Arif greeted Brad, a Frontiers field worker, and his friend Mishal before settling into a chair in Brad’s living room. The three men met weekly to study the Old Testament. So far, they had worked their way from creation to God’s promise of a son for Abraham.
Along with Mishal and Brad, Arif opened his Bible to Genesis 22, the passage they would be reading for this week’s study. A quick skim of the passage revealed that the day’s reading was familiar.
“Have you heard this story before?” Brad asked.
“Everyone knows the story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son,” Mishal said. “We celebrate Eid al-Adha each year.”
In honor of the ram God provided for Abraham in place of his son, Arif and Mishal joined others in their community to sacrifice a sheep and share meat with the poor, neighbors, and friends for the Feast of the Sacrifice.
“That’s great,” Brad said. “Let’s read the story from Genesis.”
“I had no idea that this is a story about faith in God!”
As the men read through the passage, Arif was surprised to find that the Bible story was longer than the version in the Quran, with more detail. Even though he had grown up celebrating this story, it had never occurred to him that its significance might go beyond sharing meat and gaining favor with God through a sacrifice.
“I had no idea that this is a story about faith in God!” Arif exclaimed when they reached the end.
“It does show Abraham’s faith,” Brad agreed. “So, how can we apply what we learned from this passage? Do you have trouble trusting God with anything?”
“I want to trust God to provide for me.”
Arif drummed his fingers on the table and paused to think. “Whenever I’m doing a construction job, I keep exact account of costs and charge my clients for each small expense. I’m worried that my business won’t survive if I don’t pay attention to every detail.”
Brad nodded. “Do you think maintaining tight control helps your faith to grow?”
Arif sighed. Abraham was willing to give up what he loved most—his son. What was the cost of a bag of concrete compared to that? Perhaps God would provide for him the same way He had for Abraham.
”God will take care of me.”
“This week,” Arif said, “I want to trust God to provide for me and not take every small cost into account when I bill my clients.”
“That’s an excellent takeaway,” Brad replied. “I can’t wait to see what God does.”
As Arif walked into Brad’s house the next week, Brad asked him about his wide grin.
“I did it!” Arif said. “Every time I was tempted to focus too closely on the cost of minor details, I remembered that God will take care of me. And He did! My business hasn’t suffered at all.”
Brad smiled, knowing that this Arif had made a step toward fully understanding Abraham’s story and God’s provision of the ultimate Sacrifice—Jesus Christ.
Pray:
- Pray that Arif and Mishal will continue to study the Bible and will discover that Jesus is the only sacrifice they need.
- Ask God to help Arif see the power of faith in his life and be encouraged to trust in God fully.
- Ask the Lord to stir up more interest among Muslims to study Scripture in communities like Arif’s.
A Frontiers worker describes her greatest joys on the field and shares how Ramadan can be a truly sacred time.
This account comes from a long-term worker. Names and places have been changed for security.