India (MNN) — In India, successful businessman Sundar was a picture of prosperity and blessing. His grocery store was thriving, he had a wife and children, and he had built a shrine in his front yard. People in the community would even visit Sundar’s shrine as a public idol to worship and present offerings.
But when Sundar’s life recently experienced a downturn, Jesus met him at rock bottom.
Regan Miller with Mission India says, “[Sundar] could not save his business. He couldn’t figure out how to turn things around, and it really affected his mental health.”
During this time, God led a Mission India church planter to connect with Sundar. The church planter shared the Gospel with him.
(Photo courtesy of Mission India)
“Sundar made fun of it at first,” Miller says. “But the more that Sundar heard about Jesus, something shifted in his heart, and he received Christ as a Savior!”
Sundar also shared his newfound faith with his wife and children. Although they were skeptical at first, eventually, they began attending church together as a family.
Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for Sundar to also begin facing persecution.
Miller says, “You can imagine this was a big surprise to the local community. Sundar’s parents and brothers stopped speaking to him. There were usual customers at the grocery store that they still had to come out of necessity for groceries, but they just treated him poorly because he had come to Christ.”
Currently, there is still one problem — the shrine.
Miller says, “He’s planning to remove the shrine from his yard soon. He’s making plans to remove it. He’s aware of the risk that would be involved with it and what people might think and the potential response from his neighbors.
“[Sundar] would love prayer that this goes over well, that he could even lead people to Christ in the process, and that this whole situation can move by peacefully.”
Pray for Sundar’s faith to be strengthened amid persecution. Pray for his new life and the lives of other Indian believers to be a testimony to their communities of joy following Jesus.
IDOP Devotional
Stories like this are included in Mission India’s seven-day email devotionals leading up to the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP).
Mission India’s IDOP devotional series starts October 27, and IDOP is November 3.
Sign up today for Mission India’s IDOP devotionals!
Miller says, “This year, what makes our devotional really special is that we’ve got church leaders from around the US that have each taken a day and written out that day’s devotional…. Then after each church leader’s reflection, it’s followed by a story from India about someone who was persecuted. It includes action steps you can take [and] prayer prompts.
“It’s a great way to engage and not only learn about persecution in India but learn how you can find strength in your own suffering through the stories of people in modern-day India and also back in Scripture as well.”
Header photo courtesy of Mission India.
