| Omar heeded his friend’s advice because nothing else seemed to be working in his life. So, he went, looking for hope and peace, and joined the hordes of white-robed pilgrims assembled at Islam’s holiest site. He carried out the various rituals, including ‘Stoning the Devil,’ by climbing a bridge and throwing seven stones at a pillar said to represent the evil one. But when he completed all the sacred rites, he still felt emptiness inside. He pulled aside another pilgrim and confided, “They told me I would find solutions and hope here. I haven’t. I’m still weary, worse than before and don’t know what to do.”
‘Just go sit on that rock and talk to Isa, the bus driver said’
Disheartened, Omar walked to the bus station to return home. The station was normally jammed with people, but not this time. There was only one bus sitting there, and it was empty. It seemed like an odd situation, but he boarded anyway. The driver said to Omar: “We don’t have any passengers yet, but I can see you have a problem. See that large rock? Just go sit on that rock and talk to Isa (Jesus).” “But why?” Omar asked the driver. “Try it. Go there. Talk to Isa. You’ve tried everything else.” Omar complied, wondering, ‘How would he know I’ve tried everything else?’
Omar walked over and sat down on the rock. The moment he said the name “Isa,” his body began to shake. He felt something powerful filling his heart and body. “I spent two hours there without being conscious of the passing of time,” he told the JESUS Film Project. Finally, Omar regained his composure and went back to find the same bus and the mysterious driver, but the bus was gone. So he took a taxi to his next stop. |
