When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. ¹⁰ They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” ¹¹ Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.  Rev 6:9-11

By now most of you have heard about Gayle Williams’ martyrdom in Kabul this week.  Gayle, 34 years old, worked with SERVE International and had lived in Afghanistan for 2 ½ years.  While she was walking to work on Monday morning two men drove up on a motorcycle, got off, shot her, and then sped away.  The Taliban has claimed responsibility and said they killed her for spreading Christianity.  Gayle is one of those souls under the altar in Rev 6. 

In David Garrison’s book, Church Planting Movements, he reports that the suffering of missionaries is one of the 10 common characteristics prior to the start of Church Planting Movements.  We don’t know how God will use Gayle’s death, but we are confident in His faithfulness and His goodness that her martyrdom will be to do great things to lift His name up in Afghanistan.  While we don’t know how God will use this tragic death, we have seen over and over in history how a missionary’s death opened doors to the gospel that were sealed shut prior to that.  A look at the history of the church in Indonesia is filled with several martyrs that resulted in whole tribes turning to Christ.  We can pray for a similar dramatic change in Kabul as a result of Gayle’s death.

While we know Gayle is present with the Lord and free from the problems and distractions of this world, it is far more difficult on those left behind. 

Lord we know that you are at work in Afghanistan.  Please bring peace to those left behind so that they may continue your work.