Emad was a drug addict in Iran - and God spoke directly to him... through a park bench
Sometimes we feel overlooked or forgotten because of the suffering we've been through or are currently experiencing. But Jesus sees it and wants to heal us where we have suffered, where we feel the greatest pain. Just like he did for Emad - literally.
From our project partner on Iran, we received this story about Emad. Emad's relationship with his father had never been easy. From the start, Emad's father Javad - a high-ranking powerful military man - wanted his son to be like himself: strong, confident and tough.
But Emad wasn't like that. As Emad grew up, Javad began to dislike him and even mock him directly. When Javad had guests from the military, he would send Emad out of the house so he wouldn't be embarrassed by his presence. Finally, when he was eighteen years old, the relationship broke down completely. Javad declared that he no longer had a son. Emad left his childhood home. He had nowhere to go and ended up on the streets. His heart and his life were broken, and it wasn't long before he was caught up in addiction.
An unexpected conversation, an unexpected result
For many years, Emad and his father had no contact. Until one day Emad received a message from one of his father's old schoolmates, Arash. Arash had become a Christian, and since Javad wasn't interested in the Gospel, he wanted to get in touch with Emad to tell him about Jesus Christ.
From the very first conversation they had, Emad was amazed by what he heard. He was especially amazed to hear that Jesus wanted to have anything to do with him - an outcast, lonely addict. The love and attention he received from Arash opened his heart to God. It wasn't long before Emad put his life in Jesus' hands.
While walking with Jesus, Emad's life began to change. He turned his back on drugs and worked to rebuild his relationships with others. Finally, seven years after leaving home, 25-year-old Emad found the courage to return to his father's house. His father couldn't deny that there had been a change in him and a reunion took place.
A thirst for Jesus, a miraculous sign of God's faithfulness
Now that he was thirsty to learn more, Emad wanted his own Bible. So a brave Bible distributor was asked to leave a Bible somewhere in Emad's neighborhood in Iran for him to pick up.
The Bible distributor chose a discreet location, carefully placed the Bible and sent a picture of the spot to Emad. When the image appeared on his phone, Emad was stunned. "Why did you send me this picture?" he wrote back. "That's where your book is." corresponding Bible distributor. "But why this picture?" "That's where the book is", repeated the person on the other end. "You didn't know?" "Didn't know what?"
The picture Emad had received was of an ordinary bench in a park. Emad couldn't believe his eyes. "This is the bench where I slept for four years when I was homeless", Emad explained. "That park bench is the home of all my suffering. It is the place where all my pain lives. And now God has chosen - out of all the benches in the whole city - to restore this place of my pain."
The Bible distributor thought he chose a discreet, inconspicuous place. But Jesus knew Emad's bench.
God gave Emad his Word right where his greatest pain was. The Bible distributor thought he chose a discreet, inconspicuous place. But Jesus knew Emad's bench. From that restored place of pain, God called Emad to walk into a bright future. Today, Emad walks with Jesus and enjoys having his own Bible to read. Emad and his father are building a close relationship, and Javad has even expressed love to Emad for the first time in many years. Emad and Arash pray that Javad's heart will be opened to the Gospel, along with the rest of the family.
We pray that through Emad's story you will be encouraged that Jesus also knows your bench, the place where your pain is hidden. We pray that you will be renewed in the hope that Jesus can restore all things. As with Emad, God delights in healing and rebuilding the broken places in our lives and invites us to walk with Him into the future He has for us.
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