God Causes the Growth

For *Nathan, *Pascal, and *Yves, this question was a great conversation starter. Nathan was on staff with Life in Messiah, and Pascal and Yves are his ministry partners. As all are burdened for the Jewish people of France – one of the largest Jewish communities in the world – they did weekly outreach in Paris’ Jewish neighborhoods. Wherever they went, they would set up their “Shalom Board” – a blackboard inscribed with the word “Shalom” – and invite people to write their answer about peace in the world on a sticky note. This proved to be a very effective way to get people engaged.

As the day went on, the three men noticed a trend. With the help of the Shalom Board, they had struck up great conversations with several people – all Gentiles. It had been five hours since they set up in this Jewish neighborhood, and yet not a single Jewish person had approached them!

How odd, Nathan thought. His friends agreed.

“Let’s pause and ask the Lord to send us a Jewish person to share with,” Pascal suggested. They bowed their heads to pray, but Pascal felt led instead to ask, “Lord, would you send us someone who needs comfort right now?”

They said “amen,” opened their eyes – and there was a man staring at the Shalom Board. The man was sharply dressed and introduced himself as *Benoit.

 “Would you like to add to our board?” Yves asked. “What do you think brings peace to the world?”

Benoit said something so quietly they nearly missed it, but they heard the word “Israel.”

“Nothing’s been the same since Hamas attacked Israel,” Benoit repeated. “Last week, my nieces told me they were called ‘dirty Jews’ at school.” His eyes filled with pain. “‘Dirty Jew.’ Can you believe it? What are we supposed to do with all this hatred?”

Nathan, Pascal, and Yves listened attentively, offering words of comfort and assurance. To their surprise, Benoit began to cry. The men hugged him and promised to pray for his nieces’ safety. This only made Benoit cry even more.

Afterward, Nathan and his friends marveled at what God had done. The Spirit had said a prayer through them – and answered it by sending a Jewish man their way who deeply needed comfort.

“Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God (Isaiah 40:1). You can answer this call today by giving to support what God is doing through Life in Messiah around the world. At a time when antisemitism is rampant, Jewish people like Benoit are in need of true peace and hope. Would you consider making a gift today so more Jewish people hear the Good News of the eternal comfort found in Messiah?