Samsarpur is a humble village on the banks of the Birupa River in India’s Odisha Province. Many people, including Ishan (alias), rely on the river for bathing. Ishan is a believer in the Lord who had not been walking as closely with the Lord recently as he had been.
August of this year brought heavy rains to the Birupa River and the banks were overflowing. Ishan went for his usual bath one day and swam a bit further from the river’s edge. Suddenly, he felt himself being carried away in a current. With no one around him, his life was in immediate danger.
As Ishan recounts, at this time he started to shout, “Halleluiah!” He could not explain why but he could not help himself as he continued to shout this word.
As he continued to shout Halleluiah, he saw a branch of a tree in the river sticking out as he was being drawn away. He caught the branch and was able to come up to the river bank. As he testifies, he “witnessed only Jesus” who saved his life from drowning.
A friend of his, who shared this testimony with our ministry team in India, says that Ishan recommitted his life to serving the Lord and is now walking more closely with the Savior.
When his life was on the line, this man could only praise the Lord and express joy and thanks. Sometimes, we only know what is truly inside of us when we go through the fiery furnace (or, in this case, the deep waters).
“I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold” (Zec. 13:9) – if we go through trials, may this be said of our lives as well.
Halleluiah!