The Lord says,
‘I will bless the person who puts his trust in me.’ Jeremiah 17:7
I recently received this incredibly moving story about a family in Egypt, who had a miraculously encounter with Jesus;
A Muslim man in Egypt killed his wife because she was reading the Bible and then buried her with their infant baby and an 8 year old daughter.
حيث ان الفتيات دفنوا و هم أحياء ! و قام بتبليغ الشرطة بالحادثة متهما العم بجريمته . و بعد 15 يوما يموت أحد أفراد العائلة . و عندما أرادوا دفنه , وجدوا تحت الرمل الفتاتان الصغيرتان على قيد الحياة .
The girls were buried alive! then He reported to the police that an uncle killed the kids. 15 days later, another family member died. When they went to bury him, they found the 2 little girls under the sand – ALIVE!
هذه الحادثة أغضبت الناس و حكم على الرجل بالإعدام
The country is outraged over the incident, and the man will be executed.
وقد سؤلت الفتات الكبرى عن كيفيت بقائها على قيد الحياة , فقالت : ‘ كان يجيء إلينا كل يوم رجل , كان هذا الرجل يلبس ثياب مشعّة و كان له جروح نازفة في يديه , كان يأتي و يطعمنا . و قد أيقظ أمي و بتالي فقد أستطاعت أن ترضع أختي . ‘
قالت الفتات هذا الكلام في مقابلة على التلفزيون المصرية الوطنية , و أفادة امراة مسلمة عبرأخبار مؤكدة. قالت فيها على التلفزيون الشعبي : ‘ كان هذا بلا شك السيد المسيح , لأن لا أحد غيره يستطيع فعل مثل هكذا أشياء! ‘
The older girl was asked how she had survived and she says ‘A man wearing shiny clothes, with bleeding wounds in his hands, came every day to feed us. He woke up my mom so she could nurse my sister,’ she said.
She was interviewed on Egyptian National TV, by availed Muslim woman news anchor. She said on public TV, ‘This was none other than JESUS, because nobody else does things like this!’
المسلمون يؤمنون بأن السيد المسيح يستطيع فعل هذا , ولكن الجراح تشير إلى أن السيد المسح حقا قد صلب , وأيضا من الواضح أنه على قيد الحياة ! , وأيضا من الواضح أن الطفلة لا تستطيع أن تخترع قصة مثل تلك , و أساس فإن من المستحيل بقاء الطفلتان على قيد الحياة بدون معجزة حقيقية ,
Muslims believe Isa (JESUS) would do this, but the wounds mean He really was crucified, and it’s clear also that He is alive! But, it’s also clear that the child could not make up a story like this, and there is no way these children could have survived without a true miracle.
Very few of us will experience a miraculous encounter with the living Christ, while we are living our days on earth. But they certainly do happen! In fact there are many ‘unbelievable’ testimonies from those living in under extreme persecution, who have literally seen the hand of God move – who have expereinced radical miracles just like the above.
You just need to google ‘Muslim encounters with Christ’ and you will find reems of miraculous stories.
But God is moving just the same, even in our privileged Western World.
This past weekend, we were invited to a burger braai at a friends house. 4 families gathering together for a casual catch-up. The kids were all playing so nicely together which gave us a chance to enjoy some great adult conversation.
Then, all of a sudden, our one twin came running inside, crying in a way that we just knew was serious. Although both our girls are as wild as the other and permanently covered in bruises, this little one has an incredibly high pain threshold, so if she is crying inconsolably, we know that it is something serious.
Her dad immediately gathered her into his arms and took her outside to remove her from the prying eyes and console her in quite while at the same time, trying to establish what had happened and where it hurt.
In gasping sentences, she explained that she had been standing on a dustbin, pretending that she was on a stage singing to her audience. Her sister stood below her, tugging on her leg, begging for her turn. And then it all happened so fast. She slipped from the bin, her neck caught onto the washing line which caused her to flip into air before she tumbled to the ground.
I had just arrived at her side to offer some mommy comfort when I noticed the look of utter alarm on daddy’s face. When he had examined her neck, he had seen a huge bulge protruding from the place where the impact had taken place. Immediately he called for his doctor friend who came running over. My heart leapt into my throat. Even though he remained extremely calm to our daughter, I just knew that he was freaking out inside.
The doctor’s reaction was not as I had expected. He said ‘Go the hospital immediately. I will meet you there.’ Panic overwhelmed me. They were talking about haematoma and ruptured arteries and knowing that this friend has three kids and more than a fair share of accidents, I knew that the situation must be very serious.
All four of us trooped to the car, trying to remain as calm as possible. Our very kind doctor friend followed behind and as we drove I prayed over our daughter, trusting for Gods peace and calm to saturate the situation.
And then I heard a quiet little voice whispering to me “Am I going to die mom?”. Of course not I said, with the utmost of confidence. And I really did feel complete peace in my heart. I knew were doing the right thing by going to hospital but I also knew that she was absolutely fine.
And everything was perfectly fine. After three hours of scans, neck braces, x-rays, angiograms, they could find absolutely nothing wrong.
Thank You Father! I say.
Because when we pray we can trust that we will be OK!
But we need to pray every day. And we need to trust.