God's Smuggler - Brother Andrew
With John and Elizabeth Sherrill.Published by...
I remember reading this book when I was much younger, and being struck by it. Re-reading it with Elise, I realised how much I had forgotten, and how much more God had been doing in the life of Brother Andrew than I remembered.
This is firstly a biography of 'Brother Andrew' (real name Andrew van der Bijl), particularly how he came to faith and began to serve as a missionary and smuggler of bibles into Eastern Europe during 'the Cold War.' But more than that it is a journey of faith and trust in God. So many times throughout the book Andrew is forced to rely on God because he has no other choice, and time after time God shows himself sovereign and powerful.
One of the most powerful to me was actually something that Brother Andrew experienced before entering the mission field. At his Evangelism Training School Andrew and some colleagues were given one pound and sent out to do a two week evangelist tour. They were not to ask for any financial aid, nor even to mention any need, but were to expect God to provide for their costs. The ways that God provided for them during this season are reminiscent of the stories of George Müller, sometimes waiting until the last minute before an answer to prayer would arrive. Andrew even develops an activity of sorts called 'The Game of the Royal Way', where he waits to see how God will provide for him, believing it will happen in a method that 'suits' Andrew's status as a son of the King - that he won't, as a result, have to beg or scrounge for an answer, but will trust God to supply all his needs.
Though, as Andrew admits at one point, "Many of the things I thought were needs turned out to be wants."
God's Smuggler is a challenging and stirring biography, and one I recommend to anyone seeking to stretch their faith in God.
Completed with Elise, 18 October 2019.
(Elise Books)
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