Once a dangerous man, Tarik now embraces a dangerous faith. When Tarik* in southern Philippines went to a programme run by Christians more than 20 years ago, it was partly to hide from the police. As a drug lord and hitman, he was ‘wanted’. But he couldn’t hide from God, and as unusual things began happening, it sparked an astonishing transformation.

“I didn’t like the lessons, because they seemed to target me,” recalls Tarik. “Almost all the topics felt like they were aimed at me, as if they were doing it on purpose.”

Still Tarik kept going and, after learning that Jesus could heal people, he took a step of faith, seeing if Jesus would heal him of the stomach pains he’d suffered with since childhood. “If you are truly Isa al-Masih [Jesus Christ], heal me,” he said. “After three minutes, the pain was gone.” But given his Muslim background, Tarik resisted becoming a Christian.

Tarik then had the same dream three times. “I dreamt about Jesus, and that I cast out evil spirits in His name,” he recalls. “Those dreams didn’t change my view, though. I still stubbornly believed He was a prophet.”

“Until one day, it wasn’t a dream any longer,” he continues. A local boy was demon possessed. “I said the name of Isa, and he was healed.” The same happened with a couple. News spread that Tarik had powers – powers he knew weren’t from him. “From that moment on, I began to seek Jesus.”

Embraced by the Father

Responding to an invitation from a missionary, Tarik attended an adult literary class where, each morning, they studied the Bible. “The Holy Spirit spoke to me. When we studied, the Word of the Lord was like something I didn’t want to want. I didn’t want to study, because His word really penetrated me to the bone. It was then that I asked the missionary for a Bible.

“One night, God woke me up. I didn’t know how to open the Bible, but I did, and the first thing I read was: ‘To those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.’ (John 1:12).

“I never experienced being a child – I had no father figure. When Christ said that, if I follow Him, I’d become the Father’s child, I cried. The Holy Spirit worked in my heart so that I finally understood who Jesus is.”

For a while, the tears didn’t stop. “It was hard. I felt that I was loved. For many years, I was angry with the world, angry with people, angry with the Lord. My heart, full of anger, just cried. I was confused about why I was crying, because I thought crying was a weakness, that crying wasn’t for a real man. ‘Why am I crying? I’m a man.’ It took me time to realise that I cried because I was happy. I had no idea what was happening in my life. The anger was replaced by love and compassion.”

It was the moment that broke Tarik’s stubbornness. “That encounter in 2003 was when I decided to trust my life to Jesus,” he says. “The Holy Spirit worked in my heart so that I finally understood who Jesus is. From then on, the sadness and pain in my heart were replaced with love and forgiveness.”

Persecutors encounter Jesus

Tarik’s life was changed and he couldn’t keep the good news to himself. “I approached other youths in my community who were addicted to drugs – those who felt unloved, like me. Before, when I approached them, I brought them drugs and alcohol. Now, I brought the Bible. They saw the change in my life, but it wasn’t easy because some of them said I was crazy, that I had lost my mind.”

Once a dangerous man, Tarik now embraces a dangerous faith. Despite intense opposition, including death threats, he’s used it as an opportunity to share God’s love with his persecutors.

When local Muslim leaders heard about some Bible teaching he was delivering, Tarik and his co-worker were brought before a rebel group armed with guns. “Miraculously, they listened to the message of the Bible,” says Tarik. “Some rebel commanders even became believers and followed Jesus.”

On another occasion, he prayed for the group who pursued him on motorbikes. “Years later, one has become sympathetic to the faith, and his people are bringing others to our group in the community who are studying the Word of God.”

“Believing in Jesus where I live can lead to death,” he says. “In the past years, we’ve had three attacks from Muslim rebel groups because, as followers of Jesus, we wouldn’t join them in their clan wars. These are the dangers we experience.”

Assurance and assistance

Facing constant risk, Tarik is strengthened by the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:20. “No matter what happens, Jesus is there. For us in our community, despite persecution, we are growing deeper. It doesn’t mean we want it, but through persecution, we experience the grace, love and power of God in our lives. Jesus said, ‘I am with you always, until the end of the age.’ This is our assurance: to live for Christ is life, and to die for Christ is eternal life.”

Tarik and other believers in his community are also immensely strengthened by Open Doors local partners, who provide initiatives including persecution survival training, feeding programmes, youth work and literacy classes.

“They listen to our prayers, they hear our needs and they provide support, especially with the trainings, giving us strength, showing us that we are not alone in the community,” he says. “We see that they are always there helping not only financially, but really through prayer. We see that they are there and alongside us, so we are not alone. They are always in the community. They are there for us, listening and helping.

“Having you journeying alongside us has impacted us significantly. We have allies; we are not alone. We know that there are people who pray for us. When challenges arise, we’re not ashamed to tell them what we’re going through. Before, there was none of that. We were afraid we had no one with us. I’m very thankful.”

*Name changed for security reasons

Photo and source Open Doors