Persecution - By Charity Mutie

Persecution has been on my mind a lot lately. The stories we keep hearing—people losing homes, losing safety, yet still worshipping God boldly—have humbled me. What surprises me every time is the love these believers show for God even when they are threatened or forced to flee. They keep standing. They keep worshipping. They keep saying, “God is worth it,” even when danger is right in front of them.


I often think about Daniel when I hear such stories. In the first story, Daniel’s friends refused to bow to the giant statue the king had set up. The king was furious and threw them into a blazing furnace. But what they told him still shakes my heart today: “Our God can save us. But even if He doesn’t, we will not bow.” Their faith wasn’t based on whether God would stop the fire. Their faith was based on loyalty. They trusted God with their souls, even if their bodies burned.


Then there is the story from Daniel 6. A law was passed that everyone had to pray to the king. Daniel didn’t even flinch. He simply continued praying to God three times a day, like he always had. Because of that, he was thrown into the lions’ den. Yet God shut the lions’ mouths, and Daniel walked out without a single scratch. Once again, the king saw God’s power and told the whole kingdom to honor the God Daniel served.


Interestingly, persecution often ends like that—people watch the courage of believers and end up turning to God themselves.


A similar story lies behind the song “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.” It came from the last words of a new believer in Northeast India. He was told to deny Jesus or die. As his family was killed in front of him, he sang, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back.” His courage moved many in his community—including some of the very people who had threatened him—to follow Christ later. His suffering became a seed of revival.


The more I learn about persecution, the more it humbles me and also strengthens me. Jesus already warned us that following Him would come with challenges. The early church lived with this reality every day. Persecution was never a mistake or a surprise. God sees it. God uses it. And God stays with His people through it.


Persecution also has a strange way of cleaning and strengthening the church. It removes fake faith and reveals real commitment—just like fire removes impurities from gold. And history shows that when believers are scattered by oppression, the gospel often spreads even faster. What looks like loss becomes a doorway for God to work.


It also forces each of us to ask honest questions: Would I stand? Would I stay loyal? Would I still worship if things became dangerous? These questions don’t weaken faith—they prepare it.


But one of the greatest truths is this: God’s presence becomes very real in times of suffering. Many who have faced persecution say they felt God closer in the fire than they ever did in comfort. He walks with His people, whether in a furnace, a lions’ den, or a prison cell.


And so our response matters. We cannot be silent. We must pray, support, encourage, speak up, and honor the believers who suffer for Christ. Their courage reminds the world that Jesus is worth more than comfort, worth more than safety, and worth more than life itself.


Lately I’ve been listening to a song from Open Doors USA that helps me pray for the persecuted church. It is a call to stand strong. It reminds me of Daniel and his friends—faithful, steady, unshaken, even when God does not rescue in the way we hope.

https://youtu.be/FQtC4Beu-Ac?feature=shared 


May it strengthen your heart the way it has strengthened mine.


- Charity K. Mutie.



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