No more searching
My encounter with Jesus- by Rafik Daudjee.
I was born into a Muslim religion of the Dawoodi Bohora
Sect. It’s a Shiite sect originating from Yemen in the 10th century
and now with its headquarters in India. The Bohoras are found in many
continents and cities of the world.
I was brought up learning the Quran by attending the madrassa and practiced the Shiite faith . I read the Quran, I
Prayed and fasted in the month of Ramadhan. The central Shiite belief is the martyrdom of grandsons of prophet
mohammed who were the rightful caliphs to lead Islam but were killed in the war
in Kerballah.
At the age 16- 17 a deep thirst came in to my life to know
God personally. I began searching in my own religion becoming more pious and
zealous. But yet, I wrote in my diary those days "where are you God?"
However, I was not satisfied within and I had no peace within. I developed severe anxiety and fears to the
extent that I could not even go out and socially connect with friends.
I began to search for
peace in Transcendental Meditation (TM), Yoga and even delved into the occult world
and the study of palmistry and astrology but I became more frustrated and
nothing was able to satisfy me. Mentally I became very sick and would get panic
anxiety attacks.
In 1978, the government selected me to study for a diploma
in clinical medicine in Mwanza, town, which is on the shores of Lake Victoria.
In this school due to my anxieties and fears, I could not concentrate and I was
sent for psychiatric treatment and used drugs such as Valium, Ativan, Librium
on which I became dependent taking them increasing dosages. I continued with
school but there was still no peace within and I lived a life of fear nevertheless
thirsty seeking God’s help.
On Sunday 17th February 1980,
while still studying in the medical school , it was 10 days after getting engaged with Safia my
girlfriend of many years , I met a doctor who was my professor and who
had also treated me (I didn’t know that he was a Christian) on that day had
been speaking on Saul of Tarsus in the
School Chapel. He asked me if I would buy him a Coca Cola, he would tell me of
“Saul of Tarsus”. we sat in the Cafeteria and he opened his Bible to the Book
of Acts chapter Nine and told me to read before he can explain (I had no Idea
at that time who was Saul and which chapter I was reading) I read the passage
and I came to these verses in Acts 9:
3-5:
“As he ( Saul) neared
Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He
fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you
persecute me?”
“Who are you,
Lord?” Saul asked.
“I
am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied…
As I read “ I am
Jesus” , I made a silent prayer in my
heart " God is there any truth in Jesus ?" and at that very moment a miracle
happened that is hard to explain. I fell in love with the name and a powerful
attraction occurred in my heart toward the Bible and the name of Jesus . I
asked this doctor " How do you become a Christian?" He began telling
me many things about the Christian faith but I could not understand. I met the
doctor again at night and he shared many things from the Bible and asked me to
hear a message by Billy Graham .Though I did not understand all that was told
to me but that night I knew one thing, I had an encounter with
Jesus when I was reading that Bible that morning . The
next morning I was thirsting to read the Bible and a friend gave me a pocket New
Testament. I began reading and every word in it was speaking to me. Strength, peace
and joy welled up in my heart as I read, the scriptures as though the message
in it was written just for me.
My life began to change. I just could not stop reading the
Bible. I began to love Jesus and God came into my heart and I began to experience His
presence within me and the power of the Holy Spirit. Later I was healed miraculously
from drug dependency and was delivered of demons. Thereafter the Lord called me
to preach the Gospel. When you follow Jesus, you are not following a religion.
Jesus came to save us from our sins. His death on the cross was a sacrifice
that God offered to mankind for the forgiveness of sins and to bring us into a personal
relationship with God. When You
experience Jesus you stop searching.
