Faith McDonnell
November 20, 2009
“Give thanks, with a grateful heart,“ one of the classic worship songs encourages. What a gift and what a blessing it is to have a grateful heart. Those with grateful hearts appreciate small things, the tender mercies of the Lord, even when it seems as if the world is crashing in around them and there’s not much, if anything, for which to be thankful.
Christians around the world who are suffering for the sake of the Gospel show us, with humbling clarity, what it means to have a grateful heart. I think of Chinese house church Christians, who spend not one, not two, but three to four hours in persistent, corporate prayer during ten to twelve hour worship services! I think of the radiant face of Iranian Christian evangelist Mehdi Dibaj standing before the Islamic court which sentenced to death for apostasy (leaving Islam 40 years before), declaring, “What a privilege to live for our Lord and to die for Him as well. I am filled to overflowing with joy; I am not only satisfied to be in prison. . .but am ready to give my life for the sake of Jesus Christ.” And I think of the Christians in Sudan, and of the Rev. Mary Alueel Garang’s hymn that urges, “Let us praise the Lord in the day of devastation and in the day of contentment,” written while South Sudanese Christians were experiencing devastating war, persecution, famine, enslavement, aerial bombardment, and forced displacement to refugee camps and across the world. These precious brothers and sisters are, as the worship song continues, the “weak” who say, “I am strong,” and the “poor” who say, “I am rich, because of what the Lord has done for us.”
As Thanksgiving Day draws near, I ask myself if I have a grateful heart. And I have to admit, sometimes my heart is not grateful — it is focused on all that is crashing in around the world of my concerns and rebelliously it asks, “What on earth is there to be grateful for?”
I am encouraged, though, because I am not alone. Even our spiritual father and the original worship leader, King David, had to tell his soul and his heart to be grateful and to remember all of God’s mercies towards him. “Praise the Lord, O my soul,” he commands, “and forget not all his benefits.” But once he did, that grateful heart would start beating again, and he would enumerate all of the things for which he was thankful.
In addition to all of the great blessings to remember on this coming Thanksgiving Day (and every day), here are a few bits of good news from the world of the persecuted church for which we should give thanks:
- Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad and Maryam Rustampoor, two young Christian Iranian women, were released from prison on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 after 259 days in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran. Marzieh and Maryam were facing life in prison or possibly even a death sentence for converting to Christianity from Islam.
- As I reported last month and last week, Tiananmen Square hero Fang Zheng, whose legs were crushed beneath a tank when he saved the life of another demonstrator, received new prosthetic legs and is now walking and dancing!
- The Rev. Thomas Anei, the Project Officer for the microfinance program of Five Talents International in South Sudan reported on the first community-owned bank in South Sudan. Starting with 20 women who earned money by selling Coca-Cola and other products, the Lietnhom Village Savings & Loan Association, in Bahr el Gazal, now has over 500 partners.
Another thing for which I am very thankful is the wonderful support and encouragement of IRD friends like you. Thank you for your ongoing care for our brother and sisters around the world, and faithful support for the work of IRD’s Religious Liberty Program.
May God bless you as you reflect on his goodness this Thanksgiving.
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