Previous Challenge Entry
Topic: Seasons (12/08/03)
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TITLE: Seasons of emotion By June Walker 12/14/03 |
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In the book of Job, Job was afflicted by many tests. I wondered when I heard this story as a child how on earth poor Job could have put up with those afflictions. I for one could never put up with that, I was sure.
However, when my turn came, this is what happened.
I was working in my office, early for once, waiting for a colleague when a young man, whom I presumed to be a student, came into my room. He shuffled in, but then students are often shy, so I didn't think his behaviour was strange. I asked if he was looking for someone in particular and walked across to him, towards the little hallway connecting my office with the corridor outside.
Horror of horrors, he slammed the door shut, grabbed me, and forced me to the floor. I thought, ‘Oh my God, is this how I am going to die? Behind a door? What a terrible end!’
Well, you have probably guessed some of the rest of my story. He started to force his attentions on me, because he was a would-be rapist.
I prayed more fervently in that instant behind that door than I have ever done in my life, in my mind though, not out loud. Suddenly, I started to sing hymns- out loud. The shock of my starting to sing stopped my attacker in his tracks. Imagine my surprise when he suddenly broke down and cried.
Imagine my greater surprise when I found myself saying to this would-be rapist, ‘What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
He told me he’d just heard his mother had died. I said ‘Oh you poor thing’ and patted his head. ‘You must feel terrible.’ He sobbed and sobbed. Of course, his sadness cancelled the rape attack.
When he’d stopped crying, I led him over to my desk and asked him if he wanted a cup of coffee. This gave me time to start up some kind of normal conversation with the man, whilst at the same time, working out how to get out of that room without his renewing his attack.
He then asked me what song I sang and why. He said he liked pop songs. I found myself saying I was a Christian. He looked kind of interested and said ‘Oh yes, there were Christians in prison with me’. He’d just got out of prison that day!
I had to force myself to keep calm. I wanted desperately to escape. But how?
I knew my office door was difficult to open because it had a broken lock. In fact, I had left it open that morning because of the broken lock. I asked the man if he could open the door for me because I couldn’t do it myself. I didn’t expect he would. But he walked over to the door with me and opened it as if all was normal, and he was opening a door at a shopping mall to let a woman through. I ran like a hare out of a trap when I got out of that room.
Our secretary phoned the police and they caught the man. He’d had a kitchen knife with him. He’d really meant business. What a narrow escape!
If I had not had the belief that God would rescue me, was rescuing me, had a hand in the rescue, what would I have done, I wonder? Maybe I would have tried to fight my attacker off. That would certainly have ended with the attacker using that knife. Thanks to my faith in God, I escaped.
And the man was put in jail, not for murder but for the lesser charge of for indecent assault. Did he ever enquire about becoming a Christian when he got there, I wonder?
When this severe test of faith came, I found I was able to keep my faith strong and escape.
That was one season of bad luck for me. This, of course, is the season of joy, as we are all approaching Christmas week, 2003. Our preacher said today that to appreciate joy, sometimes we have to experience the bad stuff in our lives. The bad stuff happens to us all, in one form or another. Presumably, we learn something from overcoming it and go on our way a little bit stronger, a little bit wiser. I know I have.
The ultimate joy is to continue on our path of faith as best we can. We grow from the lessons and experiences and obtain the reward at the end of it all.
For a Christian, that means walking even closer with God and appreciating that it is His voice talking to us, helping us, showing us what to do. He helps us get through the seasons of emotional turmoil, helps us appreciate the seasons of abundance.
With Him as our true friend, we learn how to avoid the bad and walk towards the good.
Psalm 108,verse 13: ‘Through God, we will do valiantly.’