Our first week in Malaysia we stayed in Kuala Lumpur with a sweet couple David and Dorcus and their sister Ruth. We divided ourselves among the two houses and grew to love these amazing, hospitable people. During the first week we acquainted ourselves with the city and the people who live in this country.
We are working with a mission’s organization called GMT (Global Ministry Teams) and during the week they introduced us to some of their full time missionaries as well as their local staff. We went to help teach English with one of the girls the first night and saw first-hand how effective their methods are.
So who are the people living in Malaysia. There are many groups of people here. The people here are a blend of Chinese and Indian. So you can have the Buddhist, Taoist, Christian, and any other religion Indian or Chinese and then there are the Malay people who are made up of the Muslim population. After that you will find the Orang Asli – the original people of the land, which you can find them still dabbling in ancient spiritual religions. You might be wondering why I am mentioning all the different religious groups here in Malaysia, the reason is because you are defined by your religion, so people will know what type of person you are based on your heritage. You cannot call yourself a Malay person if you are not Muslim and your identity here is very important – It defines your future.
Our first day in the city we went on a tour to see the different religious buildings. We went to a Mosque, Taoist Temple and Buddhist Temple. I was surprised to find that as I was comparing all the different religious dwellings, I found they were all very similar. The similarities were not in the beliefs but in the traditions and decorations. The buildings were all dedicated to emptiness, there were candles, incents, smoke, carvings, idols – there was just so much ‘stuff’ that people were using to reach God that it had turned into emptiness. The people in these places sometimes didn’t even know if God had heard them through all these rituals. What is the point?
One woman was at the Taoist Temple when we were there, putting incent sticks around the temple trying to make her plea to her ancestors. I asked her if she knew she was heard – she wasn’t sure at all. Jesus told me to tell her that He had heard her. So I went up to this lady and told her exactly that. She was so surprised that she almost cried. She said “thank you” and walked away.
It was at that moment that I realized God has called His people to listen for His voice for such a time as this. God has appointed each of us to hear Him. He is not silent. He is alive! He listens and He talks back. It may be through thoughts in our minds, visions, other people, the bible, songs, signs, anything in creation. God can use anything to tell us how much He cares and loves each one of us. And God needed that woman at that moment to know how much he cared. I pray that you are listening for the small, still voice. It is there, just wait, listen, and respond.
God is good!
