Lee Wong lived many years ago in a small village in central China. He had been brought up to worship idols. But when missionaries came to his village, he learned that God loved him so much that He sent His Son to die for his sins. He believed this good news, and God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, became his Savior. From that time on he shared this good news with his friends.
A few months after Lee Wong became a Christian, news came that a group of bandits was on its way to their village. The news had barely gone through the village when the bandits appeared. They seemed to be in a hurry and only stopped to seize all the young men they could find. They bound them securely together and led them off as prisoners.
Lee Wong found himself being tied tightly to Chang, one of his friends whom he had often had long talks with about the
Lord Jesus.
They reached the town of Hi’shien just before it got dark, and, as there was little resistance from the townspeople, the bandits soon took it over. The bandits decided to stay there for the night. They checked the prisoners and tightened the ropes which bound Lee and Chang. The ropes cut into their flesh and they were thrown roughly onto the ground in the dark inner room of a small house.
Later on that night four bandits came into the room where Lee and Chang lay. After locking the door they began to play a game. Lee lay in silence watching his captors, and as he watched he was busy thinking. Some weeks before he had been reading a story in the Bible which one of the missionaries had given him. It was about a man named Peter who had been shut up in prison, but who had had a remarkable escape. Now, Peter’s God was Lee’s God, and the missionary had said that He was “the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:88Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Hebrews 13:8)). Lee began to pray, “Oh, Lord,” he said, “when Peter was in prison, you made the chains fall off. Lord, do it again please.” He also prayed for his friend, asking that he also might be set free and that he would come to know the Savior.
The soldiers soon tired of their game and began to yawn. One by one they lay down ready to sleep. Every now and then one of them would sit up and take a look at the prisoners who lay as still as they could.
While he prayed, Lee worked his hands gently up and down and soon found, to his delight, that he had worked his ropes loose. Before long one hand was free and he knew it would not be long before he was completely free. Very quietly he stretched out his hand and touched Chang only to find that he also had loosened his ropes, although he was not yet free.
Lee began to pray again. “Oh, Lord, when Peter went out of the prison, the soldiers fell asleep. Do it again, Lord; make these four soldiers fall asleep.” Then he lay very still listening. The soldiers were breathing deeply, but every now and then one of them would move, and Lee knew that if it were discovered that they had loosened their ropes, they would be beaten and probably tied back to back. “Oh, Lord,” he prayed earnestly, “please make them snore so I will know that they are sound asleep.”
Sure enough, one bandit after another began to snore! Lee and his friend worked hard at their ropes until at last they were both free. They got up and stood shaking on their feet. They had been tied so tightly that it was some moments before they could move. When they could, they tiptoed quietly to the door. They held their breath in fear as they turned the heavy key in the lock of the door. It made such a loud noise that they were sure it would wake up the men. But no, they continued to snore loudly.
Very softly, the two prisoners crept out, closing the door behind them. They had to cross another room, but it was empty. When they reached the outer door, they found to their relief that it was open! Quietly the two went down the dark street, keeping as much as possible in the deepest shadows. Chang knew the town well, so he guided his friend out to the farmland, and soon they arrived back in their own village.
“Your God really answers prayer!” Chang exclaimed as they walked down the deserted village street. “I want to know more about the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Just then they saw a light streaming out into the night from a window down a side street. They turned and walked down to see where the light was coming from, and Lee saw that it was the room where the missionaries had been meeting the night he had first heard about God’s way of salvation. As they came closer, they could hear the sound of voices. The Christians of the village were praying for Lee and Chang to be released! What happiness there was when Lee and Chang walked into the room!
Lee Wong never forgot the wonderful deliverance the Lord Jesus had given him that day, and from that day on he was known as “Peter.” Chang accepted the Lord Jesus as his Savior too, and from then on he also spent his time telling others about Jesus.
Wasn’t it good that Lee Wong had read his Bible and knew the story about Peter? We have such a wonderful treasure in the Bible, which is the Word of God. It is the way God talks to us, and if we read it, we can get all the help we need to get through every day we live. Maybe none of us will ever be in the situation Lee and Chang were in, but every one of us needs God’s help and wisdom each day. “[Your] word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105105NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:105)). When you are going through your day, He can give you the wisdom you need each moment through what you have read in His Word (like a lamp that shows what’s right at your feet as you walk a dark path). His Word will also give you the wisdom you need for decisions that affect the future (like a strong light to shine farther down the path of life). Another thing the Bible does for us is found in Isaiah 30:21: “[Your] ears shall hear a word behind [you], saying, This is the way, walk ... in it, when [you] turn to the right hand, and when [you] turn to the left.” If you are turning the wrong way, the Lord can speak to you through His Word, to keep you in the right way. What a treasure we have in the Bible!
Messages of God’s Love 8/14/2022