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Unbenanntes Dokument
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or The Telephon Booth
There he stood. It was dark, an awkward situation, and German evangelist Theo Lehmann did not want to take another step. Why did the lady at the desk refuse to turn on the light for him? It was not funny anymore and he was about to get really upset. He was on his way to a citywide event, an important speaking engagement, and he needed to get this phone call done. I had worked in the team of organizers preparing this special night and was eagerly anticipating his arrival. But he was lost in the bustling city trying to get in touch with us. Somewhere on his way he had stopped at a post office, got permission to use one of their indoor telephone booths and was directed by the clerk at the desk to the last vacant booth in the crowded post office building.
As he had opened the door to the booth and was ready to step inside, darkness engulfed him. It was pitch dark, only a shimmer of the post office light fell inside the small booth and slightly illuminated the silhouette of the interior. But the moment he would step inside and close the sound proof, windowless door behind him, he would be surrounded by nothing but darkness. It would be impossible to find his papers, dial the number, place a call and jot down the notes and travel directions he so urgently needed to receive.
He had hurried back to the clerk at the desk and politely asked her to please turn on the light for him so he could place his call. She had smiled and said to him, "Of course you will have light, just step inside." So he had returned to the booth, opened the door ready to step in as darkness met at him like it did before. He looked back to the lady at the desk but she was busy doing her work, did not even look up. He had planned to preach on patience that night and now he could need some himself. Why did this lady simply ignore him when he was in such a hurry? He went back to her once again, made his request known with a little more authority in his voice and was given the same polite answer "Please, just step inside you will have light"
He had hastily returned and opened the door to the booth and once again only darkness looked at him like a frightening void. He gazed over his shoulder desperately trying to meet the clerks eyes to signal her that he was ready to step inside so she would flip the light switch at her desk, but as before she was busily doing her work and did not even look up. His patience was fading away. Maybe he should make his request known with a little more determination in his voice; after all he was on an important mission. He had returned to the clerk one more time, expressed his dissatisfaction in no uncertain terms and demanded immediate assistance. The smile on the face of the clerk had started to turn into a little frown as she politely but firmly said to him "I told you before, - just step inside and you shall have light"
And there he stood now with the door pulled open looking into the blackness. It had been a long day of travel and he was tired. Why those games? Why would she not turn on the light right away? Why does she demand of him to step into the phone booth first and then wait in utter darkness for her to find a moment to flip the switch and turn on the light? It did not make sense. He would stand there, like a fool, lost. Surrounded by only darkness, unable to complete his mission. He looked back over his shoulder. She was busy doing her work, didn't even look up to him. This was nuts. But he was tired of going back to complain, tired of getting the same old answer over and over again.
Maybe he should just do what she said and step inside. She would turn on the light after all, and if not, he would file a complaint. After a last moment of hesitation he decided to put an end to this, took a deep breath as if to take courage and stepped inside the totally dark telephone both. Immediately the light turned on! He reopened the door a little gap and peeked back outside, the clerk was still busy working, didn't even bother to look up.
After he had placed his call he returned to the clerk at the desk. "I appreciate your policy of saving electricity, but why did you wait until I was totally inside the booth before you would turn on the light for me?" he requested. The clerk looked up to him and started to laugh. "Oh, now I understand your problem. You must be new in town. No, I didn't turn on the light for you. You did! I didn't do anything but tell you to step inside. We have contact switches here with sensors under the bottom of the booth. You step inside -- the light turns on."
This night at the event a new message was preached. To step out into the unknown to see the light to turn. There was nothing the lady at the desk could have done to prove to the German evangelist Theo Lehmann, that the light would turn on once he would step inside. She could only tell him to do so. It was his choice to decide whether to believe her words and make his call or to fail to do so for being one step short of the "breakthrough." All she could do was to tell him the simple truth, "Just step inside and you shall have light!"
Do you need to take a step of faith? Are you wondering whether you should leave your safe comfort zone step into the unknown, into darkness or uncertainties? Are you longing for a higher level of trust and faith but find it difficult to truly believe? Do you need someone to turn on the light in your life? Do you need a breakthrough? Just dare this step of faith and trust that once you have stepped out God will meet you right there and you will not wander in darkness but have the light of life. I cannot prove to you from over here, that the light will go on in your life once you dare to take the one step of faith that still keeps you from seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I can only tell you to have faith and step ahead.
And even if uncertainty, darkness, doubt or fear may surround you, if you do not yet see the path of life clearly illuminated before you, if you don't know the answers to all your questions, just take His hand and dare to step out in faith -- into a new life and see the light go on. Don't stand there pondering and waiting for immediate proof and guaranties before you step into a life under the Grace of God. Just dare this step of faith and watch Him turn your darkness into light, your uncertainty into hope, your doubts into joy, your fear into confidence. Sometimes all that is missing to the final breakthrough in your life and faith is but one little step. And often all it takes is to trust that once you take that step of faith it will make all the difference. HE will meet you there!
I pray that you, too, will find the courage to step out in faith and see the light turn on in your life. Jesus Christ says: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not wander in darkness but will have the light of life." With Him we will never be left in the dark.
May God richly bless you
Michael Furchert
Ps * In East Germany public pay phones were not as common as they are in the USA or other Western countries. Often you would have to drive for hours to find one. Mostly if you wanted to use a public phone you would try to find the next post office where they had several public phone booths inside, big wooden booths, often in a dark corner of the already dimly lit post office. The clerk from the desk handled the light switch. If you used one of those booths and the light did not work you really stood in the dark.
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