Two Surrendered Lives

Leslie Basham: How often do you get to hear a love story that's romantic and yet, moral and wholesome. Sound too good to be true. Here's Shannon telling about what happened as she worked as a medical missionary in an Asian country.

Shannon: As I was working in this mission hospital, I had the opportunity to meet a national doctor who was also working there and the Gospel was always on his lips. I just saw how he, with every patient, that he would pray or would tell them about the Lord Jesus Christ. And so my curiosity, I guess, was peaked.

Leslie Basham: It's Tuesday, November 23, and you are listening to Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss. Here's Nancy to introduce today's guest.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: Our guest this week is Shannon who was actually the very first guest we ever interviewed on Revive Our Hearts two and a half years ago. And at that time, she was heading to another country in another part of the world to be a medical missionary. And now she is back home for just a little bit and, Shannon, it's so good to be talking with you again and to be hearing what God has been unfolding in your life since we last talked.

Shannon: Thank you, Nancy. It's a joy to be here.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: Shannon, when we left off the story yesterday, you were going to the mission field, you were surrendering a lot of different things to the Lord. But one of the most significant points of surrender, of relinquishment was the prospect perhaps of ever being married. Was that a big thing to you at the time?

Shannon: It was in the sense that it is well-known within mission circles that single women go to the field as missionaries but single men don't go to the field as missionaries. Usually, the men that go to the field are married.

And so my thought was that, well, I'm a single woman and I will probably spend the rest of my life as a single woman out there. I really did not expect that there would be any single men that the Lord might provide to be a husband.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: And yet, as you have shared with me, God didn't take away all of those desires from your heart.

Shannon: No, the desire was still there. The difference at that point was that marriage was not a pursuit anymore. It wasn't an idol to me. It wasn't the whole goal and purpose in life to get married.

I knew that marriage was a wonderful blessing from the Lord and that it is the norm for most. He provides a marriage partner for most people. But I wasn't pursuing marriage and I wasn't looking at every guy on the mission field as a potential husband.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: You were really pursuing the Lord and your relationship with Him and the ministry to which He had called you.

Shannon: That's right. I was very busy and very fulfilled in what He had called me to do. I was learning language, I was working in different placements and I was really able to fulfill the very desires of my heart which were to teach women after I had learned enough of the language to be able to actually teach the Bible and to share the Gospel with these national women. I was absolutely overflowing as far as being fulfilled.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: And in the midst of your doing what God had called you to do, seeking Him with all your heart, God brought across your path a very special young man and began to cultivate a relationship there. I think our listeners would love to hear a little bit about that story.

Shannon: Okay, I would be happy to share that. This is really one of those God stories that we just get to boast in the Lord, so I would love to do that. During my first term, in addition to learning the language, I also had the opportunity to work in various mission hospitals. As I was working in this mission hospital, I had the opportunity to meet a national doctor who was also working there. And really what first attracted my attention to him was the way that I heard the other missionaries in the hospital speak of him.

I knew just a bit about his testimony at that time, that up until his medical school days, he did not know the Lord. And then while he was in medical school, he had a Muslim friend who had become a believer who then led him to the Lord.

So I had heard that but what I had also heard was how the missionaries were speaking of him, that his life was so committed to the Lord that he had left everything -- a very prestigious career that he could have had in a big city (where he was from) and he had said yes to the Lord's call in his life for missions in this part of the country and that he was committed to that service for a lifetime.

I also just began to watch him and the life of Christ really showed through him as he cared for patients, just how gentle he was. I saw how he, with every patient that he could, would pray or would tell them about the Lord Jesus Christ. And so my curiosity, I guess, was peaked at this point.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: Now, what our listeners can't see, Shannon, is what I am looking at right now. That there is a huge smile on your face and sitting across the table from me you are holding hands with this man who just a little over a week ago became your husband.

And we are so excited that he is able to be with us today. In fact, the two of you just got back from your honeymoon last night. And I am so thrilled that the two of you would be so willing to come in and share with us today something of this story.

Now, we are stumbling around a little bit as we tell this story because, for security reasons, we felt it was best not to say the name of your husband. So, for this discussion, we are going to call him David. And David, thank you so much for joining us with your new bride here on Revive Our Hearts today.

David: Nancy, it is a pleasure to be here.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: And as you and Shannon both were serving the Lord now in this mission hospital, where were you in this whole process as a young single doctor. Was marriage something that you were desiring?

David: Nancy, in the part of the country that I come from, I probably am an exception to what Shannon just said about a single man being in the mission field. I was praying for someone who would be able to join me through life, serving the missions in the part of the country that I was working in. And one who would already be there acting on her calling, and also one who would accept the fact that if I leave my career as a surgeon, going for full-time ministry, would be in full support of me. And meeting Shannon at that time, I was convicted that she fulfilled all the major criteria I wanted.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: And what were some of the qualities that you saw in her that, besides the commitment to the mission field and to serving the Lord, that began to draw your heart toward her?

David: The one most striking thing that I remember was that she was always putting the Lord first before herself and that her commitment to missions meant more than any other thing in her life.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: So, it was the very surrender of her heart to the Lord that was really what attracted you because you wanted a companion and a helper in your life who had that same heart that you did.

David: Absolutely! When we were working in this hospital in the northern part of this country together, I started becoming attracted to Shannon, and I wanted to know from the Lord if this was from Him.

So, I would go to the mountainside every other day to have my quiet time and this particular time, when I was there, I started praying to the Lord, and I said, "If Shannon is the one for me, Lord, you let her pass by this spot today."

At the end of five minutes, I turned around and I saw Shannon running across the same path and coming towards me. So that was the beginning of the hope and I started wondering, I said, "Lord, what are you trying to tell me?"

And a team was selected to go to the hospital that we are working in right now and a team of four was chosen out of about 300 people working for that organization. And Shannon and I were chosen individually as two of that team. That was another step towards being convicted towards God's will. We were still not sure at that point and decided to commit everything into the Lord's hands.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: By the way, Shannon, was that a place where you would have normally been walking.

Shannon: Well, it was. I lived at the top of the mountain. And so this particular area, occasionally, I would go and take a jog there with the dog. But the interesting thing was that we had never seen each other in this area because he did not live on this part of the mountain.

And so this was the one and only time that we ever did cross paths with each other even though after that I tried to go up there to find him and never found him again. So, that was just kind of a fun thing that the Lord did.

And David said, "You know, I didn't put a lot of stock in this, but I was just kind of surprised, actually. I asked the Lord if He would do something and then you came running across there."

I remember seeing his face that day when he saw me, his mouth dropped open and I thought, Wow, this is a great reception. But I had no idea that he was attracted to me or becoming attracted to me in the way that I was attracted to him.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: And the Lord certainly, in both of your lives used"¦as you said, those kinds of incidents were fun things, but the Lord used a lot more than that from His Word and godly council to bring you to a place of assurance that this was the commitment that you were to make of your lives.

And, David, you had, as you said, your list of ten criteria and I assume, Shannon, you had some things in your mind as well.

But these were qualities in the course of your walk with the Lord, you had come to believe were important to have in a mate so that you could serve and glorify the Lord together.

I think so often, people say, "I got this tingly feeling," or "I have this sense," or "somebody came across my path on the mountain, I think I'll marry that person." But God had given you, both of you, a lot of wisdom as to what were the godly qualities that were really important to make sure were there in a mate.

Leslie Basham: We've been hearing a different kind of love story today. Nancy Leigh DeMoss has been talking with a missionary couple, Shannon and David. We have learned how each of them surrendered the idea of marriage to God. And then God led them together. Just for fun, let's jump ahead in this story a little bit and hear what happened.

Minister: "For the power given to me by the State of Arkansas and as a Minister of the Gospel, it is my joy now to pronounce you husband and wife. What God has joined together, let no man separate. You may kiss your bride."

*Song

Leslie Basham: As always, you can get a copy of this week's series on CD or cassette by visiting ReviveOurHearts.com. When something big is coming like a wedding or Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas, you prepare for it. We're getting ready for something big and I hope you will prepare for it with us.

In January you'll hear a very special series called "Seeking Him." It's all about the joy that comes from personal revival. No matter where you are in your walk with the Lord, you'll be able to get something out of this series. It will be especially meaningful if you feel spiritually dry and aren't connecting with God the way you would like.

I said you can prepare and here's how. Call us and order a workbook called, "Seeking Him." It's a daily Bible Study that you can go through while the radio series is on the air. So you learn on your own in your quiet time, and you'll also hear related material on Revive Our Hearts.

You can also consider hosting a small group that meets weekly to discuss "Seeking Him." And you can order the DVD series to watch with your group.

For more information on everything to do with "Seeking Him," give us a call at 1-800-569-5959. That's 1-800-569-5959 or visit ReviveOurHearts.com.

Today, we heard about Shannon and David's unconventional approach to dating. Tomorrow, we'll find out about their unconventional approach to engagement. Please be back for Revive Our Hearts.

"A Mightly Fortress," from "A Mighty Fortress and Other Duets for Piano and Organ," arranged by John Ennis and Bill Fasig, 1975 Lillenas Publishers.

Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss is an outreach of Life Action Ministries.

Thank you, Susie, for preparing today's Revive Our Hearts for the Internet.

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