No Longer in the Dark

The young woman was clearly uncomfortable. She’d agreed to participate in a test group to determine the effectiveness of oral Bible-based stories in her language. But the when the story touched on angels and the spirit realm, she became nervous.

Fear of spirits, ghosts, and apparitions is very real in many cultures. The young woman mentioned above didn’t even want to talk about such things for fear of supernatural reprisal.

Every missionary can share similar stories. Sickness caused by witches. Crops failing because the farmer’s deceased mother is angry with him. A husband attempting to hide from the ancestors because he fears they will blame him for his wife’s death and retaliate against him.

So many lives in so many places around the world ruled by fear. Fear by day, and literal fear of the dark and the evil it may conceal.

But there is good news. The nervous young woman continued to listen to the Bible story. One phrase stood out. “God has authority over Satan, and humans do not have to continue under Satan’s authority.” Intrigued, the woman asked to learn more. As she learned that Christ has the authority to free us from Satan’s power, she experienced a new sense of peace. She developed a true interest in knowing God and gained a new understanding of who she is and her place in the world that God has created.

Praise God, there are many similar stories. When people have Scripture in a language they can understand they begin to see the world in a different light. A Krio speaker in Sierra Leone said, “I feel something in my heart when we are discussing this Word of God. It is talking about what God has done and how He will protect me and how I am to live.” A Kwanja speaker in Cameroon remarked, “Before, we didn’t have God’s Word, so people could just go their own way and say they didn’t know any better. But now, we have the truth of God right in front of us, so we are responsible to live by it.”

Life is precarious for all of us. Walking with God sustains us in the face of every fear and challenge. Everyone deserves the opportunity to share the confidence found through faith in Christ. You can help turn “I was in the dark. I did not understand the Word of God in another language” into “Now I gladly hear God’s Word in my language.” Click here to learn more.