story
David
Twigg
I asked him how he could believe in a God he couldn’t see, hear, or touch. And he told me that if I was genuine about it, then God would reveal Himself to me.
What convinced you that God was real and not just an idea?
Ok well I didn’t grow up around church or faith at all but from an early age, but I constantly wrestled with two big questions – What’s the purpose of life? And what happens when we die? I felt like life had no meaning, I didn’t know what we’re here for – what we’re meant to be doing. And I was terrified of death – the idea of one day I’d go to sleep and never wake up. Even after a million years. I wrestled with these things throughout my primary school and high school years.
In grade 11, a mate and I were chatting about life, and I asked him how bad death would be. He said he believed he’d go to heaven. I thought it was random but ok I figure I’d just go there too. But when he asked why God should let me in, all I could say was, “Well I feel I’ve been pretty good.” I thought surely He’s let me in. So we chatted some more and then He started talking about Jesus, which I thought was fairy tale stuff, so immediately I thought “No ways, my mate has to be on drugs. No on actually believes in that stuff” But he spoke like it was true. There was something in me that thought it would be incredible if it were real – a God who loved me, had a plan for my life, and that death wasn’t the end.
I asked how he could believe in a God he couldn’t see, hear, or touch. He told me that if I was genuine about it, then God would reveal Himself to me. So I said: “Well how is He gonna do this?,” and he asked if someone would unexpectedly offer me a Bible one day, wouldn’t that be a way of God revealing himself to you. I said that could be when I’m 90 and then that wouldn’t be God – that would just be coincidence. So he said: “Fair, let’s make it within 2 weeks.”
A week later, we casually walked past the school chaplain’s office. I didn’t know him, but my friend and him were chatting about bands and music. After around 15 minutes I said “Ok, we should get to class.” And as we left, he called my name and threw me a book – a Surfers Bible. I looked down at this book and in that moment, I knew it was more than just a coincidence. It was so powerful and I thought maybe there’s a God, maybe it could be ture. I asked my mate if he’d set it up, but he was blown away as well.
I tried reading it but didn’t understand the format. It was all so new to me. The little numbers – I was really confused, like what is all this about. So I actually struggled to read it, but what captivated me though, were the testimonies inside – real stories of what God had done in other people’s lives. They moved me deeply and kept me reading. Over time, I learned how to navigate the Bible and grew in understanding. But one verse stood out from the very start, from when my mate was talking to me about faith:
“Ask and you’ll receive; search and you’ll find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
Matthew 7:7
And the reason that verse was so significant for me was because that’s literally what happened. Like, I didn’t know about all this God stuff, but I really wanted to know. And I began searching and knocking and God was faithful. And I encountered Him and my life was never the same again.
In what ways has that first Bible influenced your journey of faith?
You know, it’s interesting because now I’m pastoring a local church, and one of my greatest passions is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. That’s encouraging and empowering others to share the greatest message in the whole world. And so I get to do that full-time, paid, which is a huge blessing. But a big part of the reason I get to do that is because someone gave me a Christian Surfers Bible all those years ago and I’m so grateful for that.
I know that receiving this — and obviously other things as well — was a huge, significant part in my life for growing in faith, encountering God, and now telling others about how amazing God is.
So I just think this is such a brilliant tool to put into the hands of other people. To say, “Hey look, would you be willing to hand this out, give this to someone?” Who knows? Maybe by handing this out to someone else, they could be a future pastor, a future missionary, a future leader, and see other people come to faith as well.