Adapted from an article by Alliance international worker Esther Schaeffer, serving in Burkina Faso, West Africa
From time to time, we have nighttime visitors. After we have locked up the house and turned off the lights, we will hear someone knocking at our door.
Sometimes these guests will call to ask if they can come by in spite of the late hour. Occasionally, the night guard taps on our bedroom window to let us know someone is waiting to see us.
Crises
When people visit us at night, there is usually a crisis.
One time, a well-respected woman in our church came, her head veiled, to tell me that her husband had been hauled off to jail. She hoped I would help pay his bail to protect the family from shame.
Another time, a widow visited us whose children had been chased out of school because of unpaid school fees.
Some visit us in the night with serious marital problems. (One young woman had discovered she was pregnant, just weeks before her wedding day.) A pastor’s wife once informed me that she had just packed her bags—she was fed up and leaving her husband.
Sometimes, pastors and church leaders come to us directly from a difficult church board meeting to seek comfort or advice.
Nicodemus
These night visits remind us of Nicodemus, who also went to Jesus during the evening hours (John 3:2). Almost immediately, Jesus was able to perceive his spiritual curiosity.
Last evening I had another night call. It was a woman facing serious family issues. She was questioning her decision to trust Christ. Jesus, I prayed silently, what do you want me to say to this woman? You alone know her real need.
Night calls. Jesus’ words to Nicodemus that evening are probably history’s most quoted and best known: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son . . .”
His Light in Us
While sitting in the dark with Nicodemus, Jesus explained that the light had come into the world.
He is that light!
Pray that night callers in difficulty will see the Light of the world in us and be drawn to Him.
If you are in a dark situation, seek out someone who is living in the Light. Turn to the light of God’s Word and commit to doing His will. And then watch His light flood your life and spill over to those around you.