Dying Wish

“But he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:13, NIV.

Great joy and fear were mixed. *Angela had found her Savior and was experiencing the great joy afforded by newfound salvation. Yet, she was also extremely fearful because to be a Christian in her community means to be an outcast. Among some of the extreme Muslim elements in her society, her decision to follow Jesus could even result in physical harm. But fear wasn’t Angela’s greatest obstacle to her faith, instead, it was her mother’s dying wish that brought her to the brink of turning back to Islam.

Four months after Angela had decided to follow Jesus, her mother became very ill. On her deathbed she called Angela to her side, and through her tears she pleaded for Angela to return to Islam. After her mom died, the conflict within her was unbearable. She didn’t want to turn away from following Jesus, but how could she deny her mom’s dying wish?

She told her Christian friends that she could no longer follow Jesus. These friends did not condemn her or scold her. They simply gathered around her and prayed for God’s peace in her life.

As Angela later described it, “God would not let me go.” After several months of following her old faith, she had no peace. Finally, she decided that the call of her Creator was even more important than her mom’s dying wish. While she still has concerns about the response of her community, she is again following Jesus. With her return to Christ came the answer to the prayer that her friends had prayed – Angela found peace.

Pray that:

God will grant boldness with wisdom to new believers like Angela, so that she will be a powerful witness among her people.

God will not allow Satan to snatch the seeds of new faith away from baby believers in Pacific Rim.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.