Last month during Khmer New Year we observed a Trot Dance being performed at our neighbors’ home. This traditional dance is typically performed before the start of Khmer New Year. It’s believed to ward off bad luck from the previous year and prevent evil spirits from entering into the home for the new year.
Over our past 10 months here, we’ve seen our neighbors perform many religious rituals. The Buddhist belief Do good, get good. Do bad, get bad, is their prime motivation. We’ve watched them give gifts of food to over 50 monks on two different occasions, burn incense, offer food to the spirits, anoint their house with water, have monks bless their home, wash themselves with water—they do and do and do.
Several weeks ago, something happened. The wife of the neighbor family is experiencing some sort of depression and now rarely leaves the house. We’ve seen a change come over the family. When we watched the Trot Dance, we saw her for the first time in many weeks. I was shocked at how much she’s changed. Her face and eyes were expressionless. It was a face of totally hopelessness, so different from the happy lady we used to see performing rituals to do good.
When I saw our neighbor watching the Trot Dance being performed for her home, I wanted to run over and shake her and say, “Don’t you understand? This isn’t going to change anything. This isn’t going to help. Jesus has already paid the price for your bad and He can rescue you.” But as I looked at her hopeless face, I felt hopeless. Is there any hope for this women, for her family? They are entrenched in the religion of their country, their government, their family—it is everything to them. What can I say to change their hearts? Nothing. I’ve tried. To my Chinese friend, my Indian friend, my Albanian friend, to a Khmer neighbor. They all say the same things. They can’t change from the religion of their family and they believe every religion is right. It’s hopeless.
Yet I am regularly reminded of the catechism we teach our children: Who can change a sinner’s heart? The Holy Spirit alone. We can do nothing on our own. I cannot convince our neighbors or friends of their need for Jesus, that faith in Jesus is the only way. But the Holy Spirit can and will to those He calls to Himself. We must live with the hope that He can use our words, our lives, and our prayers to call people to Himself.
We live here in Cambodia by your prayers and support for our family. Please pray with us that the Holy Spirit will change the hearts of the people here and call them to Himself.
Encouraging text, even though it is about hopelessness. A reminder that the work is not ours but God’s. He’s the one controlling every heart, every evangelistic encounter, every word we say. We just do what our master commands us. You’ll see the fruit of His work, through you, in due time!
Josh and Amy, I have been amazed numerous times in my 40 years of ministry how that when I could see nothing indicating God’s work in someone’s heart in an encounter with them; only to discover many years later that they remembered the actual words spoken-long after I forgot the conversation. God is at work honoring His Word and the love of Christ in and through us even when we cannot see it. Praise His name.