Cross in a church on a pulpit dimly lit by stained glass windows. By flordigitalartist/stock.adobe.com
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Last Thursday evening, American pastor Josh Sullivan was abducted at gunpoint as he was delivering a sermon during a prayer meeting at his South African church. He was apparently kidnapped for ransom, a crime that has recently been on the rise across the country.
His church urged its followers to “please pray for Josh Sullivan.” His wife Megan released a similar statement Saturday: “I just want to say thank you for the outpouring of love and prayers. We beg you to continue storming the throne room until Josh is safe at home.”
This morning, we are learning that these prayers have been answered.
According to a statement issued by the South African Police Service, a specialized unit dedicated to serious crime, they led an operation to rescue the forty-five-year-old. As they approached a safehouse being used by his captors, the kidnappers attempted to flee in a vehicle and opened fire on the team. The officers responded, leading to a shootout in which three suspects were killed.
The officers then discovered the pastor in the same vehicle, but he was “miraculously unharmed” and is “currently in excellent condition.”
This incredible story reminds me of the time King Herod imprisoned Peter, intending to execute him, but “earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church” (Acts 12:5). As a result, an angel liberated the apostle, enabling his continued ministry and the writing of two biblical books that bear his name.
What drove Abraham Lincoln to his knees
You and I are not likely to face abduction for ransom or execution by the king today. But, as an elderly professor once told me, we should “be kind to everyone because everyone’s having a hard time.”
The good news is that God redeems our greatest challenges by using them to draw us into our deepest reliance on him. The more we know we need help beyond ourselves, the more likely we are to seek it. Abraham Lincoln testified:
I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.
If only we were as wise as our wise president.
I am convinced that self-reliance is the greatest temptation American Christians face. We live in a culture that prizes self-dependence and rewards the “self-made” person. Our existentialist focus on self has driven many of the material successes that have made our nation so prosperous. But it also teaches us to separate the spiritual from the secular and make God a hobby.
The problem is, God cannot give what we will not receive. He can bless us to the degree that we are dependent on him.
He calls us to “cast your burden on the Lᴏʀᴅ, and he will sustain you” (Psalm 55:22). If we bear our burden ourselves, we forfeit his best. If we use our challenges to draw closer to our Father, he redeems them for his greatest glory and our greatest good.
This is where “silent Wednesday” can help.
How Jesus spent this day
The Gospels do not record a single activity in the life of our Lord on this day. As he lodged this week in Bethany at the home of his friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (Matthew 21:17; John 12:1), he apparently spent this day in prayer and preparation for all that was to come.
Such a time of intentional spiritual focus was the rule, not the exception, of his life.
- Jesus began the morning with his Father (Mark 1:35).
- He prayed at night, sometimes all through the night (Luke 6:12).
- He prayed in private (Luke 5:16; 9:18) and in public (John 6:11).
- He prayed for others, including his disciples, his enemies, and even those who crucified him (cf. Luke 22:32; 23:34).
- He prayed for his disciples and for the generations who would follow (John 17).
- He prayed before his death (Matthew 26:36–44) and from the cross (Luke 23:46).
- He continues to pray for us today (Hebrews 7:25).
You might say that we should expect such spirituality from the Son of God. But Jesus was fully human as well as fully divine. He faced distractions, deceptions, and temptations just as we do (cf. Hebrews 4:15).
I believe the depth of Jesus’ prayer life was driven in large part by the enormity of the mission he came to accomplish. He knew that he could not be the Savior of humanity apart from the provision of his Father and the power of his Spirit.
A tearful night I will never forget
The greater our challenges, the greater our need for our Father’s provision and grace. When we use our pain to draw on his power, we discover that we can “cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 NIV).
I can attest personally to the truth of this promise.
I’m thinking of a night I spent many years ago in a remote village on the island of Borneo as part of a summer missions assignment. The roads had washed out, leaving me stranded in this dangerous place. I had been gone from home for a longer time than ever before in my life. I had never felt so lonely and alone.
As I sat on the porch of a hut in the village, my eyes filled with tears, I pleaded with the Lord for solace and strength. Then I felt strangely prompted to pick up my guitar and begin singing the old chorus, “Jesus loves me, this I know” in the Malay language. I sat that way for a long while, my eyes closed and my heart singing these words to God.
Then I began to hear other voices. Opening my eyes, I saw that the porch was crowded with children from the village. Together, we sang over and over the simple words,
Jesus loves me, this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to him belong
They are weak, but he is strong.
By the dim lamplight on the porch of that thatched hut, Jesus healed my soul. This was nearly five decades ago, but I’ve never forgotten it.
From that night to this day, I have found my Father’s promise true:
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).
Do you need a “silent Wednesday” today?
Quote for the day:
“Solitude with God repairs the damage done by the fret and noise and clamor of the world.” —Oswald Chambers
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