But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. (1 Cor. 2:9-10, ESV)
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9, ESV)
God has a master plan and purpose through every step of life's journey. Randy seemed like a random, poorly educated prisoner - a career criminal - but he had come to resolute faith in the truth of God's Word. He read the Word and shared the Word and didn't back down. Randy shared and modeled Christ to his very bright, arrogant, atheist prison cellmate, David. David determined to destroy Randy and Randy's God, but lost that battle, surrendering his life to Jesus.
Fast-forward to David in college. He encounters a personable, charismatic, devout Muslim, who is determined to draw others into the Muslim faith. David's relationship with that Muslim leads to a journey for both of them that sees that brilliant, articulate, devout Muslim, Nabeel Qureshi radically surrender his life to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. That costly decision hurt his loving family and cost him many friends. Yet, in tears, and with an undying commitment to the truth, Nabeel forsook all others for the sake of embracing Jesus.
Nabeel completed medical school, secured his M.D., but chose to leave a promising medical career for the sake of devouring everything that he could learn about the God of the Bible and his Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Everything that he learned, he shared. His faith was grounded in truth, but filtered through a gracious and loving spirt that captivated others. Nabeel joined RZIM and was mentored by Ravi Zacherias. He quickly became one of the world's leading apologetic voices, especially in the Muslim world. His story and message resonated with people from all over the world. Three books followed. God was clearly in all of this, starting with saving Randy's life.
Then the devastating news came at the end of Nabeel's 32nd year of life - stage 4, terminal stomach cancer. What in the world was God doing? Why should God allow the Hugh Hefners of the world to live long and prosper while taking out an effective evangelist who was leading hundreds of thousands into the kingdom of God?
Nadeel attacked the cancer by moving his wife and infant daughter to Houston, where he would receive cutting edge cancer therapy. Nabeel also embarked on a video-cast prayer journey, prayerfully documenting each step in his painful bodily digression, all the while faithfully trusting and expecting God to heal him. Thousands of faithful believers from around the world daily prayed for Nabeel, expecting God to heal him. Nabeel was anointed with oil and prayed for by numerous evangelical leaders.
Yet, despite the overwhelming onslaught of faithful prayer and the best medical treatment, Nabeel's cancer progressed and painfully worsened. Even as the pain was intensifying, Nabeel faithfully ministered and preached to local congregations. He compared his painful journey to that of Christ and reminded us that there was no comparison. Nabeel found comfort in Jesus' suffering for him and embraced the cross like very few people ever do. Nabeel's faith would not die, even if his body was dying. Nabeel and Jesus were about the same age as they faced death.
It was difficult for us to watch Nabeel's faith in the midst of the struggle and not weep for him, and for Michelle and Ayah. We do not weep as those who have no hope, but we weep because of the courage and faith that is on display when hope in this world is exhausted.
When hurricane Harvey hit Houston, many of us wondered why God was allowing such difficulties to be poured down on the life of His faithful servant. Then the news came, Nabeel left this earth and graduated to glory in the presence of the Savior that he faithfully served. Grief, such deep grief for Michelle and Ayah and the entire family, but such peace and confidence in the certainty of Nabeel's presence with Jesus.
Nabeel's memorial service has been watched by about 350,000 people from around the world last time I checked. How many 34 year olds in this world who did not hold office or were not entertainers or famous athletes would have a memorial service watched by so many people? Perhaps not another 34 year old on this planet.
So, why would a loving, all-powerful, gracious, merciful God allow the abnormal (Ravi's phrase) premature death of someone like Nabeel? Doesn't this show that God, if there is a God, doesn't care, that he doesn't answer prayer, and that faith is an illusion? Those, of course, are the questions of the skeptic, the person who does not understand that our God's ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts.
How thankful we are that He sees the whole picture, the story from beginning to end, and we know that all of His ways are perfect. That is why Nabeel's young wife, Michelle, just ten days after Nabeel's death, could share a video on "A More Glorious End," that has been seen by nearly 150,000 people on Youtube. Her statement of biblical grief by a young widow is extraordinary.
We are thankful that God does not answer to us, but we answer to Him. We are thankful that our prayers are filtered through His Spirit who intercedes for us according to God's will, not ours. We are thankful that God helps us see and understand all of life from an eternal perspective. Long life is not to be cherished, but a faithful life, and Nabeel set a high standard as he wholeheartedly sought to live out faithfulness. Thank you Nabeel and thank you Michelle and all of those who walked beside them, and who continue to walk with Michelle on this journey.
In God's economy, Nabeel's work in his physical body was done. He has left videos and books that will continue what he started. The Holy Spirit will take care of the rest. God will continue raise up others. I am reminded that with the death of Jim Elliott at age 29, God raised up an army of tens of thousands to go to the mission fields and take his place - including my parents. God does not waste time. God does not waste cancer. God does not waste dying and death. All of this has a glorious purpose as we all journey to the same end reached by Nabeel - to faithfully finish our work in this world whenever that may be.
Hugh Hefner died just two weeks after Nabeel. I hate to even pollute my screen with his name. His 91 years were invested in every vice and evil that corrupts the heart and mind of mankind. Long life was God's mercy, because God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but desires every person to repent and come to a knowledge of the truth. Long life is not a mark of blessing, but a sign of God-provided space for repentance - space that was wasted in HH's life.
This week I saw the documentary on Steve McQueen, who died at age 50. The first 49 years of his life were spend pursuing the same lusts that HH peddled, and they devastated Steve McQueen's life. By God's grace, a flight instructor shared and modeled Christ and invited Steve to church, where Steve surrendered to Jesus. Shortly after that surrender, he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer - he had less than six months to live. Steve did not get the chance to grow in faith and share that faith with the world, but he took the little faith that he had and embraced it and trusted Christ with it, dying with Billy Graham's personal Bible clutched in his hands on his chest. Again, long life is not the measure of success and blessing, but the measure is faith and faithfulness.
In Luke 18:8, Jesus says that He is coming again, but when he comes, "will He find faith (faithfulness) on the earth"? None of us know the day or hour that we will meet Jesus, but the only question for us is not when we go, but whether we are faithful. Nabeel modeled faithfulness. He used the many rich gifts entrusted to him by his Heavenly Father as a faithful steward to advance the kingdom of God in grace and truth. How about us? How will we use what God has entrusted to us in the time left for us. What kind of stewardship are we practicing and what kind of legacy will we be leaving? Until we meet Jesus, may He find each of us faithful.
No comments:
Post a Comment