When GPS Takes You Past Cambodian New Year

 My eyes flicker from the road toward the gray stone entrance with elaborate designs. I return my focus to the task at hand: following the directions back home.

But my husband's interest is also piqued. "We should turn in to see what's going on there."

I'm tempted, but I also know we still have an hour and 15 minute drive back home. Stopping now would guarantee my youngest got to bed late. 

Plus we'd already grabbed Indian cuisine from a food truck. A splash of something different than our usual.

But after passing a second entrance, I cave. 

I pull into the gravel road and we quickly realize we'd stumbled upon a special celebration in this Buddhist temple complex. One that was winding down, but worth hopping out to explore.

We meander through a long row of vendor tents selling Southeast Asian food and drinks. Many closing shop after a long day.

We learn a special all-day celebration had wrapped up for the Cambodian new year. 

Trash cans overflow with drink and food containers. Long rows of tables contain mounds of leftover rice. Piles of fruit and incense set before altars out of thanksgiving to Buddha.

We weave our way through the Buddhist complex. We stroll past dozens of gold and colorful Buddhist statues. We admire the architecture of the Buddhist temple. We watch the rainbow-colored prayer flags above our heads flap in the gentle breeze.

My husband and I explain a bit about Buddhist beliefs with our boys. They stroll quietly through the complex, taking in all that was different.

I miss living cross-culturally. Stepping outside of American culture for 30 minutes alongside my boys feels like a mini adventure. A sampling of the incredible world beyond our country.

And while there's a real heaviness to a religion that doesn't honor Jesus, it's an opportunity to pray for those who walk in darkness. 

To stand on the front lines of intercession on their behalf. An invitation to pray for God to receive the glory He deserves from all people, even those who don't yet worship Jesus.

When it was time to head back home, GPS took us back to that same Indian food truck we'd stopped by earlier for dinner. And I couldn't help but wonder if the Lord directed us that way so we could be reminded of His heart for the world. And that it isn't as far away as it sometimes feels to me.

On the car ride home, our boys asked questions about our faith. I love these types of organic conversations sparked by learning about other cultures.

My second children's chapter book is based in a Buddhist country. And I'm grateful my boys got a small sample of this worldview in-person today. I'm glad I stopped to explore even if it meant my youngest getting to bed late.

May our hearts be spurred to pray for our Buddhist friends in our neighborhoods, a nearby city, or half-way around the globe. 

May we continue to marvel at how we serve a God so great that everyone—including Buddhists—should know and worship Him.

And may we yearn for the day when our Buddhist friends bring God glory in a special way only they can contribute.

Only Jesus

“Just pray for God to heal me.” My mom’s words crackle across an international phone line in 2006. 

I sit in a living room on the other side of the world.

Six months ago, my mom almost died from an illness the doctors couldn’t pinpoint. But now after seeing a specialist, we know it’s a rare disease. The physician’s prognosis isn’t great—five quality years of life.

I nod my head. Words tangled together in my throat. I want nothing more than my mom’s health to be restored. A tear trickles down my cheek.

After finishing the phone call, the Holy Spirit whispers a surprising word, “Don’t pray for healing. Pray for her to delight in Jesus more than anything else.”

This instruction went against every fiber of my being.

And the prophet Jonah understood this dilemma all too well.

LEANING INTO THE UNEXPECTED

In the book of Jonah, God commanded the prophet Jonah to go to the city of Ninevah and tell the people to repent. But instead of obeying, Jonah high tailed it in the exact opposite direction and ended up in the belly of a big fish.

Even inside the fish, Jonah didn’t repent. He praised God for rescuing him, but refused to ask forgiveness for disobeying the Lord’s command. The prayer of Jonah revealed his own sinful, selfish heart: God’s mercy extended to him was acceptable, but not to wicked people like the Ninevites.

The root issue for Jonah was failing to understand how great God is and His incredible worth to be worshipped by all nations (Isa. 49:6). God invited Jonah into glimpsing this beautiful truth, but he stubbornly refused.

Jonah’s heart remained unchanged even after a big fish swallowed him. If Jonah confessed his disobedience, then I think his sinful belief that God’s mercy was only for the Israelites would’ve been uncovered and dealt with.

But that’s not the story of Jonah recorded in Scripture.

And the same can be true for us as well. We can fail to repent of sin revealed when we walk through difficulties and thereby miss the reward God intended.

The inclination for the Lord to heal my mom wasn’t wrong, but in this particular situation the path to best make God’s name great involved praying a different prayer. Taking a path I didn’t like.

OBEDIENCE MATTERS

The opportunity to obey God and pray something else was an invitation to taste and see Jesus in new ways—even if I was initially skeptical.

The temptation to ignore (disobey!) this prompt was strong. At the time, I’d just graduated from college and was single. My mom wanted to see me get married and have kids. I wanted to support my mom in whatever ways possible, especially as an ocean now separated us.

Praying a prayer that didn’t ask for her life to be extended or to be healed from her illness flew against this good desire. Why would the Lord ask me to do such a thing?

But this desire now stood in opposition to what the Lord had asked me to pray. Doubt filled my heart. Did I care more about our lives being comfortable than honoring the Lord?

Despite my uncertainty, I prayed for my mom to treasure Jesus above all else. At first, it was difficult. But day-by-day, week-by-week, month-by-month, the power and beauty of this prayer unfolded before my eyes.

My mom’s faith deepened. She no longer coveted healing above all else. Instead, she rooted her heart in the steadfast love of Christ.

Even 20 years later, the lesson God taught me through praying a counterintuitive prayer in obedience remains etched in my heart: Nothing else satisfies but Jesus.

Not health. Not my way.

Only Jesus.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

• How has God’s path sometimes differed from your own?
• What does obedience look like in how the Lord’s leading you today?

Lord, we confess we’re often more like Jonah and think somehow we know more than you do. Forgive us, Lord. Help us to follow you in obedience each and every day, even when the path is uncomfortable and counterintuitive. May we not miss a chance to grow in our faith and watch you work in beautiful ways. Remind us again and again that only Jesus can satisfy our hearts. Amen.