Over the past year, a local Bible translator serving her Timber* language group in Southeast Asia grew so discouraged, she decided to quit. Ani* now believes she was under spiritual attack.
“The enemy tested my faith and my commitment to this work again and again,” says Ani. “I am not a very strong person, and my family was going through a lot of hard challenges.”
During her lowest points, it seemed that Ani’s thoughts were bombarded by accusations. “What use are you?” she heard herself thinking. “What’s the point of trying to do this kind of work? It would be better if you just quit. It would be so much easier.
“This translation work isn’t important; you should just stay in your village and live normally like everyone else.”
Eventually, Ani actually did quit the translation team and told a number of people about her decision.
“But when I went back to my village,” Ani recalls, “I had a dream one night. A man came to me in my dream and said, ‘Why are you quitting the work God called you to do? You made the wrong decision. Remember the story of Jonah? You can’t run away from doing what God wants you to do!’
“I was shocked,” says Ani. “I woke up and right away I prayed, ‘Lord, I don’t want to become like Jonah. I won’t quit the work you’ve called me to do!'”
Ani’s experience was a powerful reminder and a huge encouragement to the rest of the Timber team, says the team leader.
“We really are under constant pressure from the enemy, who doesn’t want Timber people to hear and understand God’s Word. As a team, we pray every morning for God’s protection, strength, and peace for each of us and our families.”
*Pseudonyms used due to sensitivity. Images used are representative only.