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Henry's Courage
By Mark JH Klassen
The other soldiers mocked him. Henry (not his real name) was only a young Christian when he began serving with the national military, but he was very public about his faith in Jesus and so he often encountered ridicule from other soldiers. They would see him pray and they would ridicule him and make life difficult for him. Like the rest of them, Henry had grown up in a Muslim home, but as an adult he had experienced a crisis of faith and became a follower of Jesus.
One military officer, in particular, was offended by Henry’s faith. While they were stationed in a city where it was very cold, -20 degrees Celsius, this officer took it upon himself one day to punish Henry for preaching the Gospel. He woke Henry up that morning at 5 a.m., got him out of bed, and marched him out of the barracks, outside into the cold where he began to mock him. He pushed him down into the snow and began to beat him on his head and his legs, telling him to renounce his faith in Jesus and return to Islam. Henry refused, and instead prayed for God’s strength. After several hours of torture, this officer pinned Henry’s head to the ground with his knee on his neck. He took out his pistol and pointed it at Henry’s head. He gave him one last chance to change his mind and re-affirm his commitment to Islam. But again Henry refused and re-affirmed his faith in Jesus. He thought his life was over, but the officer didn’t pull the trigger and, for some reason, let him go.
Some of the other soldiers helped Henry into the barracks where he rested and recovered. He couldn’t walk or eat for two days. The other soldiers heard him pray to Jesus for strength. They heard him ask God to forgive the officer. They couldn’t believe what they were hearing. They were amazed by Henry’s attitude. They saw the love of Christ in him. And because of that testimony, a number of those soldiers gave their lives to Jesus. When word of that incident spread throughout the army base, the General in charge called Henry into his office and expressed his sympathy for what had happened and indicated to Henry that not everyone felt the same way toward followers of Jesus as that officer. Henry was encouraged by the General’s support.
Years later, after Henry had left the military and was working full-time in church planting and preaching the Gospel, he came back to that city. He had been praying that God would send more workers to that part of his country. But he had come back to the city to speak to a small number of young Muslims who were interested in learning more about Jesus. Henry knew that it was risky to take these kinds of opportunities, because someone could easily inform the authorities about what he was doing and he would be in trouble.
One evening, after speaking at length with this group, sharing his own testimony and the Gospel with them, he returned to the apartment where he was staying and went to bed. In the middle of the night, around 1 a.m., he was suddenly awakened and immediately felt that he should leave. He sensed that the Holy Spirit was saying that it was no longer safe at the apartment and that he should find somewhere else to stay. So Henry packed up and walked out into the cold, remembering what had happened years earlier in that same city, in that same cold, when the military officer had tortured him for his faith in Jesus. As he walked down the street, he asked God, “Where should I go?” And immediately he heard God speak, “Go back to the military base.”
It seemed crazy at first, but despite his fear and reluctance, Henry went directly to the military base and approached the gate. There the guard told him that because he was no longer in the military he couldn’t let him in, not without someone’s permission.
Without hesitation, Henry told the guard to call the General. Though it was the middle of the night, the guard called the General and Henry was granted permission to spend the night at the military base. In the morning, when Henry left through that gate, the same guard told him that during the night two carloads of men had come looking for him, but he had turned them away. Henry’s life was preserved.
Henry was protected by the Holy Spirit that night, as he has been many times in his work as an evangelist and church planter in his country. He is one of many national believers who are enduring significant persecution for their faith today. We stand with them in prayer and we believe that those prayers make a difference.
Today, in the very city where these events took place, we now have a long-term team of three families that is committed to establishing a living testimony to the Gospel. In some ways, that team is a part of Henry’s legacy of faith and courage. They are building upon the foundation that Henry laid during his earlier visits.
