that hour, but God was doing more than that. Em and I were set up together for a catch-up-conversation, yet God used that as a setup to strengthen someone else’s salvation.
I have no idea what was happening internally in those moments for Emmanuel. No remote clue. He couldn’t verbalize too much very clearly. But I know the presence of God was there. I know that because I felt it and saw it. His tears and beaming smile told all the story we needed.
The next day I came back from a venture out and peeked over the dividing wall where I found Emmanuel sitting with a friend he had been working with.
“Emmanuel! My friend! How are you today!”
“I’m good! I’m good!” he exclaimed with joy. “I sleep last night! Yesterday you pray, and then I sleep! No wake up! No nightmares!”
Freedom. Freedom. Freedom for Emmanuel; “God with us.” Praise the Lord 🙂
Church is tonight, and I can’t wait to watch God continue to move. I can’t wait to watch lives continue to change. I can’t wait for healing power to keep transpiring right before our eyes.
“God how great you are, and great things you have done. For everything we’ve seen, there is more to come.”
This is only the beginning.
#wakeupthewonder #leavehope
