Tears in a Bottle
The skyscrapers in Dubai glisten like diamonds reflecting in the sun. The city is a glass window into a world of luxury where anything desired can be instantly at your fingertips. But a window only reveals a small picture of the yard. Perhaps a Mercedes in the yard might be in sight but not the crumpling shed on the opposite end of the yard.
Dubai is a bustling city, but it seems to be no one’s home. Watching people walk through the mall reflects the diversity here from speed-walking to gentle strolls. 88% of the city are expats with a majority South Asian population.
Before Esther moved to Dubai to take a job in interior designing, the Lord spoke Isaiah 43 over her, “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
Only in the desert can we see God bring resurrection life to what was dead.
Only in the desert is God our only sustenance, our source of surviving.
Only in the desert can we see Him breathe flesh to dry bones.
Esther loves the Middle East and finds herself disappointed she was not as immersed in Arab life as she thought she would be. She soaked in the small moments of striking up conversations with Palestinians in the park and or bringing food to her Emirati neighbors. She expected relationships to come easily as they have in the past, but most of the relationships she made in Dubai would only last for one meet up and she wouldn’t hear a response from them again.
Before moving to the city, Esther loved to support her friends when they were going through traumatic situations. She would call out their identity when they felt insignificant, but she found this difficult when many of the women she met in Dubai preferred to hide behind perfection and avoid depth in conversation. Until she met Miriam.
Esther invited Miriam to her home to help her practice English. Esther asked her if she wanted coffee, but when she turned around, she saw tears welling up in her eyes. Miriam told her the difficulties of the men in her family. They said she didn’t work hard enough, made jokes at her expense, and would not let her study the subject she dreamed of or marry a man that was not Yemeni.
Esther spoke the truth of Miriam’s identity over her, that God says she is precious, a hard-worker, full of strength and how Jesus knew what it was like to be hurt by those closest to him. She told her the power of forgiving her family and praying over them. Miriam said it was the first time she’d ever prayed from her heart to God.
A lot of fear comes from the way many people in the city view God. Miriam told Esther that to question God in a bad situation would be the same as blasphemy. Esther asked her, “Do you believe David honored God?”
“Of course,” Miriam replied. Esther then told her that David sometimes questioned God, showing her in Psalm 22:1, “Why have you forsaken me?”
Miriam replied in shock, “He must have sinned when he said that.” Esther asked her if she believed Jesus sinned to which she replied no (even the Quran says he was sinless). She then showed her that he quoted that psalm on the cross. She told Miriam that a third of the Psalms were written in the form of lament.
Esther said it was okay to bring our emotions to God because ultimately, He knows our pain and will fill us with thanksgiving after we have put our burdens onto Him. Miriam was speechless. She could not grasp an intimate God who put our tears in a bottle.
Prayer Requests
Pray for Miriam and her family to come to know the intimate presence of a Father who listens to our pain and answers us.
Pray for intentional believers to not get weary when the message they share is rejected over and over. Pray that the Holy Spirit would lead them to people who are ready to hear.