Walls Come Falling

This is me in elementary, middle, and high school: “I am Vietnamese. I am Buddhist. I go to the temple on the weekends with my parents. I pay my respects to Buddha, kneel down before Buddha and the altar for him, and bow in reverence to Buddha three times. I offer incense in my hands, and I offer food and other sacrifices to Buddha. I am a good daughter.”

Fast forward to me, my first year in college: “Mom and Dad, I decided to become a Christian!”

If you look up “shell shock” in the dictionary, you might find my parents’ names, address, and picture. What you won’t see is a photo of a smiling Mom and Dad.

I grew up in southwest Texas, but when it came time for college, my parents encouraged me to apply to schools on the East Coast, hoping I would receive a good Ivy League-type education. What they got as a bonus was a Christian daughter. I thought my parents might be surprised by my decision, but I was completely blown away by their anger and very deep regret.

“If we had known you would become a Christian, we would’ve sent you to a local university instead.”

I shed buckets of tears then. Feeling misunderstood and rejected, I was like a leper in my family. My parents even refused to tell my very devout Buddhist grandmother on my father’s side about my “change.” On my mom’s side, I gave a Bible to my grandfather when he visited me in college and he looked at me like I’d gone mad. It took a few years of real struggle with both my immediate and extended family to see that everything that happens in my life is a part of God’s plan for this girl from an entrenched Buddhist family. It seems much easier and less painful to share this now, but the I learned that the Christian walk is the same before and after walls come up in our lives that test our faith in God.

We choose our careers, significant others, spouses, styles of clothing, brands of car, shades of make-up, and many important things like these. What we don’t decide, however, is who our family is. As our walk with God grows, we gain a more balanced perspective on His plan and our involvement in it, and the walls don’t seem to be as overwhelming. But this perspective doesn’t necessarily eliminate the pain of the past and the tension we may presently feel with our families. We grow older, but the walls of conflict stand strongly there. Sometimes the walls make things quiet. Sometimes they trap in anger. For me they have not fallen down yet, but I have hope that they will one day.

In 2 Kings 6, we read that the Arameans are fighting the Israelites. The king of Aram finds out that a man of God, Elisha, is warning Israel’s king about his enemy’s whereabouts. This infuriates the king of Aram who sends his men to find and capture Elisha.

Fast forward to one morning … Elisha and his servant wake up to find an army of horses and chariots surrounding them outside the city. Fearful, the servant of Elisha asks him what to do. Elisha’s reply? “Don’t be afraid … those who are with us outnumber those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16). Then Elisha prays for God’s divine intervention, and “the LORD opened the servant’s eyes. He looked and saw the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:17). What can we learn from this?

First, God is fighting for you. Don’t let fear, uncertainty, or walls overwhelm you. He knows the situation you are in and the struggles you are facing. Remember that God is on your side. You are surrounded by the strength of a divine God.

Secondly, God is protecting you. He is also in this spiritual battle with you. God is not going to let you face that gigantic and very difficult problem, circumstance, or wall alone. You are covered by the hand of a divine God.

Thirdly, God wants you to trust Him. Even when you can’t envision the horses and chariots in the hills, and the walls in your life can’t come down, God is working in supernatural ways that your eyes can’t perceive, your ears can’t hear, and your mind can’t grasp. You are led by the hand of a divine God.