Faith Amidst Opposition
“That,” she revealed later, “was the beginning of my faith.” It also initiated resistance from people who opposed her newfound faith. When she left to seek another job, she learned that companies working with the Iranian government did not want to hire Christians. “They are under pressure to take out the Christians’ benefits, lower their salaries, and offer no insurance,” she said. Private companies offered to hire her, but for less money than they would normally offer and with no benefits.
Life Under Scrutiny
Through her church, she met a Jesus-following man and married him. This triggered the wrath of the Iranian secret police. When the couple arrived at the hotel on their wedding night, they were detained and asked about their church involvement. About their pastor. About proof that they were really married. Eventually, the police let them go, but the episode so chilled them that they moved to northern Iran, where they hoped to have more freedom to serve Christ. Both became involved in ministries. Afrooz specialized in working with Christian women in Iran and other countries.
Courage and Hope
When their daughter was born, they were harassed by officials because they chose a Christian name, Emmanuel, for her. After the little girl started preschool, school administrators refused to certify her attendance or provide the necessary documents so she could advance to elementary school. Afrooz worried that the government would take their daughter away from them, saying that she and her husband were not providing a proper education. Again the family moved on, very much aware of Jesus’s words, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life” (Luke 18:29-30).
It takes courage to face earthly injustice and rest in the hope of Jesus, who promises to sustain his people wherever they are. Individually or together, Afrooz and her family have been shunned wherever they go: workplace, school, hotel, new city. When people treat them unjustly, they do not retaliate with eye-for-eye justice because they know “this isn’t all there is.” They know there’s more to come, in eternity. Their nomadic, alienated existence brings to mind the passage in the book of Hebrews that says Jesus followers are “strangers and exiles on the earth…. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city” (11:13, 16). Pray for peace of mind for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ who step forward in courage every day to stand firm in their faith.
THE END
Date: 26th July 2025
Martyr: Afrooz
Location: Iran
Source: The Voice of the Martyrs “I am n”
Author: Not Specified
Suffering Saturday 153
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