I've always held pride in having a staff of employees that was "equally yoked." Which is why I was so surprised when the Lord brought a witch to work for me. I did not know this when I hired her, and we will call her "Stacy" to protect her identity...
Stacy was vibrant and sweet and beautiful and very attuned to people's needs and emotions. She was perfect in a sales and customer service position! I was very pleased with her work. She was easy to train, asked the right questions, and had a genuine desire to please me.
We left "clues of Christianity" in our office... We had a declaration poster in our kitchen, we listened to Christian music in our office, with a prominent sign on our radio that said "DO NOT CHANGE THIS STATION OR YOU WILL BE FIRED!" Of course, I would never fire someone for changing a radio station, but we all understood how important it was to fill our office with the sounds of praise. We gave glory to God for all our achievements and we prayed when times were tough.
As Stacy got acclaimated to working with the other team members, she shared with one of the girls that she was pagan. A baby Christian would have taken the initiative to "sit her right down and tell that girl the TRUTH!" But I knew this was sensitive territory and the very state of Stacy's soul was at risk. I had to be careful... and obedient... and listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
I began to study the beliefs of pagans and self-proclaimed witches. As the layers began to peel off of this precious girl, I learned that she was a Wiccan High Priestess.
What's so funny - and maybe funny isn't the word - is that as I was Googling these topics, I came across an article written by Christian Information Ministries called WICCA: The Rise of Witchcraft. Our of all the people in the world... On the internet... It was written by a man named Russ Wise - WHO I HAPPENED TO KNOW!!! What are the chances?? His wife taught my Sunday School Class when I was a teenager and his kids and I were involved in youth group together. My parents were in Bible study with him!
I contacted Russ and told him about my situation at work and asked him to pray for wisdom and ultimately pray for Stacy's salvation. I also asked for prayer for my protection, because dealing with the occult makes the enemy very angry. You must cover yourself with spiritual armor!
I felt that the Lord wanted me to plant seeds in Stacy. So I completely disregarded what I knew about her beliefs and I shared testimonies with her. Little by little I would share stories with her. Stories about healing, stories about supernatural events. And she was genuinely interested.
She would share with me stories of her past in great detail. And I listened carefully to every detail. Every detail was a drop of information that was precious in knowing how to approach her with the truth of the gospel.
She began to ask questions about Christianity. She was confused by things she saw from other "Christians" as she was growing up. She described how she would ask questions of the elders at her family's church, and she would just be pushed aside and told not to ask. Evidently, they did not have enough Bible knowledge to answer her questions; but instead of saying "I don't know, but I'll find out and get back to you" they shut down this precious soul that was searching for truth. My friends, we can never make that mistake!
She shared with me the tragic event that nearly destroyed her... She was the victim of very brutal rape at a young age. She wondered how a God who loved her could let that happen, and at that point, began to turn to the occult.
Stacy began to get very emotionally close to me. She trusted me with her very deepest secrets and I promised God I would be so careful with her heart. I never thought a witch would be so precious to me! But she was, and I yearned for her salvation in a very deep way.
I continued to pray, I recruited my closest Christian friends to pray for her as well.
Very unexpectedly, I was being pursued to manage for another company. It was a move that the Lord had His hand on, and I started to feel like I was running out of time with Stacy. I began to feel urgency, and almost anxiety over this process!
But God's timing is so perfect. And we, ourselves, cannot save others. We are rather an empty glove, and the hand of God fills us to work through us. We have to be obedient and move when he says move. But it's God that does the saving, not us.
During my last two weeks at this company, the Lord began to give Stacy very vivid dreams. Repeatedly. She experienced the same dream three nights in a row. In her dream, I was speaking to her in another language, but she could understand what I was saying. I was very emotional and crying in her dream. She said she was crying in the dream as well, but at the end of the dream, it was very positive. When she first shared this with me, I knew what the Lord was doing, but I needed confirmation before I explained to her what was going on.
I believed in the dream the Holy Spirit was speaking directly to her spirit through me. I believed that the language being spoken was in tongues. If the dream had been in English, Stacy's Will - the very bit of her that allowed her to become involved in witchcraft - would have rejected the truth.
The next day, I shared my thoughts with Stacy. She asked what I thought the Holy Spirit was saying to her, and I told her, "I believe you are receiving an invitation." I couldn't help it, but I started crying!
And I couldn't say more. As I discussed before, we are the glove that the Lord fills to do His work. Stacy needed to ponder this. It had to be HER accepting the Lord's invitation. He is a gentle, patient God. He is not going to force anyone into His kingdoom. He will woo them. And He was wooing her...
My final two weeks came to a close. And upon leaving that company, I interceded for Stacy like never before. I knew the Lord would answer my prayer for her salvation. But it was not going to be on MY terms.
Stacy needed a Christian in her life that was going to tell her the truth, but not force her through the door. If I had approached her in any other fashion, I could have done some real damage.
A few weeks later, I received a text message from Stacy. She missed me and said she had a lot to tell me and that I was going to be really happy. I knew in my heart of hearts that she had accepted the Lord.
And then came the next text message: "I became a Christian."
What joy! I rejoiced and couldn't wait to tell my prayer partners the glorious news. I am so happy for her, and I am so glad that her sweet spirit will forever be in the family of God.
Yay God!!!