Disclaimer: I don't own God's Not Dead.

Roaring Like a Lion

A God's Not Dead Fan-Fiction by Emachinescat

SUMMARY: A series of one-shots exploring the aftermath of the movie and what happens to the characters. Josh and Ayisha, who is trying to land on her feet after being kicked out, begin to form a relationship, one that a suddenly possessive Kara isn't very happy with, and Josh must deal with Raddison's death and the mixed emotions associated with it. Martin grows in his faith, but his future is threatened by an angry father. Amy continues her search for answers and healing as she begins her cancer treatments, and Mina mourns her ex-boyfriend and tries to reach out to her brother while her mother sinks further into dementia. Everyone's faith is tested even more, and as friendships form and trials rise up to oppose, only One can help them - and He's living on the inside, roaring like a lion.

A/N: So I watched 'God's Not Dead' over the weekend and immediately fell in love. It was such a compelling, beautiful story, with wonderful, deep characters and so much potential for even more stories! Even if you're not a Christian, I think the movie would be enjoyable, especially since it's not forceful or in-your-face-down-your-throat... It's not a movie that says CONVERT! It's a movie that says, you have a CHOICE. You can't make someone believe, and you can't make someone not believe. And it had so many smaller plotlines that I decided I'm going to have a series of one-shots to explore many of them and the future of the characters. I loved the way the movie ended, but I wanted a little more closure. And this is what this one-shot series is going to (hopefully) provide. Closure. And what happens next. Because I loved the movie so very much and I want to explore it and its characters even more!

I requested that this movie be added to , but as of right now, it's not a category. I'll change it from Misc. movies to God's Not Dead whenever they add it. I just couldn't wait to post. Please read and review. :)

Roaring Like a Lion

Part One: Just Like Job

Josh and Martin didn't even make an attempt to escape from their seats until well after the shoving, pushing crowd around them had waned. Martin had been ready to jump up and try to make his way to the exits with the rest of the concert-goers, but Josh, who had been to his fair share of concerts in his lifetime, held him back.

"Trust me, man," he said, grinning. "These may be a bunch of Christians, but they'll still trample you."

Martin laughed, and the sound was so genuine, so real and full of happiness, that Josh laughed right along with him. Josh couldn't quite believe how amazing this night had been. True, he had originally bought the Newsboys tickets as a six-year anniversary present for Kara and himself, but so much had changed since the beginning of his first semester of college. At first, it had all seemed to be for the worse, and Josh had found himself being pitted against not only his angrily, stubbornly atheist professor, but his girlfriend and even his parents had disapproved of his decision to take up Professor Raddison's challenge.

He'd almost given up when Kara had broken up with him. He'd known that she could be a little… he didn't want to say bossy (but that's what she was), and that she liked to plan out every little detail of the things that she wanted so that they could have their (or rather, her, as it turned out) happily ever after. He'd dated her for six years. He knew what she was like. But this… To insist that he was being selfish when he was following God's will, to break up with him for standing up for what and Who he believed in… That had totally thrown Josh.

He'd only hesitated in his resolve for a few moments, though, because he felt that familiar tugging on his heart and he knew without the slightest inkling of a doubt that it didn't matter that Kara was breaking up with him. As long as he continued to trust in God and do His will, no matter what effect it had on his life, God would provide. Yes, it stung. It ached. Even knowing that she was being selfish in this whole thing, and knowing that God was showing him that if she wasn't going to support him in this leap of faith, she wasn't the one for him, he still loved her. And to have her reject him like that…

Funny thing was, that night, he'd been flipping through his Bible, heart heavy, and he'd wandered into Job. Upon reading one of his favorite stories in the Old Testament, Josh had suddenly seen glaring similarities to his situation with Kara and Job's situation with his wife. Sure, their circumstances were exponentially different. But one thing remained the same: both Kara and Job's wife had one suggestion (i.e. demand): Take the easy way out. Don't fight it. Turn your back on God, do what you have to do, and get over it. Curse God and die, said Job's wife. Denounce God and get on with your life, said Kara.

Job hadn't listened to his wife, and eventually God had blessed him tenfold. Josh knew that he had to remain strong in this, see it through to the end, no matter the consequences. Because if he stayed true to his Father, then God would bless him, just like He had with Job.

"So I take it you enjoyed the concert?" Josh asked his friend, feeling blessed tenfold at all the amazing things that had happened since he'd refused to write those three little words in Professor Raddison's class. He'd won the debate. He had a new, close friend, and Martin had accepted Christ. He'd shown Jesus to his whole philosophy class, and several of them had spoken with him afterwards, showing a genuine interest in learning more about God. Not to mention, Michael Tate and Willie Robertson had talked about what had gone on at the school in front of the whole concert venue, and what had started out as a simple refusal to say that God is dead had turned into a full-fledged movement, prompting thousands of people to text all of their friends with one simple message, so profound, with so much truth: God's not dead!

Martin beamed. "The Newsboys are amazing! I cannot thank you enough for giving me this opportunity! I always thought Christian music was slow and boring."

Josh laughed. "Not always." He thought for a moment. "I think I'm going to have to introduce you to TobyMac and Third Day next."

"More wonderful music! Count me in!" Martin agreed, nodding his head vehemently.

"Hi," said a voice. Someone tapped him on his shoulder. He turned around to see the girl that had spoken to him briefly during the concert, asking him if he was the one who had gone against Professor Raddison, smiling widely at him. She was very pretty, he noticed, with skin the color of milk chocolate, long black hair, and warm, dark eyes that held their share of both joy and pain.

"Oh, hey," he said, smiling at the girl. "Did you enjoy the concert?"

She nodded. "I just wanted to introduce myself. We go to college together. My name's Ayisha."

Josh nodded. "I think I've seen you some around campus. I'm Josh Wheaton, and this is my friend, Martin Yip."

Ayisha chuckled. "I know who you are, Josh. And I'm very glad to see someone standing up for what they believe in, no matter what the consequences. You stayed strong, and are an inspiration."

Josh noticed even above the din of the dwindling concert crowd and clean-up crew that there was a deep sadness and maybe even fear in her voice. "Thank you," he said slowly, "but it was all God. If it hadn't been for Him, I wouldn't have been brave enough to just get up in front of the class, let alone go against the professor." Regarding her seriously, well-aware of Martin's eyes on him as well as he spoke, he said, "I've found that when you're facing something that seems impossible, and when everyone and everything you know and love has seemed to turn against you, that the only way you're going to be able to stand up is if you let God stand up for you, you know?"

Her eyes watered, and a single tear made a track down her face. "Thank you," she said.

"Are you all right?" Josh asked.

She nodded quickly – too quickly to be genuine – and the nod quickly melted into a shake of the head. "Not really," she admitted. "But I will be."

"Well, hey, if you ever need to talk, or someone to pray with, give me a call," Josh offered, pulling out his cell phone and handing it to her so she could enter her number. In turn, she gave him her phone so he could add his own contact information. "Or you could always talk to Rev. Dave; he's helped me a lot, too. He's the head of the Religion Department, and he's—"

Ayisha finished typing in her number and handed his phone back, smiling warmly. "I know him," she said. "He has helped me very much in the past week. But I would enjoy talking to you, too, I think." She glanced down at her watch. "Actually, I'm staying with a friend right now and I think she's waiting for me outside. I've got to go, but I'll talk to you later. It was nice meeting you, Josh, Martin!"

And she was gone.

Josh must have had a strange look on his face when he turned back to Martin, because the other student flashed him a blinding grin and said, "I think you are in love with Ms. Ayisha!"

Josh blinked. "What? No! I was just helping a friend in need."

"A pretty friend in need," Martin clarified, winking at Josh.

Josh rolled his eyes but didn't refute the point. She was pretty! "I just got out of a pretty long-term relationship," Josh argued weakly. "It would be too soon, anyway."

"But what did you tell me just yesterday?" Martin questioned. "When a door closes in your face, God opens another one, right? So your old girlfriend was behind the first door, and maybe this girl is behind the second door!"

Josh shook his head. "I don't know anything about her."

"Then maybe you should find out," said Martin coyly. "You've got her number. Text her. Ask her out."

Josh didn't answer, only said, "The place is pretty cleared out now. We should get going."

"Pray about it at least!" Martin insisted as he followed the taller young man up the stairs leading to the main lobby of the stadium. "She likes you too!"

Josh didn't mean to, but Martin's words took him by surprise and he spun around, almost causing the Chinese boy to stumble back. "She does? How can you tell?"

"The same way I can tell with you," said Martin.

"I'll think about it," Josh conceded. "Happy now?"

"I've been happy all evening!" Martin crowed.

Josh slung his arm around Martin's shoulder. "I couldn't tell."

"Really?" Martin asked, not quite used to the American dialect known as sarcasm. "Because I think I smiled a lot."

Snorting, Josh replied, "No, I know you're happy. And so am I. I think God's got some great things ahead."

When they got to the doors and went outside, it was to see a concerned-looking Ayisha standing to the side against the wall of the building, worrying her bottom lip and anxiously turning her cell phone around and around in her hand. "Ayisha?" Josh said. "I thought you left."

The girl's face lit up momentarily when she saw her two new friends, but then she frowned. "I got a text from my friend. She said traffic's backed up for miles just down the road. Apparently there was some sort of accident, and they're just now clearing the scene."

Josh's heart fell. "An accident? Was anyone hurt?"

"She doesn't know…"

Josh's heart went out to whoever had been involved. Whenever he heard of an accident, or the sound of sirens reached his ears, he always stopped what he was doing and prayed for whoever was involved. He was about to suggest this when Martin spoke up, "I think we should pray for them."

"Me too," Ayisha said solemnly. "I've been praying since I got out here, actually."

Praising God for putting such wonderful people into his life, for blessing him so much, tenfold, Josh nodded emphatically. "God, we pray for whoever was involved in the accident that blocked up the road tonight. I pray for their health and safety, and most of all, I pray that they know you. If they did not survive, or if they are not going to survive, I pray that they knew or will come to know You and Your grace. Be with their family and loved ones through this time. We love You, Lord. Amen."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! In the next one-shot, Josh is going to find out about Professor Raddison's death but not his death bed conversion, and he struggles with his feelings, guilt, grief, anger, and he begins to question what the point of all of this is, and no one has the answers, and the one person he really wants to talk to is at Disney World with his missionary friend... This wasn't supposed to happen like this! And just when everything was turning around... God, what are you doing here? What's the point?

Hope you stay tuned for it! I don't know when it'll be out, but I'm going to mark this story as complete because it is technically a collection of completed stories. I'll post the next story ASAP.

PLEASE review and let me know what you think - no flames or debates though, please. You don't have to read, and you don't have to believe, and therefore, you don't have to be offended by the content of the story. This is, however, based on a Christian movie, and therefore will have Christian elements all throughout! :) Thanks for reading!

~Emachinescat ^..^