Giving Thanks Amid Crisis

by TW, Middle East Coordinator

Living in the Middle East, I am blessed to live up close to so many sites that are significant to our Christian faith. Our Lord Jesus was born, served, died, raised from the dead and ascended to heaven from the Middle East. It is the birthplace of the early Church, and a major contributor to the global Church today through its orthodox faith, creeds, monasticism, mission and theology. In fact, early mission efforts were carried out of the Middle East as men and women traveled throughout the world sharing the hope of the Gospel.

Despite these incredible things, the Middle East has also been fraught with challenges. Over the years, the Middle Eastern Church has experienced different times of persecution, harassment and the rise of Islam—which weakened the Church and decreased the percentage of Christians in the region. For a time, Christianity had all but disappeared from North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and other parts of the Middle East, but in the 19th century, God used Western missionaries to reintroduce this land to the message of Christ and His Kingdom. These missionaries established new churches, schools, seminaries and hospitals, and contributed greatly to the translation of the Bible into Arabic. But still today, Christians are a minority in the Middle East and face immense challenges.

2023 in particular brought this region many political, economic and social crises. We saw a flood in Libya, an earthquake in Morocco, the war in Gaza and Israel, economic decline in Egypt and other nations, civil war in Sudan, and unrest in Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon. Tensions remain high, and many are experiencing poverty, displacement, migration, immigration, war and unemployment. Christians in the Middle East suffer from persecution, discrimination, displacement and forced migration from their homeland.

Are there any reasons to give thanks to God and take heart during these troubling times? How can we find the spirit of thanksgiving amid such heartbreak?

Yes, indeed—God is in control and the source of all peace, love and hope. We can take heart knowing that no matter what we face or the seemingly impossible situations ahead of us, He is in control. He knows our hearts, sees our struggle and has immense power to reconcile the world and all peoples to Himself. In spite of the above crises, I am encouraged to see the Middle Eastern Church recognize its role in God’s global mission. After years of being on the receiving end of mission work, the Church in this region is now sending out workers and embodying God’s call to “go into all the world and make disciples of all nations,” (Matthew 28:19).

As I connect with Frontier Fellowship’s partners throughout the region, I am seeing firsthand the ways each partner is raising mission awareness and involvement throughout their communities. They are developing curriculums to help train students in mission, hosting conferences, teaching, preaching and planting churches that are growing God’s Kingdom. We are hearing reports of thousands seeking Christ and many coming to faith in Him in difficult contexts.

God is the source of every good thing. His love, hope, forgiveness, peace and joy is cause for rejoicing and gratitude. As you celebrate Thanksgiving with your loved ones, I pray that you will take heart amid challenge and remember God’s unique and boundless love for you. Happy Thanksgiving from the Middle East!