Voice in the Night by Pastor Surprise : Book Review
Voice in the Night by Pastor Surprise Sithole reminds me of some of the great classics of the Christian biography genre such as Jackie Pullinger’s Chasing the Dragon or Brother Andrews’ God’s Smuggler (both of which I also highly recommend reading too!)
Pastor Surprise’s story encourages the reader that God is very much at work in the world today. The power of testimony is perfectly exampled in this book. Surprise grew up in an isolated village in rural Mozambique with witchdoctors and parents. One night he hears an audible voice telling him to leave the village, he obeys, taking his friend with him into the jungle. He later discovers that the next day the village was attacked and all its inhabitants killed. When the boys emerge from the jungle they meet a Christian man who was told by God to meet them there. That’s just the first few chapters! The boys give their lives to Jesus and so begins an adventure of church planting and miracles!
The subtitle of the book is ‘the true story of a man and the miracles that are changing Africa’ and it couldn’t be more accurate. I think the book will particularly challenge those in the Western Church with the level of dependency on God that Surprise models as he travels, mostly on foot through challenging terrain, to share the gospel. The stories of the miraculous ways in which God honours his obedience also challenge the reader such as saving Surprise from an explosion that everyone else around died from along with the appearance of angels and provision at exactly the right moments.
Reading this book certainly made me question how much of these miracles are down to a cultural difference or how much is because we have lost the art of living simply in Western Christianity and are scared to let go of our comforts and security blankets. Surprise lives a life where every day consists of asking God for specific instructions and obeying, knowing without doubt God will provide what we need for the task whether it be a place to sleep, a language or even in meeting his wife! The Holy Spirit appears to move miraculously because of his obedience, in the same way Jesus’ life of only doing what his Father said was full of miracles. It’s a modern example of the laid down Christian life that inspires.
The other main takeaway I experienced when reading Voice in the Night was Pastor Surprises ability to have joy in every circumstance! His joy in his salvation is all he needs to ‘have a good day everyday’ as he puts it! This encouraged and challenged me simultaneously to seek true joy in the pure simplicity of our wonderful gospel every day not needing to seek joy in my surroundings.
I totally recommend this book! It’s an easy read, sometimes you have to remind yourself it isn’t fiction! Surprise’s story will no doubt encourage and edify you in your faith and challenge you in your daily trust of God, stretching the boundaries of how you expect God to work in your life.
Buy it here: https://www.eden.co.uk/blog/voice-in-the-night-by-pastor-surprise-sithole-p1668