Earth Shaking, Doors Opening, & Breaking Free! Acts16:26

 

 

Article from Reflections Magazine

Dear Nona
November-December 2006

Nona Freeman

Dear Nona,

I know Jesus commanded us to witness to the lost—and I want to—but I cannot think of the right words to say. Will Jesus help me? Can you tell me how He led you to be a witness?

Wondering

Dear Wondering,

I know Jesus commanded us to witness to the lost—and I want to—but I cannot think of the right words to say. Will Jesus help me? Can you tell me how He led you to be a witness?

I fully understand; yes, Jesus will help you. You must learn to listen, and no matter what He tells you to do, just obey His voice!

I became so burdened about witnessing that I sought Jesus earnestly about this matter and this is what happened: I was washing dishes at ten o’clock one morning in 1948 (just before we sailed to Africa) in the “little wide spot in the road” where we lived. Suddenly I heard Jesus say, “Go stand on your front porch and wave!”

You cannot imagine how absurd that sounded to me. World War II had ended in 1945 and America did not have many cars on the road yet. But I knew His voice so I went out to my porch. I stood there flopping one hand for probably ten minutes—and nobody came by. Then I saw a car coming in the distance. I went up on tiptoe and smiled and waved while the car slowed down and crawled by. When it went around a curve, out of sight, I thought, “I guess I can go finish my dishes now.” While I finished the dishes, I wondered if I would ever hear anything about this incident again.

Then the signal came—it was time to go to Africa and I forgot everything but getting off to the land of our calling. Five and six years later, it was necessary to take separate furloughs. But after ten years in Africa, the whole family came back on furlough, and my schedule took me back to the little church in the wide spot where we’d lived. A smiling man came to greet me after service, told me his name, and said, “I lived here when you did; we just moved in different circles. You were the Pentecostal pastor’s wife and I was the town drunk. I got so discouraged about my life—always in trouble, often in jail, and seldom could keep a job because of the bottle—so I decided to go to the sand pits and blow out my brains.

“I put my gun on my lap and started to drive there. But when I got to the Pentecostal parsonage, you were waiting for me, smiling and waving. When I went around the corner, I stopped, put the gun on the back seat, put my head on the steering wheel, and wept. I thought, I need to go to that church. That lady will feel bad if I die. It took me three months to get up the courage to go to the church, but that night I went to the altar, received the Holy Ghost, and the pastor baptized me in Jesus’ name. Goodbye bottle! Shortly after that, a beautiful widow came to town. She became my wife, and we are so happy serving Jesus together.”

I thought, That is wonderful!—but it gets better. Three years ago, I preached in Mississippi and the Lord impressed me to tell this story. A young lady stopped me and sobbed on my shoulder after church. She finally told me that this man was her uncle, her mother’s youngest brother. This was a large family of devout Catholics who had emigrated to the U.S. and through her uncle’s conversion, she rejoiced and said, “The whole tribe has been converted! Thanks for waving!”

You see, Jesus can and will do wonderful things if we listen and obey.

Sincerely,
Nona