I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. Job 42:2
The evangelist, Andrew, stared into the gun, wondering why the man didn’t fire. The assassin grew frustrated, then frightened, and finally he fled from the room.
The phone rang, and Andrew found himself talking to the man who had come to kill him minutes earlier.
“The Muslim leaders offered me a big reward to kill you,” the would-be assassin explained. “I rode across Bangladesh to come to your office. The reward was mine. I was ready to shoot, but I couldn’t move my arm. I couldn’t pull the trigger.” The evangelist praised the Lord for protection.
Andrew found it somewhat comical. “So what can I do for you now?” he asked.
“Sir, I still can’t move my arm, and it’s because of you! Can you help me?”
Right on the phone Andrew prayed, and instantly the man regained full use of his arm. Astounded by the miracle, he returned to the evangelist’s office and began to ask questions about this “Jesus” of whom the Muslim leaders seemed to be afraid.
The evangelist patiently explained the good news of Jesus’ love, even offering tea to the man who’d come to kill him. After forty-five minutes, the man prayed to receive Jesus into his own heart. The former hit man’s ministry now is to destroy the works of the devil. To this day, he is a fellow missionary in Bangladesh.
The assassin’s would-be murder attempt was a comedy in errors. If it were a movie, the audience would have cheered aloud when the protagonist, Andrew, came onto the scene. Like any good movie hero, Andrew did not just defeat his enemy’s plans. He confounded them, even to the point of having tea with the hit-man-turned-convert. This was not going according to plan. The devil constantly has to go back to the drawing board to rethink his plans for our destruction. Andrew was not a victim of his circumstances, and neither are you. If he had been shot, his death also would have been a witness, and so will you. Unlike the devil’s schemes, God’s plans for your life cannot be thwarted.
This is one of the readings from the book, Extreme Devotion, available from VOM’s online bookstore. You can also sign up to receive Extreme Devotion daily via email.
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