Lent reminds us of the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert, where He chose faithfulness in the face of deprivation and temptation.
Today, hard choices continue to confront believers around the world, asking what they are willing to give up in order to follow Christ.
For many in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) who connect with SAT-7, faith is chosen and pursued at the risk of losing something immensely precious: family, home, safety, livelihood, and the future as it was once imagined.
These are not dramatic sacrifices performed for effect, but costly acts of faith made in ordinary places and private moments. And during Lent, they offer a sobering lens through which to examine our own walk with God.
Always Afraid
For Armita, a young Christian girl from Afghanistan now living in Tajikistan, faith means living in constant fear. Facing the threat of deportation, she contacted SAT-7 last summer for prayer.
“I don’t want to go back to Afghanistan. I don’t want to be deported, and I don’t want to be killed,” she said. “They will ask our family about our faith, and I know everyone will confess that we are Christians… It is not just members of our family who have been killed; many people have died, and we know that if we speak out about our faith, we too will be killed.”
Since then, Armita and her family have been trying to keep a low profile and have so far managed to evade being sent back to Afghanistan. But she contacted us again recently with this update:
“In Tajikistan, deportations have started again, and 20 more families have been deported, and we are very scared,” she said. “I am really tired of this life we have here, always living in fear. Please pray for us.”
Losing a Future
For Meelad, an Iraqi believer now living in Jordan, faith has meant the loss of homeland and the future she once hoped to build.
“We came to Jordan due to the circumstances in Iraq,” she explains. “It has been eight years without work, and I haven’t been able to study.”
The loss is not only practical, but deeply personal: “Every time I see someone in my field, it brings me pain, and I feel a mix of bitterness and deprivation inside.”
Like many thousands of Christians forced to leave Iraq in recent years, Meelad’s life has been severely disrupted and her dreams for the future remain out of reach. Yet through her connection with SAT-7, she has found encouragement and spiritual support. “You have no idea how I feel inside and how much joy and comfort I experience when you connect with me,” she said. “Thank you for your prayers. May the Lord bless you.”
Baptized in Secret
For Nouraida, originally from Syria but now living in Lebanon, faith means secrecy.
She has followed Christ for just over a year; a decision that has reshaped every part of her inner life. Yet it remains hidden from those closest to her. “I was baptized in Beirut secretly because my family does not know that I have a different faith,” she said.
Her prayer life, her reading of Scripture, her questions about God must remain clandestine, hidden even within her own home.
Like many in the MENA who chose to leave the faith of their family to follow Christ, Nouraida knows she faces rejection or mistreatment, so she must keep it to herself.
Giving up a Livelihood
For Amir in Egypt, faithfulness to Christ required walking away from the work that sustained him.
“I am in my twenties from Egypt. I am a recovering addict, and I used to work as a women’s hairdresser,” he said. “I stopped that job because it was causing me to drift further away from God.”
It was not an easy decision: his work brought income, structure, and dignity. Giving it up meant trusting that obedience to God mattered more than security.
But Amir chose to walk away from what sustained him financially in order to pursue his relationship with God more fully. “I want to feel God’s presence more tangibly,” he said.
The Cost and the Calling
These testimonies are a snapshot of the true cost of faith for many believers across the MENA.
It is not about giving up small comforts for a season but the far greater sacrifices of safety, family, livelihood, and the future once imagined.
And yet, in each story, faith remains. Not because it makes life easier. But because it offers something deeper: hope in uncertainty, strength in suffering, and the assurance that even in loss, they are not alone.
This is where SAT-7’s work is vital. By listening, by encouraging, and by walking alongside believers in their most difficult moments, SAT‑7 provides spiritual support to those whose faith carries a real and lasting cost.
During Lent, these voices remind us that following Christ has never been without sacrifice. And they invite us to reflect on our own journey, and what it means to remain faithful, whatever the cost.
Please Pray
- For believers across the MENA who follow Christ at great personal cost – that they will know God’s nearness, strength, and peace.
- For families divided by different faiths, and for children growing up in fear or isolation – that protection, wisdom, and hope will surround them.
- For SAT-7’s Viewer Support Teams as they listen to these voices across the MENA – that they will be able to bring a word of encouragement at the right moment, offering comfort to those in distress.
