“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” – Proverbs 15:1
I remember it like it was yesterday. We were in the Congo. The Pastor’s son we were with had just died and we were in the morgue to identify the body and pray for the baby to be raised from the dead. The morgue attendants let us see the body but quickly tried to usher us out before we could pray. The pastor would not be denied. One of the guys on our team stood with the pastor and let the attendants know that we would not be leaving without praying for the baby. Tensions ran high. The atmosphere escalated and neither party backed down.
Finally, the morgue attendants locked our team behind two iron gates. A couple of the security guards came running up yelling and brandishing AK-47’s, waving them in our faces. Through the gates both parties were arguing. Through an interpreter we discovered that they were holding us behind the Iron Gate so that they could call the authorities. Our interpreter overheard the call to the police. He looked at me and said, “This is not good. What we have done is unlawful. We will stand trial and spend 4 years in prison. They are telling the police that an angry mob has entered the morgue illegally and are causing a problem. The police are dispatching 30 men in riot gear to take care of us. They will come with guns and clubs, we will be beaten!”
My heart sank. I REALLY did not want to get beat up by an angry mob of Congolese police. More than that I didn’t want to rot away in a Congolese jail for 4 years, away from my wife and kids. I texted my wife in the US: “Under arrest, PRAY” Now, between the harsh words being spoken through the gate and the fear concerning our beating to come, emotions were boiling. I tried to center on the Lord and I simply asked the Holy Spirit, “What do we do?”
As soon as I asked, I heard the reply in my spirit: “A gentle answer turns away wrath...” I quickly instructed the men with our team, “A gentle answer turns away wrath… So calm down and be quiet! When the police get here they will find us as gentle as doves. Got it?!” It took a few minutes, but after taking a few deep breaths, the team relaxed.
When the police showed up, they came ready for a fight. Their faces were steeled for a confrontation. They came with guns and clubs, but when they jumped off the truck, what they saw was NOT what had been described on the phone. We were as gentle as doves, not raging like lions. After being interrogated (with a gun in our faces the whole time I might add) we were let go.
LIFE LESSON?
The Bible works. Read the entire story starting here.
I remember it like it was yesterday. We were in the Congo. The Pastor’s son we were with had just died and we were in the morgue to identify the body and pray for the baby to be raised from the dead. The morgue attendants let us see the body but quickly tried to usher us out before we could pray. The pastor would not be denied. One of the guys on our team stood with the pastor and let the attendants know that we would not be leaving without praying for the baby. Tensions ran high. The atmosphere escalated and neither party backed down.
Finally, the morgue attendants locked our team behind two iron gates. A couple of the security guards came running up yelling and brandishing AK-47’s, waving them in our faces. Through the gates both parties were arguing. Through an interpreter we discovered that they were holding us behind the Iron Gate so that they could call the authorities. Our interpreter overheard the call to the police. He looked at me and said, “This is not good. What we have done is unlawful. We will stand trial and spend 4 years in prison. They are telling the police that an angry mob has entered the morgue illegally and are causing a problem. The police are dispatching 30 men in riot gear to take care of us. They will come with guns and clubs, we will be beaten!”
My heart sank. I REALLY did not want to get beat up by an angry mob of Congolese police. More than that I didn’t want to rot away in a Congolese jail for 4 years, away from my wife and kids. I texted my wife in the US: “Under arrest, PRAY” Now, between the harsh words being spoken through the gate and the fear concerning our beating to come, emotions were boiling. I tried to center on the Lord and I simply asked the Holy Spirit, “What do we do?”
As soon as I asked, I heard the reply in my spirit: “A gentle answer turns away wrath...” I quickly instructed the men with our team, “A gentle answer turns away wrath… So calm down and be quiet! When the police get here they will find us as gentle as doves. Got it?!” It took a few minutes, but after taking a few deep breaths, the team relaxed.
When the police showed up, they came ready for a fight. Their faces were steeled for a confrontation. They came with guns and clubs, but when they jumped off the truck, what they saw was NOT what had been described on the phone. We were as gentle as doves, not raging like lions. After being interrogated (with a gun in our faces the whole time I might add) we were let go.
LIFE LESSON?
The Bible works. Read the entire story starting here.
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