“Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!” Luke 24: 31We all remember playing the game Hide and Seek. We gave our playmates a short time to hide and then yelled out “ready or not, here I come!” Sometimes when we are trying to reach out to a Muslim friend she might be trying to find a ‘hiding spot’. She’s not quite ready for deep spiritual talk. Sometimes we just think impatiently, “Well, ready or not, here I come!”
Doris was linked up with Fadwa, a bright Saudi woman, who requested an English language partner at the university. Fadwa is here for a short study period and then will return to Saudi Arabia. Doris feels an urgency to share the Good News with Fadwa. There are many stark differences between Doris and Fadwa but it hasn’t frightened Doris away from pursuing a friendship with Fadwa. Week after week they meet for coffee in a restaurant. One day Doris called me and asked, “Joy, how fast can I go with sharing the Gospel with Fadwa? She’ll be leaving soon and I haven’t been able to share with her or given her a Bible.”
Doris asked an excellent question. Westerners tend to dive into sharing the Good News whether the listener is ready or not. Often the listener has not been prepared enough. There is much for her to process before hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ. One thing is to understand the attributes of Jehovah God. What kind of God do you want to share? There is a link on this blog called Conversation Ideas. In that I have developed many conversation ideas that will help prepare the ground for moving into spiritual conversations. Doris is ready but Fadwa is not. She needs to be prepared and a good foundation laid of the Biblical attributes of God. Doris needs to see Fadwa become hungry and thirsty for God Himself – not for religion. If Doris wants to go further in this area she will need to meet Fadwa in a private place; preferably Fadwa’s home. When we use a Bible or pray it is advisable not to be in a public place where she could be noticed by other Muslims.
Fadwa is here for a short time. Departure time is creeping closer. She might not take a Bible but she is reading Doris’ life. Before she leaves and returns to her homeland Doris could give her an evangelistic Arabic website(http://www.maarifa.org/ )which is listed on this blog. She can download the Bible in Arabic on this website when she will be ready to read. The Holy Spirit has been preparing Fadwa and Doris has been a significant part of that. He will carry on that which was started by Doris!
Dear heavenly Father, help women to become spiritually hungry for You. In Your wisdom You are using Doris to create a spiritual appetite for more of You. Bless Doris for faithfully reflecting Your love to Fadwa. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
