Being conscious of that sadness in her eyes however, I gave Jillian a comforting Scripture in the form of a promise from Jesus, as declared in the gospels.  Some months after, I re-visited her home and this time her mother came to the door.  As I looked into her eyes, she too expressed sadness and grief, so once again I gave a comforting Scripture, telling the lady that it was a word from God for her.  She looked at me with slight bewilderment, giving me the thought that perhaps she thought I was a religious nut case.  Nevertheless, she thanked me and we parted company. 

A few doors along from their home that day, I learned from a resident that the father and husband of those two people had committed suicide some two years earlier.  He had developed cancer and saw this as his only way out.  Twelve months on from there I was yet again back at Jillian’s home.  This time I looked into three pairs of eyes expressing grief and sadness as they stood at the door – those of Jillian, her younger brother and sister.  I delivered another message of comfort, this time offering practical help too.  Their mother had recently been murdered.

It was most common for people to tell me that they doubted God’s existence, but especially so if they had been touched by tragedy.  Brenda was an example of this.  With eyes expressing grief and sadness, she told she didn’t know if God existed because her sister had lost two children some years ago.  One child drowned and the other one died of an illness – both within nine months of each other.  As she was telling me this she began to cry saying that, “not too many days go by when I don’t re-live those memories.” 

It is always a time for sensitivity when people share their sadness’s.  One must never be too quick to say, “The Bible says…………” but on this occasion it seemed very appropriate, so I mentioned to Brenda that the Bible tells us that God does exist, and that He is our refuge and strength in times of trouble, plus He will remove our doubts and fears if we are willing to trust and act on what He says Psalm 46:1-2.  It was then that she shared with me that she went forward to give her heart to the Lord at a Billy Graham Crusade, “many years ago.”

On hearing that, I said to Brenda, “Then I believe you do know God exists.  You experienced Him when they prayed with you at that time, but since then you have walked away from Him.”  She expressed no words, but she nodded her head in agreement.  I took the opportunity here to inform her that Jesus will never violate our choices, and if we push Him out of our lives, then as a Gentleman, He stays out and will remain out until we grant Him opportunity to come back in. 

Mrs Hamilton told me that she too had doubts about the existence of God.  She told me that her thirty-eight year old daughter and eleven year old granddaughter were on a train travelling between two large cities here in Australia.  The young mother slept on the train, as did her daughter, some time after her mother.  It is thought that when the mother woke up she sleepily went to the toilet.  On doing so, she apparently opened the wrong door and fell out of the train.

The eleven year old girl became alarmed at her mother not returning so when the train arrived at the rural city for a train change, she went to the rail authorities who in turn called for the police.  Firstly they telephoned Mrs Hamilton to ask if she had heard from her daughter and when she informed them that she had not, they then decided to locate a rail vehicle and go back up the track from where the train had travelled.  Some distance away they found the young mother, deceased with a broken neck.

As a public minister I heard some shocking stories from people and that one sits close to the top of my list.  Mrs Hamilton looked at me with large, open eyes which had “Why?” written deep into them.  I said I did not know why and explained that neither she nor anyone else would ever be able to bring an answer that would satisfy her.  My obligation was to give her a word of comfort, hope and assurance from the Living Lord who does know why, which is what I did.  I prayed for her on her doorstep and asked God to reveal His reality to her and He did so.

I had just stepped on to the footpath after visiting a lady at the old people’s home when another lady came walking towards me.  We had never met but she was looking at me as though we had.  Whatever the reason she did so, I now knew that God was in this somewhere, so I stopped to say hello.  Yet again I found myself looking into eyes expressing sadness and grief.  I introduced myself and told her I was from a local church and then I mentioned what it was that her eyes were revealing to me.  Immediately she began to cry.

She told me that it was the tenth anniversary of her twenty-one year old son’s death.  Wiping her eyes and blowing her nose, she went on to say, “he was well one minute, and fifteen minutes later when I came into his room, there he was dead on the floor.”  It was a sudden death and not due to drugs or any known disease.  Then this dear lady said that she could no longer go near any church, because of the funeral service held for her son.  I did not ask her to elaborate on that too much, but from what she told me I could not help but think that perhaps the ministry from that church had failed her.

Jesus said He is the light of the world.  That means we who follow Him are to express His light - not darkness.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of hope (confidence, assurance) for the living - not hopelessness.  The lady didn’t hear that message.  The building where Christians meet is a place of celebration - it is not a mausoleum.  The “church” building is not a place where one is compelled to whisper in case of offending God, neither is it a place where altars, communion tables, furniture, crosses, hymnals etc, are to be treated as though they too are gods, or belong to God. 

These were some of the impressions that lady said she had of the “church” but she is not the only one.  I met countless people out there who gave me similar impressions.  An American Bible teacher whom I very much admire said, “There’s not a demon in hell that can touch the Word of God.  But our tradition makes it of non-effect.”  That dear lady was not touched by the Living Lord at the time of her greatest need and neither was she touched by that church’s traditions.  But she was touched by the Word of the Lord the day we met.  I saw that as I looked into her eyes.  “The Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.  And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.”  Psalm 9:9-10.

© 2009 – 2010, Roger Williams. All rights reserved.

When I introduced myself, immediately her hurts surfaced and she began to cry, expressing anger towards God, saying she could never believe Him to be a God of love and peace.  Maria was a Catholic lady but she said to me, “Jesus couldn’t possibly exist.  A loving God could never let that happen to my daughter.”  This was no ordinary, chance-meeting I was having with this broken, hurting lady, it was a divine appointment (one that I had no intention of making) so I remained quiet and listened to her.  Wiping her eyes, she invited me inside.

As we walked up the footpath towards her door she repeated with anger, “You’ll never convince me.  You’ll never convince me that God is who He says He is.”  As she made some coffee, Maria again repeated these words.  I replied by saying that I agreed with her entirely, that no person can convince another of the reality of God or His attributes.  But I then gently asked Maria, “Are you willing to be convinced?”

In her home, like most Catholic homes I’ve been in, I saw religious pictures on the wall that supposedly depict Jesus and Mary and the like, but it was very apparent that this lady had absolutely no experience of the reality Jesus in her being.  For all her religious beliefs and practices, whatever they might have been, they failed to support or sustain Maria in time of her greatest need.  Once again I was to observe the futility of outward religious practice substituting itself for an inward relationship and fellowship with God.

Maria grew up with the knowledge that, “Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins,” but in her hurting, her question was, “If He died to take away sins, what was the point, when there is still so much sin in the world?”  I then asked her what her understanding was of that question before this tragedy came into the family.  She didn’t answer, she just kept shaking her head saying, “I can’t believe.  I can’t believe.”  Clearly that was true.  Maria had never believed.

The word “believe” in the gospels, means: commit, trust, put in trust with, to entrust one’s spiritual well-being to Christ.  Multitudes of religious practitioners are told to put such trust and commitment in, “the church” or “our church” and in it’s teachings - which effectively bypasses the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.  The Roman Catholic church, for example, is one among many who teach this.  She claims to be God’s one true church and all members are to promise obedience to the Bishop of Rome, whom she claims is successor to Saint Peter, Prince of Apostles and Vicar of Jesus Christ.

On the other hand, a biblical “experiential believer” – or – one who experiences the moment-by-moment presence and reality of Jesus Christ deep within them, recognises the Holy Spirit’s ministry as one that guides us into all the truth of the Scriptures, where we read that Jesus did not leave His church to human leadership.  He Himself is still the Head of His church. 

All biblical experiential believers know that Jesus Christ speaks to them both personally and corporately through His infallible Word the Holy Scriptures, as ministered to them by His ever-present and infallible Holy Spirit.  He or she knows that Jesus Christ is the Rock and only Head of the Church and that no other foundation can be laid in His place.  He or she knows this and it lives within, deep in their spirit, not simply in their head, intellectually or academically.

It was this such belief, that Maria lacked at this time.  So when she said, “I can’t believe,” she was responding as naturally as any religious practitioner might who knew nothing of the reality of Christ.  In the three and a half years I did this work, such responses (and far worse) from multitudes of Roman Catholic practitioners were as common and as predictable as night following day.

Man’s institutionalised religion is powerful.  In those years, I observed 2 things in people presently affiliated or once affiliated with churches who claimed to be, “God’s one true church.”  This applies not just to Catholic people. 

1. For those presently affiliated:  They are deceived with regards the true Jesus Christ and become slaves to the religious doctrines of men.  The by-products of such slavery are expressed through fear, guilt, bitterness, anger, sickness, idolatry and religious legalism.
2. For those who come out from them:  They remain fearful, guilty, bitter and angry, to the point where they say they hate God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible and the church and want nothing more to do with them.  Such people will say, “I came out!  I left!”  But the sad reality is, it hasn’t come out of them.  It hasn’t left them, they are still trapped.  Unless these people allow the true Lord Jesus Christ to reveal Himself and release them, they remain trapped regardless of what they say or don’t say.  Read more in my post:  The Religious Spirit.

Maria told me that her fear was greater than ever before.  She was constantly worried and scared.  I said to her that being fearful, worried and scared could never bring her daughter back, “but if you ask the Lord Jesus to come into your spirit, He will do so right now and in time He will make it His business to heal you spiritually and mentally of your grief and hurts, as a result of your great loss.” 

I explained to this dear lady that the taking away of sins is an individual issue, not a world issue.  I then asked her if she was willing to be convinced of the God who says He is loving and merciful.  This time she nodded and said, “Yes, I suppose so.”  I led her in a prayer and then she asked the Lord to forgive her for her anger and unbelief towards Him and to reveal Himself to her.  She shed lots of tears, telling me she had “doubtful feelings” about God’s love and mercy. 

I encouraged her through the Bible, that says it is by faith that we believe, not feelings, telling her also that God would give her the faith she needs, we cannot manufacture it.  The fact that Maria could speak the words, acknowledge and ask Jesus Christ for forgiveness, then claim her forgiveness through the shedding of the blood of Jesus, proved to me another fact.  Nobody can do any such thing, unless God Almighty Himself, in the name of Jesus Christ, through the ministry and power of the Holy Spirit, is in the midst urging them to do so.

Maria also told me that she had never been able to cry for her daughter, that is, really grieve.  I encouraged her by saying that God would assist her in that and that the moment she felt it coming on, to go into a room, close the door and let it come out.  Later that afternoon I was walking on the opposite side of Maria’s street.  She was outside collecting her bin.  I gave her a big wave and she did the same.

I saw both Maria and her husband quite a few times in the street after that visit and they smiled as we stopped to greet each other, but no further ministry took place.  “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on a rock.”  Matthew 7:24-25.     

© 2009 – 2010, Roger Williams. All rights reserved.

So I remained silent as I looked at Mrs Stark, giving her my full attention.  Then she told me that her father and twenty-four year old son were both recently killed while on holiday in Germany and, “it’s just not fair!”  I responded by saying that I agreed with her, but said also, “Nothing in life is fair.  It wasn’t fair that Germany’s Hitler killed six million Jews either.”

I believed that this was a response from God, because now I immediately had her silence and attention.  Mrs Stark was essentially blaming God for this family tragedy, so I used my brief time with her to share the love of God – a love which she could experience for herself anytime she, “chose to believe God and trust His Son Jesus Christ.” 

I further explained that if she would take the time to study the nature and character of God and His love towards us in Christ, as it is revealed to us in the gospels, she would very quickly see for herself, that God’s unconditional love towards us is not fair either, because we just don’t deserve it.  I said she would see, “that it’s not fair that Jesus Christ came down into our world to die in our place on a cross for our offences towards a holy God, but He did it anyway.”

Mrs Stark nodded in agreement when I told her there was no death (separation from God) in eternity for all who receive Christ.  She said she knew something of the gospel of Christ because she was once a Sunday school child.  She was apologetic for her outburst, but I encouraged her forget about it and look to Christ and re-establish herself in a relationship with Him.  She said that she may attend services again at a church a few streets from her home.

A young lady in her early thirties told me she too rejected all religions, God, Christ and the Bible.  She said she used to be a practising Catholic, “but not any more.”  This sad, hurting lady was totally anti-Christ.  She said she lost her nineteen year-old cousin through illness some months earlier, so, “how could a loving God let that happen?”  It’s a common question from those who suffer such tragedies, but in my experience I have found far too many people unwilling to hear what God has to tell us about the fact of death. 

They simply do not want to hear the word of God, who tells us that there is a time appointed for each one of us to die, and that none of us are told how or when that time will come.  It is their preference to remain in bitterness and blame God, rather than see and embrace His solution to the problem.  The young lady listened as I shared some gospel promises of comfort and peace for her hurting self, plus the gift of eternal life, but she simply refused to receive.  She walked away.

Freedom of choice has been given to all and God will not violate our choices.  But given that this is so, there was nothing more He could do for that lady.  Her situation will remain unchanged until she sees the need for change.  It is not up to God from hereon in, it is up to her.

I knocked on the door of an elderly Greek couple and the husband answered.  As we spoke I could hear his wife yelling at me to go away.  She thought I was a Jehovah Witness.  Their twenty year old son had joined the J W’s.  The husband told me that some time ago during some home renovations, part of the ceiling fell down on their son, his photograph on the wall fell down also and it cut the telephone cable.

He apparently had an argument with his parents over this, plus the fact that he was now a J W, so he got into his car and drove away in anger.  He crashed the car and was killed.  The husband then invited me inside for a cup of tea and we sat and talked in another room.  He informed me that his wife was suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, she was also riddled with arthritis and she was weeping and wailing.  The grief in the home was very heavy.

Although he said they were Greek Orthodox practitioners, neither he nor his wife appeared to know the reality of Jesus Christ from personal experience.  There were religious pictures and statues in the rooms but, as God Almighty Himself through Isaiah the prophet tells us in the Scriptures about such things, “they are profitable for nothing.”  The truth of this was evident that day.  He shared his doubts as to the existence of God after their tragedy, so I encouraged him to choose to believe and find the reality of Jesus Christ for himself and lead his wife to Him as well. 

Another lady told me she used to attend church as a child, but, “now I don’t believe there is a God.”  She told me her son-in-law was murdered four years earlier.  He was a soldier and was coming home in a train when he got into a fight.  Someone pulled a knife and killed him.  Then she spoke about the injustice of this as it related to God, the legal system and the welfare system.

The man’s wife had not had any compensation to date and there seemed to be nothing but, “delay after delay.”  Then the lady asked me why was the world so bad, followed by, “it’s just not fair!”  I gave her my answers according to Jesus’ warnings in the gospels where we read that, as people turn away from God, there will be an increase of wickedness, violence and lawlessness all over the world and, “the love of many will grow cold.”  That’s a fact of life – but a fact of our own making. 

God Almighty did not create the problems human beings find themselves enduring and suffering, but  He provided the Solution.  His Solution is His Son Jesus Christ.  Most human beings reject Jesus Christ as God’s Solution, therefore, the problems go on.  It was sad to observe the realities of this biblical truth and the effects it had on people such as these mentioned in this post.

My life did not even begin to work for me until I allowed Jesus Christ to reveal and then deliver me from my unrealities.  It was only when I began to let Him do so, did I begin to see the futility of blaming God for all life’s tragedies.  When I began to experience the limitless blessings that He waited to pour out upon such a one as undeserving as myself, clearly I saw that, “it’s just not fair.”  But I embraced them anyway and continue to do so.  “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.”  Psalm 46:1-3.

© 2009 – 2010, Roger Williams. All rights reserved.

Now sometimes people immediately back up those kind of statements by becoming abusive and slamming the door in my face – but not this young lady, so I knew God was in this somewhere.  She then went on to tell me there was no God, no truth, no Jesus, “Don’t talk to me about a loving God, He’s no such thing!”  Her hurts were deep, her words were bitter. 

 Here’s why.  It was the last week of November when we met.  Eleven months earlier at the beginning of January, both her mother and father and two sisters aged thirteen and fourteen were killed in a car crash, as was the drunken driver of the other car.  Tears came into her eyes as she said, “So tell me now about your loving God!”

Times such as these I found to be tricky and each time called for a lot of wisdom to bring ministry to situations like this – wisdom I believe no human being has.  So as always, my practice was to pray for wisdom as I listened to her and at the same time wait for God to speak through me.  I was fully aware that this was His work and that I was just His vessel.

When I sensed the correct timing I explained to the young lady that in the Scriptures we see the word “sin” but it’s basic meaning is “rebellion.”  I then said to her that the Scriptures also tell us there is a devil and as we study his nature and character we see that he is the father of rebellion.  I then suggested that perhaps instead of blaming God maybe she could blame the devil who used a drunken rebel for his dirty work.

Her immediate response was, “Well which one was responsible for the heart attack and death of my twenty-one year old friend who died around the same time as my family?!”  She was not ready for any reply from me, so there were a few long moments of silence.  Then she told me she had watched her friend die over fourteen hours, also having to listen to the doctors say there was nothing they could do.

By now I was feeing a little of this lady’s pain, knowing once again that no human being can rightly respond to such tragedy.  Plenty of people attempt to do so but too often they just add to the hurts.  I knew I was capable of being one of those at this point, so I asked God to shut my mind and mouth to any kinds of humanistic, psychological emotionalism.  This lady’s hurts were deep in her spirit and no one is qualified to go there accept the Holy Spirit of God. 

When I did respond I explained that the Bible factually tells us that the there is a day for each one of us to die, but that it does not factually tell us how or when we will die.  Further saying that because of sin having entered the world, physical death is a fact of life, but spiritual death doesn’t have to be – and won’t be, if we’re trusting in Jesus Christ, who Himself, knows all about tragedy.

She listened and nodded, then more hurts flowed out.  Next she said she had two brothers alive, both of whom she hates.  One of them, “is a born-again Christian and I wish he would die for what he did.”  I didn’t ask what he had done, but whatever it was, she said, “I will never forgive him.”  I then explained that if he truly was born-again in Christ, then all his sin has been forgiven by the Lord and that perhaps the day will come when, if he has to, he will come and put things right with her.

In spite of the hurts and emotions she continued to express, plus the risk of being told to go away, I decided it was now time to share with her that Jesus shows us that the only real loser in unforgiveness is the person who will never forgive.  I remarked that she was a young looking lady, but by the time she was forty this stuff would eat her up if she didn’t allow God to release her from it.  She saw the possiblity of that becoming true, but said, “Why didn’t they both die in the crash instead of my two sisters?!” 

She said she came from a Catholic background but wanted, “nothing to do with that church or any other.”  Underneath all those hurts was a lovely young woman whom God touched that day.  She didn’t want prayer but she did smile and thank me at the end for listening and talking with her.  

God has a special place in His heart for the broken hearted and although I did not see her again, knowing that there are no coincidences in the Lord Jesus Christ, I believe it was His intention that day to begin drawing her closer to Him.  “The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.  And those who know Your name will put their trust in You: for You have not forsaken those who seek You.”  Psalm 9:9.

© 2009 – 2010, Roger Williams. All rights reserved.

Helen was a quiet, gentle lady who said she had been reading her Bible for a long time but didn’t know if the Lord Jesus was “in my heart or not.”  She knew the gospel of Christ, saying she believed it was true that God became a Man, that He came into our world and died for our sins and that three days later He rose again from death.  She said she also believed that He lives today. 

Once again however, like so many people I meet doing this work, that was the extent of Helen’s knowledge.  As the discussion continued it was clear to me that Helen had not made a personal committment to the Lord.  I discerned that she knew about Jesus Christ, but she did not know Jesus Christ.  So I asked her if she would like to ask the Lord to come and live within her, just like the Scriptures promise He will, upon invitation.  She said she would “like that very much.”  

Our prayer together was long and meaningful, with Helen telling the Lord that even though she’d lived life so far as a good citizen, she knew she was a sinner and asked His forgiveness.  No sooner had she finished the prayer when she told us, “I’m having the most beautiful experience from head to foot – a warm and cool peace, all at the same time.”  It was evident to us that she was experiencing the reality and power of Jesus Christ, a peaceful glow came into her eyes and upon her face.

This new experience for Helen enabled her to talk of the tragedy that took place quite a few years earlier.  She said that her husband suffered much guilt in his daily life, because he was driving the family car when there was a crash and their young daughter was killed.  And although he has no memory of the crash, Helen said her husband  “has never forgiven himself.”  As if that wasn’t enough for a family to bare, Helen then told me that they have another daughter, now married, but dying of cancer.

Some time later I visited Helen’s home and her husband came to the door.  He knew of my meeting with his wife, but said too much had gone wrong in his life for him to believe in a merciful God.  I told him I did not pretend to understand his pain, thoughts and feelings but I did say that Jesus Christ knew exactly where he was at and would be willing to come to his aid upon his invitation.

He said he thought he was beyond changing, “but I hope I’m wrong.”  He then said his wife had told him of her experience with Jesus so, “perhaps one day……”  He thanked me for the visit, telling me it was nice to talk with someone about his problems.

Two months after that visit I called again.  They informed me that their daughter was deteriorating quickly.  I said that I was praying for them, that they would all experience the reality of God’s comfort and peace in this tragic time.  Helen’s husband responded in a resigned manner by saying, “Well pray that she dies quickly.”  We spoke for some minutes and once again they were grateful for the time we had together.

Twelve months went by before I saw this couple again.  I had visited twice in that period but they were not home.  They informed me their daughter did die a few days after my last visit.  By now however, Helen said she was coming through the worst of her grief and gave testimony to the Lord Jesus as being very real to her since her first encounter with Him and especially so, during this recent sadness. 

She spoke about looking forward to the return of Christ, then she spoke of the wonders of our being made up of a body, soul and spirit and that even though our present body dies, one day it will be ressurrected anew to rejoin our soul and spirit and we’ll live forever. 

Her husband said he “was not convinced of any of this.”  And even though that appeared to be the case, he was opening up and sharing his thoughts and opinions - to which I give Christ all the glory.

Later in the conversation he shared that he was responsible for the road death of his young daughter, saying that he still had no memory of the event, but the guilt he experienced all these years was going.  As he told me this, I prayed that this was due to the reality of Christ touching his life, so I used the opportunity to remind him that Jesus spoke about forgiveness, healing and love and that these could all be his – all he needed to do was believe for them and ask for them. 

The invitation was left open for both these dear people to get in touch with me and/or my church for any help or assistance they might need in the future, but the offer was never taken up.  Like so many occasions in the past however, I once again considered it to be a great priviledge to be used of God for His ministry to them.  “……Death has been swallowed up in victory.  Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?”  1 Corinthians 15:54-55.

© 2009 – 2010, Roger Williams. All rights reserved.

Not only did the cages on the veranda contain birds – of all colours and sizes, but so did the hallway.  The singing and chirping of the birds was amazing.  While I waited for some response to my knock, I was creating a picture in my mind of the owner of the home and the birds, expecting to see an eccentric, unkempt old man or lady come walking up the hall.  I could hear a radio on down the back of the house so I knocked louder.  Eventually I heard some movement followed by footsteps slowly making their way towards the front.

The hallway was quite dark but I glimpsed him, and my mental picture appeared to be as accurate as the man making his way towards me.  He looked to be in his early sixties, quite tall, rather hunched, unshaven, with long grey/white hair.  Perhaps he looked a little eccentric, but he was not unkempt.  When I introduced myself and gave the reason for my visit he introduced himself as Frank.  His face wore one of the saddest expressions I’ve witnessed.

As he began to feed some birds he told me he was an atheist.  In my work I’d had people tell me that before.  But if they would allow me to pursue their beliefs as to how they arrived at such a conclusion, often it was the result of praying or crying out to God for intervention in times of great hurts or tragedy.  But when no answers or responses came such people would give up their pursuit of God, believing all their efforts to be a waste of time, “falling on deaf ears.”  Frank’s face and eyes told me that perhaps this was the case for him, but he revealed nothing to me.

He was respectful and polite as he gave me his ear in answer to his questions.  He also listened as I shared the reality of Jesus Christ.  Frank did not tell me what had happened in his past and neither did I ask.  But I did say that Jesus Christ understands hurts and tragedies, because the Scriptures clearly show us that He went through them – and that He did so for each one of us.  I thanked Frank for his time and left.

A few weeks later I was back in the same street and I met a lady outside her home across the road from Frank’s home.  She was a Christian lady, and she told me she “saw me there the other day” and then went on to say that both Frank’s sons had died in car crashes about twenty years earlier.  A few years after those tragedies, his wife had died in great pain over a long period, from cancer. 

Some months later I knocked on the door of the home next door to Frank’s.  A lady answered, we spoke at the door for a while, she then introduced herself as Elizabeth and invited me inside.  Elizabeth asked lots of questions about God and the Bible and, “why do you do this work?”  She said that she came from a church back ground and was familiar with some Christian terminology, but not the reality of it.  Her perception of religious ministers was one of “black coats, white collars, long faces and some with hypocrisy written on them.”  

Over a coffee, she told me she had once done a small study with a group of people, a basic study which gave some explanation to Christianity.  I was surprised to hear that because in our chat it was not apparent that she knew a lot about the promises of Jesus Christ and how they could personally apply to her. 

I mentioned to Elizabeth that in my work, I was finding out that many people with church affiliations or backgrounds knew about Jesus Christ, but there were very few who knew Jesus Christ in the way He has revealed Himself to us in the Bible.     

Not long into the conversation, there was a knock on her door and a rather tall, casually dressed man with short gray/white  hair entered.  It was Frank.  But quite a different Frank  in appearance – I failed to recognize him as the same man whom I’d met earlier and he didn’t recognize me either.  I would like to report that the change I saw in this man since that previous meeting was attributed to Jesus Christ – it may well have been - but Frank gave no such hint of it being so.  What I do know is, that each person I speak to in this work of sharing the reality and power of the Lord Jesus Christ, is a person given by God and as such, I leave the results with Him.

He joined us with coffee and as he listened to our conversation, he gently and politely added comments and opinions - a few of them with expressions of doubt and scepticism.  I now knew why, so by God’s grace and wisdom I was able to bring words that ministered to both of them at the same time.  Once again, I had the pleasure of witnessing God touching two hearts and two lives, both individually and uniquely.       

To this point, neither Frank or Elizabeth shared their background with me, but it was apparent that life had not always been easy and pleasant for Elizabeth either – in fact sometimes it was downright miserable for her she said.  I found out later that some years earlier, Elizabeth had lost her son in a motor cycle crash and also her marriage had broken up.    

As one ministering in people’s lives, I don’t have to know what another person’s past has been – God knows the details, so all I’m called to do is listen to them, remain open to the Holy Spirit’s leading and He’ll give me the words required to meet the innermost needs of that person.    

Later, in another visit, Elizabeth did share a little of the past, and she also prayed a prayer inviting Jesus Christ into her life.  As a result I also encouraged her to continue to pray to the Lord and read a portion of His Scriptures daily, which would allow God to minister to her.  As well, I asked her to consider again undertaking some basic Biblical studies that would enable her to feed her spirit and strengthen her knowledge, understanding and faith in Christ, for both her spiritual and practical needs in life.  “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”  1 John 5:11  

© 2009 – 2010, Roger Williams. All rights reserved.