It is with great joy that I sit down today – July
11 – the day after the last of the 13 male soccer team members were rescued
here from Chiangrai, Thailand after 18 days of being trapped in a cave.
Happiness is everywhere and I have been in tears of joy many times as I think
about the grace and mercy of God turning an impossible situation into a
possible situation.
I want to let you know up front that my report and my
perspective on this great but very treacherous rescue operation is quite
different from what you will be reading in the media these days only in the
sense that they have left out the most important person in this story…and that
is the gracious Lord God of Heaven.
Please understand that this incident is very close
to my heart because it happened about 30 minutes from where my family and I have
lived for the last 17 years of our 19 years in Thailand. As a matter of fact, I
have been inside this very cave many times as well as most of my family,
friends, and some of our volunteers have been there as well.
But we must not… again let me say… we must not
overlook the real reason that these heroic rescuers were able to pull off this impossible
rescue operation.
How were these 13 people trapped deep inside a
mountain cave without food and water for 18 days able to survive and live to
tell about it? Because there is a true and living God who responds to the
prayers of His people and who chooses to shut the heavens long enough to keep
the waters of the rainy season from stopping this rescue. Only God can do that.
No man, no matter how smart or skilled or talented, can do that.
Was this rescue operation treacherous? Yes,
extremely. We are saddened over one very brave and heroic Thai Navy Seal who
gave his life in this operation. May our great God bless the family of the late
38 year old Retired Navy Seal Sgt. Major Saman Gunan. Please remember to pray
for them as they live through the loss of this brave and courageous Thai man
who gave his life for others.
Today we want to take a moment to thank all of you
who personally voiced a prayer for this rescue operation. I am confident that
thousands and thousands of Christians and possibly hundreds of churches all
over the world were praying for this rescue operation and I want to declare
that God has heard those prayers and has shown mercy to these 12 boys and their
25 year old soccer coach. Here is a picture of the 13 lives that were saved in
this rescue operation. Please also remember to pray that they would have a
chance to know the one true God that shut the heavens for 3 days during the
rainy season so they might have life and declare the glory of God to others.
Only 1 out of these 13 are followers of Jesus today, but the message of the
gospel has the power to redeem. Pray for
an opening of the gospel in each of their lives.
I am reminded of what the Holy Bible says in James
5:16, “…The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”
During the
rescue operation, representatives of NTIM and Baan Athitaan Church were able to
take some donations given through NTIM and provide food and supplies to the
rescue workers and to help in some small ways for the glory of God.
For those
of us who are followers of Jesus, let me take this opportunity to invite you to
consider joining God in what He is doing in and around Northern Thailand by becoming
partners with us at Northern Thailand Impact Ministry. NTIM is a 501c nonprofit
charitable organization committed to connecting people in need with people who
care and are focused in the heart of Southeast Asia where poverty is high,
education is low, needs are great, unreached people groups (UPGs) are all
around us, and the love and message of Jesus is needed to transform lives.
Reaching,
Teaching, Discipling, Equipping, Training, and Serving People in God’s World
through acts of love and compassionate is what NTIM and our ministry team is
all about.
If you
would like to know more about what we do and how you can be involved, please
write me personally at pray4ntim@gmail.com
and I would be happy to share with you all that our great God is doing just 30
minutes South of where this rescue operation happed this week. May the name of
our great God be lifted high in all that we say and all that we do for His
glory and the advancement of His kingdom on the earth.
Please
remember to pray for our team in Chiangrai, Thailand.
From the
Fields of Northern Thailand, Michael Johnson.
