When Nora was invited to the discovery bible study, she told Regina, the disciple-maker that she doesn’t like religion and that she is not interested in the Bible.
Here is what happened next..
Despite this disappointment, Regina invited Nora to join her for lunch that day, and a friendship developed between them. They would meet several times each week at the union hall, and that grew into frequent visits at one another’s homes, which grew into Nora stopping by for dinner with Regina and Raul once or twice a week.
Regina did not try to broach the topic of God’s Word any further after Nora’s initial rebuke, yet she continued to be a good friend and a sympathetic ear. Then one week, quite unexpectedly, Nora arrived at Regina’s house just as their Discovery Bible Study was beginning. “Oh,” said Nora, “you have some friends here tonight?” “We’re just about to sit down for Bible study,” Regina answered in a nonchalant fashion.
Nora knew full well that they held Bible studies on Wednesday evenings, but Regina did not allude to that. “Well, don’t let me stop you,” Nora said as she settled herself into an armchair in the living room.
The couple’s home features a large room, part living room and part dining area, and the Bible study group would crowd around the large dining table at one end. Nora sat at the far end of the room and turned up the volume on the television. This was the beginning of a regular pattern, as Nora would “coincidentally” stop by the couple’s home every Wednesday evening, just as Bible study was about to commence.
Regina never commented on the timing, nor did she urge her friend to join them. She would have some popcorn all ready, the TV remote control handy by the armchair, and Nora would settle in to watching her favorite programs without more than a hello.
The second or third time this happened, Raul raised an objection to his wife in private. “She turns up the volume to drown us out,” he said in exasperation. “We’re just encouraging her to disrupt our Bible study!” Regina nodded in agreement, but then added thoughtfully, “But at least she’s here. We can still do our study—we just need to talk a little louder.” Raul was not convinced. “I’m afraid that some of us find it a distraction. I know I do. We need to provide an environment that’s conducive to studying God’s Word.”
“I agree,” Regina answered, “but God has brought her here to us. Don’t you think we should let Him do His work?” Raul finally saw the wisdom in his wife’s gentle urging, and the couple began to pray intently that God would change Nora’s heart.
It did not happen immediately, but God’s answer did come. One night, after about two months of the loud TV, Nora left her armchair and came to the dining table. “I’m out of popcorn,” she announced without preamble.
Regina looked up from her Bible. “There’s the kitchen,” she answered with a smile. Nora was not offended by the pointed response, but her next move surprised the dozen or so people gathered at the table. She picked up an empty chair from nearby, set it down in the kitchen doorway facing away from the dining room, then knelt herself down on it—facing backward and staring at the people gathered to study God’s Word.
She did not say anything further, but she also did not make any more popcorn. She simply sat backward on that chair and watched as the study continued. When the study ended, Nora immediately rose from the chair and left without a word.
The next week, Nora forsook the television altogether, hovering in the kitchen until the study started. She then took the same chair, positioned it the same way, and repeated the previous week’s silent observation. The people around the table found this somewhat disconcerting, perhaps even more distracting than a loud TV, but they had all been praying every week for their strange guest, so they made the best of the situation.
And Nora repeated the performance the following week. About halfway through that study, however, something happened. The group had been studying Genesis, and someone raised a question about what constituted a “day” in the passage. They were wrestling with the question of when a day begins in God’s timetable, when suddenly a strange voice was heard.
“A day starts at midnight.”
Every head around the table started up, and wondering eyes turned toward the kitchen. There sat Nora, looking as though she had merely stated an obvious fact. There was a moment of uncertain silence, then Regina started to laugh.
“Okay,” she said, walking toward her friend with open arms, “I think it’s time for you to come sit at the table now.”
Since that time, Nora has become a committed follower of Christ, and she is one of the most active participants each week in Regina and Raul’s Discovery Bible Study.
But when Regina first met her, she immediately assumed that Nora was not a person of peace; indeed, she was openly hostile to Christianity. Yet we can never assume that we know what God is doing in the life of another person, and there are times when He leads His followers into unexpected relationships specifically because He has a miraculous plan to unfold. And He was busy at that time unfolding yet another such plan for Raul and Regina.
The Father Glorified: True Stories of God’s Power Through Ordinary People, by Pat Robertson and David Watson.
Like I said earlier. This is a good book to read. (If you buy the book through this link, I would get a little commission at no extra cost to you).
