{"id":4767,"date":"2023-11-11T05:10:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-11T05:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/?p=4767"},"modified":"2023-11-10T17:20:45","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T17:20:45","slug":"more-precious-than-jewels-women-whose-courageous-faith-should-inspire-everyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/more-precious-than-jewels-women-whose-courageous-faith-should-inspire-everyone\/","title":{"rendered":"More Precious than Jewels: Women Whose Courageous Faith Should Inspire Everyone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

FROM THE VOICE OF THE MARTYRS PRESIDENT:
COLE RICHARDS<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Women are largely disregarded by the governments and major religions of nations where The Voice of the Martyrs serves. It is understandable, therefore, that some assume the advancement of God\u2019s kingdom in such places is focused on men, with women relegated to supporting roles. But nothing could be further from the truth \u2014 either now or throughout church history. While women face particular challenges in frontier missions contexts, God often uses the marginalized or \u201cless likely\u201d to accomplish his purposes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of us is tempted by the enemy, through our own attributes, to conclude that we are unfit for God\u2019s use. Our sisters in Christ, whose stories are often featured in our free magazine,<\/a><\/strong> are perfect case studies. For example, by human reasoning, what chance does a widow have of leading Muslims to Christ in an Islamist context where women are treated as possessions of their male family members? Faced with thoughts like this, I remind myself of Gladys Aylward\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> work in China and Amy Carmichael<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s in India. Like all of us, they had no chance on their own but every chance with God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As secularists continually pit men against women in arguments involving money and power, we can celebrate the fact that God uses the courageous faith of both men and women to advance his eternal kingdom. A recurring feature of ministry on the world\u2019s most difficult and dangerous mission fields throughout history and continuing today is that women continue the Lord\u2019s work<\/a><\/strong> after their husbands or coworkers are imprisoned or slain by persecutors. People are sometimes surprised when I, as a male missionary leader, tell them that it is often the women in those stories who inspire me the most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“It is often the women in those stories who inspire me the most.”<\/p>\nCOLE RICHARDS \u2013 VOM PRESIDENT<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

When American missionary Jim Elliot was speared to death on a jungle beach in Ecuador while making first contact with an unreached tribe, his widow, Elisabeth<\/a><\/strong>, had every reason to return to the United States. Yet she chose to journey with her young daughter to the very tribe that had killed her husband, to live among them for years in intense privation, and to lead them to Christ. Jim\u2019s bold faith is inspiring, but Elisabeth\u2019s long walk of courage and suffering makes her one of history’s most exemplary frontier missionaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Communists imprisoned Richard Wurmbrand in Romania, his wife, Sabina<\/a><\/strong>, continued to facilitate the work of the underground churches there. She was penniless, persecuted, and raising a child on her own under Communist oppression. With every reason to focus solely on her own problems, she persevered in the Lord\u2019s service to others and suffered years of imprisonment in a labor camp as a consequence. No examples of faith have meant more to me than those of Sabina Wurmbrand<\/a><\/strong> and Elisabeth Elliot<\/a><\/strong>. The stories of bold and courageous faith by our sisters in Christ are not just for the women\u2019s ministry at your church \u2014 they are for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"The<\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FROM THE VOICE OF THE MARTYRS PRESIDENT:COLE RICHARDS Women are largely disregarded by the governments and major religions of nations where The Voice of the Martyrs serves. It is understandable, therefore, that some assume the advancement of God\u2019s kingdom in such places is focused on men, with women relegated to supporting roles. But nothing could be further from the truth \u2014 either now or throughout church history. While women face particular challenges in frontier missions contexts, God often uses the marginalized or \u201cless likely\u201d to accomplish his purposes. Each of us is tempted by the enemy, through our own attributes, to conclude that we are unfit for God\u2019s use. Our sisters in Christ, whose stories are often featured in our free magazine, are perfect case studies. For example, by human reasoning, what chance does a widow have of leading Muslims to Christ in an Islamist context where women are treated as possessions of their male family members? Faced with thoughts like this, I remind myself of Gladys Aylward\u2019s work in China and Amy Carmichael\u2019s in India. Like all of us, they had no chance on their own but every chance with God. As secularists continually pit men against women in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4744,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[104],"class_list":["post-4767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-presidents-letter","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nMore Precious than Jewels: Women Whose Courageous Faith Should Inspire Everyone - Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""It is often the women in those stories of courageous faith we share who inspire me the most," said Cole Richards, VOM President.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/more-precious-than-jewels-women-whose-courageous-faith-should-inspire-everyone\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"More Precious than Jewels: Women Whose Courageous Faith Should Inspire Everyone - 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