استقامت سارای عزیز در ایمانش به خداوند عیلرغم بحرانها و جفاهای مختلف

Sara was looking to have a relationship with God for many years. Whenever she would do the Islamic prayer, she would express this desire to God. However, it was not until she was about 18 years old, when she found the relationship with Christ. That was when she was able to have a true encounter with God.

She shares about the different crises and storms she went through after becoming a Christian. She believes as we embark on the path of becoming more like Jesus we experience different storms in our lives that can potentially stop us from moving forward if we are not careful.

After Sara became a believer, some of her relatives found out that she was a Christian, they considered her and her immediate family who were Christians to be infidels and rejected them. They would threaten them and would talk against them. However, God would give them special grace.

After she became a believer, she became part of a house church. That is where she grew better in her faith. When she found out about her calling for ministry, She would actively share the gospel. As the authorities were against evangelizing to Muslims, she was arrested and imprisoned.

She was interrogated by very violent interrogators, all of whom were men. They tortured and ridicule her with obscenity, beatings causing her much distress. During the first night of the interrogation when she would pray in her heart, she saw a carved cross on her chair. She realized that a Christian ex-prisoner had carved it. Some of those Christian prisoners had even written some verses from the gospels on the walls of their cells. She was tremendously encouraged by those verses and she also wrote some verses on the walls.

She believes that God used her time in prison and even the interrogations to enable the judge and some of her co-prisoners to hear about the only way of Salvation that is found in Jesus.

During those difficult times in the prison, she was able to visit a few women prisoners who were sentenced to death. She had the chance to share the gospel with them. With the help of her other Christian co-prisoners, they prayed for some of the women including those who were drug addicts. They sang songs with them and prayed for them and through practical help and support they tried to show God’s love to them. There were three aspects that helped Sara to endure hardships and trials in her Christian life:

The first and foremost thing was that God was on her side in all the hardships she faced. God gave her a special grace to endure difficulties. If she would not rely on God’s help, she would fall apart. God did restore her spiritually and emotionally after going through trials because of his sake. The second thing that helped her was her positive attitude towards the trials she faced. She believes all the teachings she received before her trials strengthened her during times of hardships. The hardships she faced helped her to evaluate herself more to see what attitude she had towards those situations. She learned not to complain during difficulties and not to compare herself with others. She would spend time with God and would be strengthened by her presence. She would meditate on the verses of the Bible and would regularly remember the value she has in God’s sight. She knows whom she has entrusted her life to, a God who gave his life for her sake. She knows that one day she will spend eternity in God’s presence with no pain and suffering. All these realities would motivate her to move forward in her walk with God with a grateful heart. The last but not least thing that helped her to endure hardships was the support of other mature believers. Before she became a Christian, she would always put on a brave face so that others would not find out about the difficulties she was bearing in her life. However, she would feel so broken inside. After she became a born-again believer, she realized that at times she needs the help and mentorship of more mature believers. She is truly grateful to all those who stood alongside her in the heart of the hardships and were a great support to her and prayed for her.

She emphasizes on the fact that it is very important to prepare ourselves spiritually for difficult days that might come our way. She believes that as the result of spending time in God’s presence, she gained deeper knowledge about him and her character was shaped much. She has been able to understand the pains of others better.
She refers to Romans

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5

She prays for God’s presence and blessing to be upon all the believers amid all the crises they go through in their lives.