helping everyday disciples live on mission
New Life for Mr. Gupta
by Bruce Enns, General Director
We recently received a beautiful story of transformation from one of our national partners in South Asia named Jaeem. For me, Jaeem’s story challenges me to be there for families in need. How does this story encourage you?
Mr. Ranjit Gupta was very sick. As an alcoholic, his liver and other organs were failing, and he seemed beyond hope. His wife called on me only to pray that her husband would experience a peaceful death. I wondered if death was the only option.
The drinking had started when his business failed. Mr. Gupta was a seller of fine cloth, and was in the process of setting up a big shop in partnership with some friends. Then, those friends cheated him, and he lost everything, including his will to live. After that, he drank to avoid dealing with the debt, and stopped caring for his own family.
I met his wife when she came to our church one day, weighed down by this burden of her husband’s despair. She kept coming back and, over time, she accepted Christ as her Savior, and was baptized. She prayed faithfully for her husband to be healed—in heart and body—and to stop his drinking. At her request, I also visited him regularly and pleaded with him to stop, but
Mr. Gupta’s condition only became worse. Finally, the day came when she invited me to help him die in peace.
However, I was not ready to give up. I prayed again and Mr. Gupta was miraculously healed. Everyone, including the doctors, were amazed. Brought to his senses, Mr. Gupta decided that he would stop drinking for good.
After that, his life turned around. He became a husband to his wife and a father to his children, providing for them as a rickshaw driver. Recently, he invited me to celebrate with them at their eldest son’s birthday party. I brought a gift, of course, but I was amazed when they also handed a gift to me!
“My heart is full of gratitude for what God has done for me,” Mr. Gupta said as he handed over a gift of money for our church, earned from his new work.
God continued to bring more and more healing to his heart until, on December 25, 2023, Mr. Ranjit Gupta accepted Christ as his Savior.
Who are the people in your life that are living in darkness and despair? Is God perhaps asking you to have faith and pray for them? Daily discipleship calls us to walk in faith with people, pointing them to Jesus, and trusting in the kingdom possibilities that he has for us.
PRAY
- For Mr. Gupta and his family to experience the joy of God’s salvation.
- For wisdom and sensitivity as you walk alongside families in need.
- For the continued fruitfulness of Jaeem’s ministry in South Asia.