Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Andrew Brunson is a Christian pastor who was imprisoned in Turkey following the 2016 political coup there. He was accused of many conspiracies against the Turkish government which were entirely unfounded. Pastor Brunson was held for two years, often in inhumane conditions.

Brunson says that when he was first imprisoned, he was reminded that many Christians had suffered injustice before him and knowing that others would come after him, he wanted to set a good example. “Fear is normal,” he will tell you, but, “Will you stand in spite of your fears?”[1]  Brunson found perseverance through closeness with God in what he called the Valley of Testing.

Even when he prayed fervently for God’s will over his own, he said “I was thoroughly broken.” In his second year of imprisonment, after many setbacks in his trial, Brunson felt shocked to be praying simply, “I love you Jesus.  Whatever you do or do not do, I will follow you!” He realized that his heart had changed and that his primary goal was simply closeness with God. He said that through his testing, he developed a deep friendship with God.

“Submitting did not change the facts of my imprisonment, but it did change my heart.” God allows the foundation of the things that we trust in to be shaken,” Brunson states. Fear did not disappear in prison, but it was there that he experienced Jesus as worthy of his all.

Resource Reading:  I John 4:16-19

[1] All quotes personal interview with Andrew Brunson, February 25, 2020.