She belongs to the congregation of Gospel for Asia-supported pastor
Saroj Nanda and loves Jesus—but most of her relatives do not. They
follow a religion traditional to their area.
When one of her relatives died, Jode’s husband told her to take
part in a burial ritual that involved bowing down to idols. Believing it
was against God’s law, Jode humbly refused, which angered her
husband. He started to violently beat her.
“The eyewitnesses explained the terrible way that she was beaten up,
not only by her husband but also by her in-laws,” writes a Gospel for Asia
correspondent.
Following the attack, Jode’s husband and his family forced her to leave the house and warned her to never return home.
Jode, 30 years old, had no place to go for help. None of
her family members, including her parents, would let her live with them
because they were afraid of her husband. But the peace of Christ
overwhelmed Jode as she kept trusting in Jesus, knowing He was in
control of the situation.
The encouragement of Nanda and the believers helped Jode
during this time, and she asked her brothers and sisters in Christ to
pray she would remain faithful to Jesus until her final breath.
As they prayed for her, God graciously responded. Witnessing the
harsh persecution she experienced, a group of the believers—and even
some non-Christians in the village—implored her husband to understand
that Jode had not done anything wrong. God answered their prayers
and his heart softened.
Jode’s husband allowed her to come back. In fact, he started
supporting her and encouraged her to stand strong in the midst of
opposition from his family.
But even though her situation improved, Jode knew she must follow God no matter what opposition comes.
“Even if I die, I will never stop following the Lord til the end of my life,” she says.
