Since I'm stuck at home with painful kidney stones, I've been able to do some long overdue reading. I just finished a book entitled, "I Dared to Call Him Father" by Bilquis Sheikh. Written in 1978, it's a true story of a high-society Pakistani Muslim woman's encounter with God. It was a rather interesting read that kept me turning the pages, anxious to know the final outcome.
Becoming a Christian in a resolutely fundamental Muslim country can make life very precarious to say the least. The ostracising from family and talk in the village of “something having to be done” about this woman who had become an “infidel” were not easy to bear. God protected her from danger on many occasions.
The most profound part of the book for me was her simple approach in living for God. She based all of her thoughts, decisions and actions upon the continuance of His Presence. As long as she felt His Presence, she had peace and comfort. Whenever she began to either fear or put her trust in the ‘arm of the flesh’, His Presence departed. If she repented of these things and simply trusted and obeyed God's guidance, she sensed His presence and protection once again. Once, when she was concerned about not seeing the results of her witnessing, the Lord told her, "The results are not your problem. All you have to worry about is obedience. Seek My Presence, not results." Maintaining the knowledge and sense of His presence was everything to her.
Lord, may I always be aware of Your Presence. Help me to quickly seek Your Presence whenever I sense Your departure. I want to live in Your Presence every moment of every day of my life. Amen.
Becoming a Christian in a resolutely fundamental Muslim country can make life very precarious to say the least. The ostracising from family and talk in the village of “something having to be done” about this woman who had become an “infidel” were not easy to bear. God protected her from danger on many occasions.
The most profound part of the book for me was her simple approach in living for God. She based all of her thoughts, decisions and actions upon the continuance of His Presence. As long as she felt His Presence, she had peace and comfort. Whenever she began to either fear or put her trust in the ‘arm of the flesh’, His Presence departed. If she repented of these things and simply trusted and obeyed God's guidance, she sensed His presence and protection once again. Once, when she was concerned about not seeing the results of her witnessing, the Lord told her, "The results are not your problem. All you have to worry about is obedience. Seek My Presence, not results." Maintaining the knowledge and sense of His presence was everything to her.
Lord, may I always be aware of Your Presence. Help me to quickly seek Your Presence whenever I sense Your departure. I want to live in Your Presence every moment of every day of my life. Amen.
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