That we might be mutually encouraged…

The Lord has recently given me a tremendous and priceless gift. Each Monday I now get to begin my week with five beautiful women, diving into, sifting through, and feasting on the Word of God. These five women were introduced to me by a dear friend and fellow missionary. She began this Bible study about three months ago, but is now on her way back to the U.S. to live and serve while her husband completes his Doctoral work.

The ladies told her they wanted someone to replace her, to lead the study, and so two weeks before her departure, she invited me to join them and they invited me to be a part of their fellowship.

All of these women are Christian refugees who left Pakistan because of intense, life-threatening persecution. All of their stories are different, but each is here, some with family and some alone, waiting for what God has in store. They did not know each other before ending up living in the same building. Some have Catholic backgrounds and some Protestant, all are faithful Christians seeking, clinging to, wrestling with, cleaving to their Hope: Christ Jesus.

We always begin our study with song and then sharing what “gifts” God has given us during the week. They sing in Urdu and I worship as I listen. My heart sings even though I don’t know the words. We rejoiced together as Slomi shared that her husband, who has been working in South Africa, was finally granted a visa to come and visit her. This totally resonated with me; my husband was in Cambodia for 2 weeks; his absence was definitely felt, and I can’t imagine being separated for as long as they have to be. Of the women, only Rehana is in country with her husband. And only one is unmarried.

This week, we began by laying hands on and praying for each of the women. They regularly suffer from medical issues, some stress related. Rahat had just shared that her gift was that she was able to praise the Lord in song despite struggling with a sore throat and cough. Rehana has been struggling with pain that radiates up and down the left side of her body; Amber, a diabetic, struggles with kidney infections and the resulting pain. Mary has just been feeling ill. When it was her turn to be prayed for, she asked me to pray especially for her laziness. I thought I had misunderstood, but no, she said “laziness–I know what I need to do, but I’m just not doing it.” My mind immediately went to the passage in James that says, “confess your sins to one another so that you will be healed.” Mary wanted healing, so she confessed before she asked God for anything. And our Bible study was just getting started.

As we opened the Word and asked God to speak to us, to change us, the expectation was palpable. We were all there to be fed. And what a feast. We began our study of Romans by reading 1:1-17. In those first 17 verses, we talked about what it meant to be a servant or a slave, what being called meant, the definition of an apostle and how that differed from a disciple. We discussed the gospel—what it was exactly that Paul felt compelled, indebted, obligated and the same time eager to share with Greek and non-Greek, wise and foolish. We delved into what it meant to be obedient and how and why our obedience comes through faith. We discussed who Jesus is and how Paul describes Him. And of course, we discussed the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes and the resulting righteousness, the right-ness, the restored relationship we get to have with the One who created all that is and yet still loves us. And we talked about faith, the difference between belief and faith. We rested in a salvation and a righteousness that are by faith from first to last.

One passage in particular made us smile. It was Paul’s declaration that he really wanted to come preach to them, have a harvest among them and strengthen them, and also that they would be mutually encouraged. The faith of the believers in Rome, faith that was strong enough that it was talked about all over the world, encouraged Paul, not because it was a result of his ministry, but because it was proof that what he was giving his life to was real, active, living… it demonstrated that he was not alone in this work or this faith. Rahat smiled and said, “this is like us… mutually encouraged.”

At the end of each lesson we end by sharing which verse or concept really spoke to us that day and then by praying in response to the Scripture, responding to what God is saying to us. Each woman had a different insight. Slomi was taken by the idea of servanthood and that when Christ’s blood bought her freedom, she was able to use that freedom to choose Him, to choose servanthood, a choice she made out love. Amber was full on the feast of God’s word, the way the gospel, spoken to us, strengthens us the way a nutritious meal strengthens our bodies. Rehana loved a simple verse that reminded her that Grace and Peace come only from God. Rahat loved the idea of being encouraged by teaching and was filled with eagerness to share with others what had been shared with her. Mary reveled in a right relationship with God based on faith, His faithfulness which merits our faith in Him. Mona, Rehana’s daughter, boldly stated that we did not need to be timid or ashamed when we share the gospel, we should be proud to be believers.

For me, I saw Paul in a new light. I saw a man who had been enlightened, taught, gifted and called out to serve. I saw a servant who relied entirely on His master. His only job was to obey, to proclaim what God had called him to proclaim, and to do it where God had appointed him to go. I saw a man whose obedience came through faith. He obeyed because He really believed, trusted, knew that what He was proclaiming was true. I saw a man excited and eager to do the work He was called to do, not worried about the details, knowing that Christ had gone before Him and was taking care of them, a man who was happy that his life and worth, from beginning to end, were not his responsibility. His only concern was obedience in/from/with faith. I saw a righteous life.

I sat with righteous women, hearing from a righteous servant and the Spirit of Truth.

And I was encouraged.