Andrew Brunson (M) arrives at the address where he would be held under house arrest due to health issues, on July 25, 2018. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
It is now 4 years since U.S. Pastor Andrew Brunson was released from prison in Turkey.
Open Doors USA, a watchdog group that monitors Christian persecution in over 60 countries, stated Brunson had been imprisoned “for his faith and work as a Christian pastor” much as officials in Turkey alleged espionage and terrorism charges.
During his imprisonment, Pastor Brunson, his wife Norine and their family were at the center of millions of prayers, numerous news articles, and even social media posts and diplomatic efforts from members of the U.S. government among others.
“In prison I was separated from my loved ones by force. I was locked away with no control over anything, with the power of a hostile government set against me and the threat of three life sentences,” he wrote in an article published by Decision Magazine recently.
“I was terrified, and this meant that I had constant bursts of adrenaline that kept me from sleep. Eventually my body started to break down. I lost 50 pounds. Panic attacks came in waves, night and day,” Pastor Brunson recalled.
Throughout the New Testament, Jesus repeatedly warned His disciples that they would encounter persecution and hardship, and He repeatedly admonished them not to fear – something Pastor Brunson had to learn during this season of his life.
“When there’s a threat, the natural reaction is to be afraid. I personally don’t know how to avoid the surge of adrenaline, the fast-beating heart. I think Jesus’ emphasis is not so much “do not feel fear” but rather “do not act out of fear,” he wrote.
The father of three cautions that a person who surrenders to fear may compromise his faith, fall away and even deny Jesus.
While behind bars, Pastor Brunson says it took him about a year to get to the point where he could consistently press through his fear.
“I did not come to the point where I had no fear, but I came to the point where I could stand firm in spite of fear, and I would call this overcoming fear,” he wrote.
Adding: “We need to nurture a straight-up fear of God as judge. Some things stood out to me like never before as I read the Bible in prison. One was the large number of exhortations to persevere, to endure, to overcome—and the consequences of not doing so.”
Amid persecution, Pastor Brunson believers that every Christian has to decide whether “we will have more fear of man or more fear of God.”
“Are we going to be more afraid of the consequences of obeying God, which is persecution, or the consequences of not obeying God? We need to have the right perspective—that although it may be costly to follow Jesus, it is much more costly not to follow Him,” he said.
Near the end of his first year in prison, Pastor Andrew says that he was called into a court session and told that they had added new charges against him that would result in three life sentences in solitary confinement with no possibility of parole.
The preacher says that the Turkish officials tacked on an extra 35 years just to make sure he had no way out. He, however, did not lose hope despite the challenges.
Pastor Andrew says that he started a discipline of dancing before the Lord for five minutes a day while in prison.
“I became aware that Jesus commanded us to rejoice when we’re persecuted. He said: “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5:11-12, NKJV).
“It’s very difficult to be motivated by a far-off reward when I’m suffering and want immediate relief, but as I repeated day after day that I was rejoicing because “great is my reward in Heaven,” even though I wasn’t feeling any joy and was not really motivated by reward, something began to change in my inner man. I actually became more focused on Heaven and desirous of being there.
“Pressing in to these three things—a fear of God, an eternal perspective and looking to Heaven—changed me over the months, and it built something in me so that when I was put on trial, I spoke these words before the judges and media in the courtroom:
“Blessed am I because for the sake of Jesus, many people have wronged me, have persecuted me, and I am now suffering. Blessed am I because I have been forcibly separated from my wife and children. Blessed am I because I am in prison. I choose willingly to suffer for the sake of Jesus and by suffering for His sake, I hope to display for everyone His incomparable worth.””
Andrew Brunson was released by Turkey in October 2018. Credit was also given to then USA President, Donald Trump “for the unrelenting pressure his administration applied to Turkey on this matter.”
Debi Forester, communications director of Brunson’s hometown church in North Carolina, said church members were “all just shouting ‘Hallelujah!’ and doing the happy dance” on the news of his release, according to the Associated Press.
Like Andrew Brunson, Open Doors USA believers that there are thousands of Christians around the world, imprisoned because they follow Jesus. But their names and stories are virtually unknown.
