Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. Romans 12:12
“No matter what they say, or do to me, I will not leave Christ.” These are the words of a 33-year old Albanian woman who knows what it means to pay a high price for faith in Jesus.
When Terezina was a child, she suffered from fevers that left her physically disabled and unable to work. Home alone, she’d listen to the radio all day long. Terezina heard the gospel on a Christian radio station, and she gave her life to Jesus in secret, knowing that her family would never accept her decision.
After her parents died, she went to live with her brother. Terezina’s brother is violently against her faith and conversion to Christianity, and he blames her for the problems the family is facing—saying that she’s brought a curse on the family for leaving her family religion. Now, he wants to force her into marriage and threatens to put her out of his home because he no longer wants to take care of a Christian.
But the small solar radio that the radio station staff gave her is her lifeline to encouragement in God, and the radio station’s counselors have walked with Terezina in friendship. Amazingly, Terezina says, “I’m learning about forgiveness and how to honor God as we go through trials. I’m praying and fasting for the salvation of my brother.”
Terezina’s favorite scripture verse is this: “Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying” (Romans 12:12). May we keep praying for women like Terezina who suffer daily for their faith. Oh, that we would be bold enough to say with her, “No matter what they say, or do to me, I will not leave Christ.”
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