A few words are all it took to stop Vadivel in his tracks.
Vadivel lives near the hills of Sri Lanka’s central region. Even more beautiful than these hills is his story, which shows that God doesn’t give up on His children.
When Vadivel first became a Christian, he worshipped Jesus with great zeal. He had been brought from darkness into the light of His love, and this was cause for rejoicing!
But as time went on and he faced hard times, Vadivel’s outlook changed. He was fired from his job and faced financial struggles. His son became ill. All these things added up and caused tumult in his home.
To add to Vadivel’s problems, his relatives and friends began to blame him, pointing out that these things happened because he left their traditions to follow Christ. They repeatedly tried to dissuade him from serving Jesus.
In time, their counsel wore him down. He stopped reading his Bible and even became bitter toward the Christian faith.
But his opposition melted away when a kind woman, also a believer, came to his village and told him, “The Lord is so good that He has blessed you with a healthy life amidst all these problems.”
That woman was Geetha, a Gospel for Asia native missionary, and unbeknownst to Vadivel, she had come to that village specifically to encourage him in his faith. The words she spoke were ones the Lord had laid on her heart.
It was true, Vadivel realized. He did have much to be thankful for! He asked the Lord’s forgiveness for his actions. Right there, he bowed his head and rededicated his life to serving his Savior.
Today Vadivel again plays an active part in his church. And his family worships Jesus, too. Vadivel is also seeing the Lord’s provision in his areas of struggle. And he is grateful for the joy of serving the God who never gave up on him.