“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them … Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Romans 10:14-17 NIV
I was born into a devout Muslim family that immigrated to Canada when I was eleven in the early 90s. At that point in time the cultural diversity in the small community that we lived in was very minimal. My parents homeschooled me for the first few years and I eventually attended the local high school and university. My race, culture and faith caused a lot of challenges as I participated in the community.
As the only girl with a scarf (hijab) in the Engineering Department of the university, I knew very well that I was an outsider. As a Muslim my view of God was very different than that of my Christian friends and I was convinced that I was right, and I tried my best to prove how lost and wrong they were. One thing that stood out was the kindness of my Christian friends. My friend Christina would often invite me to special events at her church which was my first real exposure to the Christian faith.
When I was in high school, I was surrounded by Christian friends, but we really didn’t talk much about faith. Most of them attended an in-school Christian Youth group once a week, which I assumed was a group just for Christians. So, I was surprised when I was invited to church events by my friend in university. I gladly accepted the invites as I saw them as opportunities to influence my friend towards Islam. Attending these events was always followed by deep conversations with Christina.
I could never convince Christina nor my friend Peter (who was always eager to have deep faith conversations) of my views but decided I needed to do some research of my own.
After 19 years of living life as a devout Muslim I began to question my faith. Not because I didn’t love God, but on the contrary, because I loved him so much. As my search continued, bible studies and other Christian groups at the university peaked my interest and I was drawn to them. The availability of such groups on campus made things easier and safer during this time since I still lived at home with my Muslim family.
After months of searching, I finally concluded that the Bible was reliable and true and thus my faith in Islam was wrong! I came to the realization that Jesus is God and that he died for my sin and right there on my bedroom floor I decided to commit my life to him. I was baptized shortly after and attended church in secret until I moved out on my own.
The Alpha course was the next step I took to understand my faith. Although I was very committed from day one, the understanding of the scripture and my newfound faith came gradually as there was so much bondage associated with my former faith and culture. It took me a long time to realize that I needed healing from my past. Growing up in a Muslim country meant participating in chants such as “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”. Our national schoolbooks had taught me bravery through stories of a young boy who saved his town by wrapping grenades to his waist and going under a tank! I was taught things about my faith from the second I was born, so cleansing layers of my former life is taking a bit of time and thankfully the Holy Spirit is being patient with me.
Long story short, the Holy Spirit used many people at different stages of my life from planting seeds, to harvest, to guiding my steps and each of them was a missionary in my eyes. They were brave enough to share their faith, kind enough to extend an invite, selfless enough to invest time in my life, and wise enough to teach. Looking back, I grew the quickest when I invested time in discipling others while continuously filling my cup with the words of the bible!
So, I hope this will encourage you to invest what you can and do what the Holy Spirit leads you to do no matter how big or small. You never know how God will use your act of faith in someone’s journey. Keep the faith and go and tell the world that he came to save us!
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galatians” 6:9 KJV
