When Thea* heard about Jesus from an American woman who came to her Indian village, she wept because she knew it was the truth. That day, she believed and gave her life to Christ, but she unknowingly became an enemy in her own husband’s eyes in that same moment.
The fight to be faithful
In her excitement, Thea told her husband what she learned from the American woman … that there was a man named Jesus who could forgive them for everything and give them a place in heaven. But her husband responded in anger. He beat her that evening.
The next evening when he arrived home, he beat her again. This continued every day for weeks, but Thea would not turn from her newfound Savior and prayed for her husband each day.
One day, the beating began once more. Thea was on the floor, and her husband began to lift his leg to kick her. But at that moment, his leg wouldn’t move. It was paralyzed.
Somehow he knew that this was her God’s doing. He knew this God must be powerful and care about his wife. Thea’s husband wanted to know more about her God. With joy, Thea shared the Good News about Jesus that changed her life. And there—on the floor in their small hut—her husband let the gospel change his life too.
Though Thea’s husband attempted to put an end to her belief in God through his persecution, God used Thea’s endurance as a powerful witness to draw her husband to Christ.
*Name changed for security reasons.