Extreme Surroundings

The young Jewish doctor was so sad. One night, Sabina Wurmbrand tried to offer her some comfort: “God promised Abraham that the Jewish people would have a bright future. They will be like the sand on the seashore and the stars of the sky.”

The doctor looked up with tears in her eyes and said, “Like the sand on the shore, we are trampled underfoot by these Communist guards. Don’t speak to me anymore about your God.”

A few days later, Sabina became very sick. While she was lying near death in the prison hospital, the prison director came. He said, “We Communists have medicine and hospitals, and we are stronger than your God. In this hospital, you are not to mention the name of God.” Only Sabina dared to speak about the existence of God. The other women were ecstatic that someone had actually defied the director.

The following day, they forced Sabina to go back to work. God miraculously touched her body, and she was completely healed. The news spread through the prison and did not escape the ears of the sad young doctor.

She approached Sabina late that evening and said, “If your God can restore your body and give you such peace in this pit of hell, then I have to believe He is real. No other power could accomplish this. How must I be saved?”

Response

Whenever we feel like our lives are in a pit, we can be sure people are watching to see how we’ll get out of it. Christianity seems to attract interested spectators—especially when we are struggling. People observe our faith at arm’s length to determine what God is all about. They watch with keen interest when we experience a crisis. If we live by faith during times of trial, people cannot refute the evidence they see in our lives. What do people see in how you live? What does your reaction to life’s circumstances tell others about God? If you feel like your life is in a pit, remember people are watching to see how you will handle it.