She Won't Shrink Back

            She lives in Syria, and she won’t shrink back. Her name is Miriam, and she’s 31 years old. She was born into a Muslim family, but she became a Christian when she was 13 after she found a bible in her sister’s backpack and began secretly reading it. Since she was 13 years old, she has been beaten by her parents and her brother because of her faith.
            I read her story from the Voice of the Martyrs newsletter a few months ago while I was eating my lunch at Arby’s. I read how Miriam held onto her faith in Christ, even sharing it with her siblings, while the beatings from her own father and brother left her with head wounds, a broken finger, and a bleeding eye that was permanently damaged.[1] Even in the face of more threats, she continues to go to church, to pray with other believers, and to share what God has done for her. Even through her family’s abuse, she won’t shrink back.
            And there I was in Arby’s, dipping my curly fries in ketchup.

            The Voice of the Martyrs had helped her and other Christians facing persecution. The day before Miriam spoke in the interview for the article, Miriam was beaten by her family members. But still, she said, “God has freed me from any bitterness toward them…. I love [my parents]. I reject the things they do, but I don’t try anymore to bring reason for what they do. I try to share my faith. I believe the Scripture, ‘You and your family will be saved’ (Acts 16:31). That is what I am holding onto.”[2]   
            She’s continuing to love. She’s continuing to forgive. She’s continuing to believe the promises in Scripture. She’s continuing to share her faith. SHE WON’T SHRINK BACK.

Why Didn't You Come Sooner?
            A few weeks ago, I shared that the title of my book is She Won’t Shrink Back: A Story of Building and Believing. I confess that I’m a bit obsessed with stories of people who won’t shrink back.
            At any chance I get, I listen to podcasts and sermons by Christine Caine because I’m hoping some of her boldness and excitement for the gospel will rub off on me. Christine Caine has been a leader in the Hillsong Church in Australia, and she is also the founder of A21 and Propel Women. The A21 organization is a global anti-trafficking initiative, and their team is rescuing trafficking victims around the world.

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            Christine tells about the time when she talked with a girl who had been rescued out of trafficking in Greece. The girl told her the story of what happened: Sixty girls had being shipped to Istanbul in a shipping container with an oxygen tank. Because the oxygen tank failed, thirty of the girls had died. This girl told Christine how she watched her friend Anna die. Then after they arrived in Istanbul, the girls were locked in a room and abused repeatedly for several days. Then they were loaded on a boat to sail to Greece.
            But the coast guard was going through the waters on that day. To avoid getting caught, the traffickers threw the girls overboard. These girls were from villages that were far from the sea, so most of them didn’t know how to swim. All but five of the girls drowned.
            But this girl had survived this trauma and was now sitting in the same room with Christine. She looked at Christine and asked, “Why did you come?”

            Christine began to tell her that there is a God in heaven who loves her. She said, “Jesus healed me and freed me. He can do the same thing for you. God has a plan for your life, and He can redeem your past.”
            Then the girl yelled across the room, “If what you’re telling me about your God is true—if what you’ve said is true, THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU COME SOONER?”[3]

            Christine tells us that now those words fuel her each day. From that point on, she has worked to build A21 and to raise up new leaders.
            But then in 2014, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She believes Satan struck her throat—right at her voice—because he wanted to silence her. I’ve heard her say that when she was lying there, getting ready to go into surgery and have the surgeon cut open her throat, she wasn’t worried about how many Twitter followers she had or any other trivial thing. She was only grateful that she had given her all to serve Christ.
            She turned 49 this year. She knows that she could ease up her pace and still be admired for her work. But she has no desire to stop giving every ounce of energy to sharing the love of God with others. She has no desire to quit. She has no desire to shrink back.  

My Goal for Us
            As you can tell, I am inspired by Christine Caine and by Miriam who lives in Syria.
            My goal with my blog this year is to inspire you guys to not shrink back from God’s plan for your lives. If you find a story of someone who WON’T SHRINK BACK, please email it to me or send me a tweet on Twitter. I’d love to compile and share #wewontshrinkback stories throughout this year.
            Also, I’m working on something as a gift for you. I told you that my book’s title comes from a favorite bible verse of Hebrews 10:39. So this summer, I started working on a 7-day bible study on that section of Scripture in Hebrews 10 and 11. It started with my own personal research of trying to tease out what God’s Word means when it says that we are not of those who shrink back.
            And then, wouldn’t you know that on the day I set aside to start writing the study, I was hit with some bad news and overcome with grief and discouragement. 
            I’m still praying and working through that situation. But perhaps the timing was fitting—because wouldn’t it be fake if I wrote about not shrinking back during a time that was smooth sailing for me? Isn’t it more meaningful to write about not shrinking back during the very moments when I was praying through my tears and couldn’t move off my couch?   
            My goal is to complete the “We Won’t Shrink Back” 7-day bible study and have it available for you to download as a PDF around Christmas. In the meantime, I encourage you to read Hebrews 10:35-11:6 and also to visit the websites that I referenced in this post:


The Voice of the Martyrs: www.persecution.com
A21: www.a21.org
The message by Christine Caine that I quoted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtTMDP6KOcQ



[1] (2015). “Why I Haven’t Left Syria.” The Voice of the Martyrs: Iraq & Syria Special Field Report.
[2] (2015). “Why I Haven’t Left Syria.” The Voice of the Martyrs: Iraq & Syria Special Field Report.
[3] “Christine Caine at Passion 2012 Georgia.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtTMDP6KOcQ
    

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