To the Church in the North of Nigeria,
To our brothers and sisters in Borno State, Plateau State, Kaduna State, Benue State, Yobe State, and every hidden fellowship where the Name of JESUS CHRIST is whispered through tears.
Grace to you, and peace from GOD our FATHER and from the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Many of us do not know what it is to hear gunshots while singing hymns.
Many of us do not know what it is to gather for worship not knowing who will return home.
Many of us do not know what it is to bury a husband because he refused to renounce CHRIST.
Many of us do not know what it is to hold a child who asks, “Why did they kill Daddy for going to church?”
But you know.
You know what it is to kneel beside ashes where your sanctuary once stood.
You know what it is to search for familiar faces after the attack.
You know what it is to dig graves with hands still wet with tears.
You know what it is to sing, “It Is Well with My Soul,” while your world is collapsing.
And still you worship. Still you gather. Still you pray.
Still you preach. Still you declare, “JESUS is LORD.”
Beloved, we are undone by your faith.
While many of us in the West, the East, and the South of Nigeria pursue comfort and become distracted by lesser things, you are proving with your blood that CHRIST is better than life.
When your churches are burned, you become living temples.
When your Bibles are taken, the WORD rises from your hearts.
When your pastors are killed, the Gospel is preached by widows, by children, by farmers, by ordinary saints whose only sermon is this:
“CHRIST is worth everything.”
Your tears preach. Your scars preach. Your graves preach.
Your endurance thunders across this nation louder than any conference, crusade, or cathedral.
You are telling all of Nigeria that JESUS CHRIST is not a slogan. HE is a treasure worth dying for.
And so We are ashamed that we have loved convenience more than CHRIST.
We are ashamed that we have feared insults more than you have faced bullets.
We are ashamed that we have complained about small discomforts while you cling to CHRIST in the valley of the shadow of death.
And we are grateful.
Grateful that GOD has raised among us men and women who show us what genuine Christianity looks like.
Grateful that your faith calls us to repentance.
Grateful that your steadfastness awakens sleeping churches.
Our Prayer is LORD, give us Their courage.
Give us Their conviction.
Give us their love for CHRIST.
Give us their willingness to lose everything and still sing. Give us hearts that treasure JESUS above houses, lands, reputation, and life itself.
And for you, beloved sufferers, we pray:
May GOD sit with every widow in the silence of the night.
May CHRIST reveal HIMSELF to every orphan who wonders why this happened.
May the HOLY SPIRIT strengthen every pastor Afraid.
May angels encamp around every village.
May the fields you fled one day be filled again with songs of harvest and praise.
May the blood of the martyrs become seed.
May those who murdered your loved ones be conquered by the Gospel.
May former persecutors become preachers.
May the same grace that transformed Paul the Apostle visit your enemies.
And when you grow weary, remember this:
Every wound will be healed. Every injustice will be answered. Every faithful saint will receive a crown.
The day is coming when no church will burn.
No child will hide in fear. No widow will mourn.
No gun will sound. No terrorist will threaten.
No grave will open except to release the redeemed.
On that day, you will stand before the throne clothed in white.
And the LORD JESUS HIMSELF will wipe away your tears. HE will show you the scars in HIS hands.
HE will call your suffering light and momentary.
HE will place upon your heads the crown of life.
And all Heaven will know that you counted CHRIST worthy. Until that day, stand firm.
When your knees tremble, stand. When your eyes are full of tears, stand.