Amal* arose while the rest of the area slept and walked to the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in Lebanon. He fired up his deafening engine and headed into whitecaps, wind stinging his face. Casting out his nets, he settled down for hours of trawling, his motor making continuous noise.
Seagulls screeched as he hauled in his catch and awaited the cleaning process. Putting his fish on ice, he revved up his motor and headed home. The thunderous noise of the inboard canceled out the sound of waves slapping against its side. It also took a toll on Amal’s hearing.
Lovingly Loud
Months before, Amal accepted Jesus after a missionary that ANM supports spent long hours explaining the gospel. Amal loved his Redeemer, and in the evenings, he prayed and praised Him for hours. Because of his hearing loss, Amal’s loud worship carried across the hall to Zenab’s* apartment after her husband left for work. The nightly interruptions gave her headaches, and in anger, she covered her ears.
Despite her efforts, she kept hearing the name of Jesus. In her Muslim faith, Jesus was just a prophet, but Amal repeatedly and adoringly called Him his Lord and Savior. And the more she heard His name, the more her desire to know Him increased. Eventually, she desperately pleaded, “Please show Yourself to me, Jesus!”
An Answer
Zenab sat in a living room chair and closed her eyes. As she imagined what He would look like, a giant tall man of shining light appeared and placed His hand on her shoulder. Instead of being startled, she basked in His presence; peace and love flooded her soul. When He disappeared, she ran across the hall and knocked on Amal’s door.
His wife welcomed her inside and offered tea. Then the discussions and questions began. Afterward, Zenab returned home encouraged. Each evening when her husband left, Zenab went back to Amal’s apartment to learn all she could. She read the Bible, participated in worship, and surrendered her life to Christ after several weeks. Unintentionally, Amal had cast out his net and hauled in a special kind of fish.
Discipleship
The godly couple instructed Zenab not to share her newfound faith with her husband, but to live an everyday life before him so he saw positive change. She cooks, cares for her family, prays, and then studies the Bible with Amal’s family.
Walking by Faith and Not by Sight
Jesus visited what is today Lebanon when he cast out the demon from the Syro-Phoenician woman’s daughter in Tyre (Mark 7:24-30). If you look upon this ancient land with earthly eyes, you see destruction, inflation, sorrow, and suffering. The enemy seems to be winning the battle for souls.
But God works differently. Your prayers and support assist dedicated believers to follow God’s Spirit in reclaiming this biblical ground. He uses people like us and a simple, nearly-deaf fisherman who belts out loud praises to accomplish this task — one person at a time.
Your gift empowers persecuted believers throughout the world to share the gospel.
*Names changed for security reasons. Header image: Stock photo.
