Today we share with you the story of Lana, a young Iraqi woman who is now living in Germany, who came to faith in Christ in extraordinary circumstances. Lana’s story begins with near-death experience at the hands of the Islamic State, which caused her to seek the true God. While this is undoubtedly extraordinary, the redemption and assurance she received in Christ is shared by all believers, no matter how ‘ordinary’ our testimonies might seem in comparison. For Lana, like many of us, this was only the beginning.
Lana contacted SAT-7 through the online page SAT-7 FREE SOULS. She introduced herself, “Hello, I'm Lana. I’m 27, originally from Iraq, but now live in Germany. I started following the Lord a few years ago but feel that I have backslid. I don't feel Him as closely as I used to.”
In trying to understand more about Lana’s background, the Viewer Support team asked her how she came to have a living relationship with Jesus. They could not have anticipated the story she was about to tell.
“During the IS invasion in 2014, a bomb was thrown into the room where my family and I were. And for four hours, the bomb did not go off. In these moments, all I could think of was what would happen to me after I died. I started searching for God from then on; I needed assurance .”
I looked in the book that I embraced in my previous background but could not find peace or an assurance of salvation. When I came to Germany, I started reading the Bible, having met someone who gave it to me. It was there that I found salvation and assurance of eternity, and no longer feared death. I saw Christ in a dream, and He said: ‘I am the One who forgives sins.’ This is my story of coming to faith in Christ.”
The team were astonished by what Lana told them and rejoiced that God had revealed Himself to her in such extreme circumstances. But her story didn’t end there. Lara told them about some of the challenges she had faced since becoming a Christian.
“I told my family, but they totally rejected my experience. I now live independently of them, and we do not speak. I started attending church and asking Christ to forgive my sins.”
Loss of family relationships is sadly the experience of many who come to faith in Christ in the MENA, particularly if they are from a strict religious background. This can be a dangerous time for new believers, as they seek companionship to fill the hole left by their estranged family members.
This was the case with Lana, alone and isolated and starting a new life in a strange country. She told the Viewer Support team, “For almost two and a half years, I have been seeing a man who is a non-believer, and this relationship has distanced me from God. I do not know how to come back to Him. I do not feel the Holy Spirit as closely as before, and I have a feeling God has rejected me. I’ve lost my inner peace.”
When we remember the need for peace and assurance that drew Lana to Christ following her near-death experience in Iraq, we can see how God was now using those same things to call her back to Him. He had protected her from the bomb, offering her a second chance back then, and was extending His hand to her once again.
Over many conversations with Lana, the team assured her that God is a God of second chances, and that He will never turn her away when she turns back to Him in repentance and faith. They prayed with her, and she renewed her commitment to Him. They prayed that her faith would become even deeper than before, encouraging her to start reading the Bible regularly.
“I will, thank you,” Lana replied. But she was still worried that her relationship with God depended on always feeling the peace and assurance that she had felt at first. She asked, “But how do I carry on down this path if I don't have these feelings?”
In this way, Lana’s story is relatable for many Christians, no matter where we’re from. It can be easy to put too much stock into our ever-shifting emotions, looking inward for truth rather than upwards to God and what He says about us.
The Viewer Support team reassured Lana that faith is not an emotion, but a decision to trust in Jesus and what He has done. They advised her that through spending daily time with the Lord in prayer and the Word, peace and assurance would follow as the result of her faith, not the basis of it.
Lana was comforted by this, and admitted that part of her struggle came from the realisation that she needed to be in a relationship that helped her to walk more closely with God, rather than leading her away from Him. The team prayed with Lana that God would reveal His will to her in this area of her life and give her the strength to follow wherever He leads.
She was particularly comforted by the words of Psalm 91:14, “‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.’” This was certainly true of Lana’s experience, from the time that he protected her from the bomb that fell into her family home in Iraq to the present, now calling her back to Him.
She said, “He will protect me and not let me fall, and even if I do fall, He will save me and will not allow tougher trials than I can endure. If I cling to God, if I set my love on Him, no evil trial will break me. Amen! I will try to have a closer relationship with the Lord and read His Word more diligently, even when I don't feel like it. I have come to realise that commitment is the foundation, not feelings. Faith is a decision.”
Let’s give thanks for Lana’s extraordinary story.
Lord, we thank you for saving Lana’s life in Iraq, giving her the opportunity to seek the redemption and assurance that are found only in you. We thank you for bringing her back to you after she went astray, and thank you that you are always ready to give second chances.
Part of SAT-7’s ministry is supporting isolated believers from the Middle East, primarily through our programmes, but also through our Viewer Support Teams. Pray that God will give them the words to say to Christians like Lana, seeking support and direction in their faith.
Finally, Lord, we thank you that our faith is based on the firm foundation of what You have done, and not on our emotions. We pray that others across the MENA will encounter this truth in SAT-7’s programmes and put their trust in You.
Amen.
