“Oh, what is it?”
I politely asked.
He did a double take at me and then shyly proceeded to reply,
“It’s… my Quran?”
And there it was. The first actual, real life Quran that I had seen the entire race, in my entire life for that matter. I had talked with literally hundreds of Muslims since we had first travelled to West Africa in December. Not once, did I ever actually see one. Not until now- on an airplane headed from Malaysia to Singapore on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
He had caught me off guard. Today was a travel day, or days I guess, since it would take us a grand total of 42 hours to get from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Darwin, Australia. Travel days are long and hard. And now it was month 11 and I had become very accustomed to the craziness of these days.
“Evangelism is always, always in interruption.”
-Teresa McMillan
I recalled this fearless woman’s words that I had heard nearly a year ago, at training camp in Gainsville, Georgia.
That day had been a mix of emotion for me. I was trying to navigate through the new, unexplained love that I had discovered in Malaysia. The people. The culture. The food. The land. The faces. Everything. Every little thing, I loved it. And I couldn’t explain it.
I had been travelling the world for 9 months, lived in 9 different countries and had yet to feel something like this towards any of the places we had been. It was unexpected, as Asia in general was the least interesting place, in my mind, to visit, let alone Malaysia. I knew nothing about Malaysia prior to arriving! And now, as I was leaving, I felt like I was leaving my home.
I also had the opportunity to build beautiful relationships and share the Gospel with several Muslims while I was there. It was incredible. Sharing Jesus makes me feel more and more alive every single time I do it, but there’s something about sharing Jesus with Muslims that just sets me on fire.
There had been a lot of fruit come out of this month, but also a lot of heartbreak, confusion, and feeling of defeat brought on by none other than the enemy himself- back at it again.
As I sat down on that blue felt, isle seat, after cramming my oversized backpack with the familiar red bandana tied around the top into the overhead bin, I heard him before I saw him.
The bright Malaysian sunshine was streaming in through the airplane window. He was singing. Not in a language I could understand, but with a very distinctual tone- an Islamic prayer.
It took me by surprise, as he was singing quite loudly and others were looking towards our row.
The middle seat was empty. I quickly peered over at him, he was only a dark silhouette with the sun surrounding him. He briefly stopped long enough to ask,
“Oh, do you mind if I read this?”
“Oh no, not at all! Go ahead!”
I already knew what it was, but for conversation sake, I asked,
“… What is it?”
Once he let me know it was his Quran, he quickly began his prayer again.
Loudly.
For 20 minutes.
Twenty. Minutes.
Through the in-flight announcements. Through the safety instructions and demonstrations. Through the take-off. Until we were well on our way to Singapore.
At one moment it crossed my mind that perhaps he was really afraid of flying and this was his way of coping? More likely, it was because this month is Ramadan (the Muslim month of prayer and fasting).
As he was praying to a God he believed was only interested in good deeds to earn salvation, I was praying to Savior King, Jesus Christ. Interceding for him, to the Father. Asking for Holy Spirit to come and move.
I LOVE TALKING TO MUSLIMS ABOUT JESUS. Even on travel day! Okay, that means a lot! I put a lot of trust in the passion God has given me to have conversations with Muslims, asking questions, and sharing my hope. But as I sat and prayed for this man, and prayed for an opportunity to have a conversation with him- since he was stuck with me for at least two more hours and what more divinely appointed meeting could there be- God asked me a question.
“If I asked you to only intercede for him, would you? Would that be enough?”
I sat and mulled over this question for a good five minutes. By not having a conversation with this man and only praying for him, I was taking the steering wheel out of my hands. I was literally saying, “Jesus take the wheel”- shout out to my main girl Carrie.
And that was precisely what I had struggled with this month in Malaysia– taking on the responsibility of the end result- when that is not mine to bear. I am only the messenger. It is not my job to convince or convict, that is Holy Spirit’s job. I am ONLY a messenger.
“Okay God.”
Almost as soon as I had declared this in my head, the man stopped praying, closed his Quran and promptly closed his eyes- sleeping. So, even if I had chosen to try to have a conversation with him, I wouldn’t have been able to, since he was now sleeping! But, since I had agreed to pray for him, that meant, I couldn’t just go on and watch that movie I had downloaded the other night, or read my book, no. I had to spend the next two hours, praying.
And that’s what I did. As I prayed, God led me to a verse…
“Ask and it will be given to you; Seek and you will find; Knock and the door will be opened.”
Matthew 7:7
Alright… so, I’m not supposed to talk to this man… but you have given me a verse for him…
I cleverly thought of a brilliant idea. I rummaged through my bag and pulled out a napkin and pen, scribbled the verse on it, and waited.
I was planning on giving it to him as we exited the plane.
As the plane landed, the otherwise, untalkative man, out of nowhere, asked me,
“Did you enjoy the flight?”
Whhhaaaatttttt. I smiled. Okay, God.
This small question started a good conversation. I asked him about his Quran and what he was praying about. He told me he was trying to read the whole Quran, he had never done it before. I asked him if he had learned anything from what he had read today. He said that it is important to respect people from other cultures. As I talked to him about his beliefs, fear and apprehension began to creep in about sharing my faith.
I felt that all-too-familiar sting. The one I had felt many times before when I had dared to share my hope and trust in Christ with people, some very close to me, who immediately threw it back in my face. I put that same assumption on this Muslim man, who I barely knew. It became my reality in that moment.
Until, he asked,
“So, what are you doing here in Malaysia?”
Ahhh… this question. The one that I and my teammates had decided that this month we were going to share the bold truth to this question- we are here to share the love of Jesus. Plain and simple. No beating around the bush, no “safe” answer. The truth.
And so, despite that hesitant stinging in the back of my mind, that’s what I told him.
And you know what he didn’t do?
He didn’t laugh. He didn’t roll his eyes. He didn’t get angry and start arguing.
He smiled.
He started telling me about how he thought what we were doing was a good thing. We were so deep in conversation that the flight attendant had to tell us to leave because we hadn’t even noticed that everyone else was already off the plane!
As I said goodbye to him, I gave him the napkin. I told him that I had been praying for him and that God wanted me to give him that verse.
He smiled again.
And said,
“Thank you for praying for me.”
And turned and walked away. As he disappeared into the crowd of people, my heart overflowed with unspeakable joy.
Divine Appointments.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Neither are your ways, My ways,
Declares the Lord.
As the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
and My thoughts than your thoughts.
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish,
So that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
So is My word that goes out from My mouth:
It will not return to Me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
Isaiah 55:8-10
Joy and Boldness from Australia <3
