The Christian life is not easy. In fact, God’s Word promises that we must face many troubles.

In the world you will have tribulation (John 16:33).

Share with me in the sufferings for the gospel (2 Timothy 1:8).

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ (2:3).

Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand provide a powerful example of persevering through trials. They knew that “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). Their story of faithful service in the face of imprisonment, torture, and death has inspired hearts to action around the world.

Building the Underground Church

Sabina and Richard Wurmbrand

Richard was born in 1909 in Bucharest, Romania, while Sabina was born in 1913 in the Austro-Hungarian city of Czernowitz that became Romanian territory after World War I, both to Jewish families. The two met and married in 1936, and together, they soon came to know Jesus as their Savior while vacationing in the mountains. 

After dedicating their lives to serve God as evangelists, the Wurmbrands were soon forced to endure the brutality of World War II and the Holocaust. As the Nazis began to occupy Romania, Sabina and Richard risked their lives to save Jewish children from dying in the ghettos. Richard and Sabina were repeatedly arrested for their rescue work and Bible teaching in bomb shelters and suffered the death of many loved ones during this time. But their passion for the Lord’s work was not extinguished. 

As the Nazis began to occupy Romania, Sabina and Richard risked their lives to save Jewish children from dying in the ghettos.

Communist Russia seized power in Romania after the war, seeking to hijack churches for its own evil purposes. But Richard and Sabina retooled their ministry to reach oppressed Romanians and Russian soldiers alike. They smuggled goods and foods to refugees, sheltered Christians, and distributed Christian literature to soldiers at the risk of deportation. They organized Christian camps and conducted street meetings that drew as many as 5,000 people at a time, and they built a church with more than 1,000 Jewish-Christian members.

Tortured for Christ

But their courage came at great personal cost. Richard was arrested in 1948 and spent three years in solitary confinement, seeing only the soldiers that continually beat and tortured him. During this time, Sabina was left alone with her young son, but she continued the couple’s inspirational work, serving the persecuted church.

She was arrested in 1951 and spent three years in prisons and slave labor camps while her young son lived on the streets. Upon her release, she returned to several years of house arrest.

During this time, the Communists challenged Sabina’s faith severely. In exchange for divorcing Richard and renouncing her faith, they promised to free her. When she refused, they claimed her husband had died in prison.

Richard had spent eight years in prison by the time he was released. He immediately picked up where he left off, furthering his forbidden ministry work. Shortly after, he was arrested again and handed a 25-year prison sentence. Remaining faithful to the Lord, Richard was released by amnesty in 1964 and welcomed by his devoted wife, who had never lost faith in the Lord or in her husband’s return. After 14 years of imprisonment and torture, Richard was free.

Knowing their lives were at risk if they stayed in Romania, the family soon immigrated to the United States, where Richard shared his stories of persecution that soon covered newspapers read all over America, Europe, and Asia.

An Enduring, Godly Legacy

Together, Richard and Sabina founded Jesus to the Communist World, now known as The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), the renowned missionary organization that serves the persecuted church and persecuted Christians around the world. In building the ministry, they established an extensive network to reach persecuted and imprisoned Christians and their families in Islamic and Communist nations. 

As many Christians are still killed daily in the Middle East and parts of Africa, VOM continues the Wurmbrands’ work, bringing physical and spiritual aid to the persecuted church.

Richard and Sabina carried out their work for decades after founding VOM. Sabina passed away in 2000, and Richard joined her in heaven six months later. As many Christians are still killed daily in the Middle East and parts of Africa, VOM continues the Wurmbrands’ work, bringing physical and spiritual aid to the persecuted church.

God authored an unforgettable story through the lives of two Jewish Christians who committed their lives to His service. Through imprisonment, torture, and the horrors of the Holocaust, Richard and Sabina glorified God in the most difficult circumstances imaginable. Their testimony lives on through the work of VOM and the bold witness of hundreds of millions of persecuted Christians risking their lives for the Lord today.

About the Author

Have you ever had a one minute to midnight moment? Such a moment comes when a person is faced with a life-changing decision.

The phrase one minute to midnight originated with the Doomsday Clock, a representation of how close the world is to global catastrophe as a result of our own technological and scientific advancements and geopolitical conflicts. Today, the clock is set at 90 seconds to midnight—the closest to destruction we have ever been since the clock’s inception—as we inch closer and closer to one minute to midnight. Scripture is filled with one minute to midnight moments. For instance, King David had such a moment when he stood face to face with the mighty Goliath with only a slingshot and five smooth stones. Moses’ moment came after serving as a shepherd for 40 years and, holding his staff, telling Pharaoh “let my people go.” Daniel’s moment came when he was thrown into a pit of hungry lions. Each of them confronted and overcame danger by the grace of God.

Esther’s One Minute to Midnight Moment

The Shushan palace of the Medo-Persian King “Ahasuerus who reigned over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India to Ethiopia” (Esther 1:1) was an unlikely place for a Jewish girl to be queen. But God had a divine plan. Indeed, Queen Esther faced a one minute to midnight moment when she had to decide whether to keep her Jewish identity hidden from her husband, the king, thus allowing her people to perish or to face her own death and confess her identity to Ahasuerus (Xerxes I), hoping he somehow would change his mind. But then she received a chilling message from her cousin Mordecai:

Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (4:13–14).

What would she do? How did this moment come about?  

The Jewish Girl Crowned Queen

Before Esther left her home, Mordecai told her to tell no one she was Jewish.

Let’s rewind in the book of Esther: The Jewish people were exiles in Babylon. The opportunity to return to their homeland was not met with great enthusiasm, and only about 50,000 returned. “Now it came to pass” that to show off “the riches of his glorious kingdom and the splendor of his excellent majesty,” Ahasuerus threw a party to end all parties, lasting six months (1:4). He invited his wife Vashti to display her beauty (v. 11), but she refused, shaming Ahasuerus, who immediately began looking for a new wife. 

As these things were happening in the palace, elsewhere in Shushan lived “a certain Jew” (2:5) named Mordecai. He had raised his cousin Hadassah (Esther), “for she had neither father nor mother” (v. 7). The search for a queen was advertised throughout the kingdom, and the strikingly beautiful Esther volunteered to go into “the house of the women” (v. 9). 

Before Esther left her home, Mordecai told her to tell no one she was Jewish (v. 10). She lived in the king’s house a full year, bathing in oil of myrrh and perfumes to prepare her for the one night she would spend with Ahasuerus (v. 12). That night would decide her fate. She would either become queen or be relegated to the king’s harem forever.

When the time came for Esther to go to the king, the Scripture says, “The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight” (v. 17). Esther, the stealthy Jewish girl, became the new queen of Persia.

Face to Face With Death

As a result, Mordecai landed a new job sitting “within the king’s gate” (v. 21), a place of honor and influence. Haman, one of the king’s chief officials, was also promoted, and thus due homage by everyone at the king’s gate (3:2). Mordecai refused, causing Haman to become “filled with wrath” (v. 5) to the point that he not only wanted Mordecai dead, but also “sought to destroy all the Jews” (v. 6).

A highly motivated Haman came to the king to negotiate a deal Ahasuerus could not refuse. He promised to put 10,000 talents of silver into the treasury if the king would agree to get rid of “a certain people” (Jews) whose “laws are different from all other people’s, and [who] do not keep the king’s laws” (v. 8). The king agreed to Haman’s proposal, gave Haman his signet ring, and let him issue the decree (v. 12).

Written in Ahasuerus’s name, the decree called for Jewish destruction, “both young and old, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, . . . Adar” (v. 13). Persian law emphatically stated that once a law was enacted, not even the king could change it (Daniel 6:8). This seemed a death sentence for all the Jewish people in the kingdom unless there was some sort of intervention.

This was Esther’s one minute to midnight moment. She became queen “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:13).

This was Esther’s one minute to midnight moment. She became queen “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:13). What could she do? If she went to the king without an invitation, he could put her to death immediately. But if she stayed silent, her people would be without hope.

Providential Deliverance

Though the word prayer is not mentioned in the book of Esther, it does say Esther fasted (4:16), a very common act among Jewish people in Old Testament times (cf. Ezra 8:21–23; Psalm 109:21–24; Daniel 9:3). Undoubtedly this time of fasting brought clarity in deciding what to do (Esther 4:16). She did go into the king and reveal her identity, ultimately resulting in the rescue of the Jewish people.

No miracles or divine intervention are mentioned, but we do see an abundance of providence. This book is a testament to the truth of Romans 8:38: “All things work together for good to those who love God.” God is providential in His control and works supernaturally through natural means. His unseen hand is behind every detail and ironic twist of “fate.”

God was not caught off guard. We see the truth of Proverbs 21:1: “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lᴏʀᴅ, like rivers of water: He turns it wherever He wishes.”

And it seems Esther’s spirit was also prepared when she approached the king unannounced:

For the Lᴏʀᴅ gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path (2:6–9).

We will always face dilemmas in life. Seeking the Lord for wisdom through prayer is never a mistake. Be prepared for your own one minute to midnight moment: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). As the apostle Paul wrote,

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6–7).

About the Author

If you’ve ever set foot in Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, you’ve been moved by some of the most tragic stories in human history. Here, the millions of Jewish lives lost in the horrors of the Holocaust are honored with great dignity; and their memory lives on with the stories told within these walls.

Even in the shadow of devastating genocide, hope springs eternal at Yad Vashem. If you find yourself at the museum, take some time to walk through the Garden of the Righteous, which commemorates the Righteous Among the Nations—Gentiles who risked their lives to save Jewish people from the Holocaust. 

You might recognize a few of the heroes remembered there. And you may have heard the name or seen the face of a Polish social worker, but you might not know how she saved thousands of Jewish children from death at the hands of the Nazis. This is the story of Irena Sendler, a Gentile who was truly righteous among the nations.

Sneaking In, Smuggling Out

A native of Warsaw, Poland, Sendler was a dedicated social worker early in her career. When World War II began, the 29-year-old Sendler worked for the Welfare Department of Warsaw. After Germany forced 400,000 Jewish people into a 1.3-square-mile ghetto in Warsaw in October 1940, Sendler turned her full focus to helping the needy, persecuted Jewish people trapped in the ghetto.

Irena Sendler (Poland) on Christmas Eve of 1944. Image: Wikimedia Commons

As a central activist in the newly created Council for Aid to Jews (Żegota), Sendler took care of the Jewish people seeking shelter and medical care. She quickly was appointed head of Żegota’s Children’s Bureau and began to rescue Jewish refugees by clever means. 

Using her position as a social worker, Sendler shrewdly obtained a permit with the cover story of a worker coming to inspect the sanitary conditions. She then smuggled food, clothing, and medicine into the ghetto to provide relief to those inside while simultaneously smuggling Jewish children out. She entered the ghetto day by day for 18 months and always left with a child in her protection.

She entered the ghetto day by day for 18 months and always left with a child in her protection.

Her methods of extraction included leading children through underground passages; concealing them in potato sacks, garbage bags, or coffins; and sending them in and out of a church, city court, and the cellars of houses that bordered the edge of the ghetto. When escorting sick children out of the ghetto by ambulance, she hid other children within the vehicle. She kept a dog with her, which would bark when her vehicle approached the Nazis, drowning out the children’s noises to help them avoid detection.

Once the children escaped the ghetto, Sendler hid them in orphanages, schools, hospitals, convents, and homes. She set the children up with new identities while using a code to list their real names and placements to help their relatives find and reunite with them. 

Sentenced to Death

But Sendler could not outrun the deadly Gestapo (the German secret state police) forever, as they arrested her in October 1943 after discovering her actions. Moments before her arrest, thinking quickly, she had tossed a package containing the list of the identities of the Jewish children she saved out the window to a waiting friend, who kept the list out of enemy hands. 

The Nazis brutally tortured her, permanently crippling her by breaking her legs and feet; yet she bravely protected the Jewish refugees’ identities, refusing to divulge any information about them or their whereabouts. So the Gestapo sentenced her to death. But Żegota members bribed a Gestapo agent, securing her escape in February 1944. 

A Legacy of Heroism

Despite her brush with death and the danger of returning to Żegota, she committed to continuing her relief work. She went to work as a nurse and assumed a new identity as Klara Dąbrowska. The German authorities watched her closely, but she secretly continued to save children with Żegota. 

By the time the Allies liberated Warsaw in January 1945, Żegota was credited with saving more than 2,500 Jewish children, thanks largely to Sendler’s sacrificial efforts. She continued her efforts by working to locate and reunite the children she saved with their surviving family members. She arranged for those left without family, the majority of the children, to be adopted or placed in foster homes.

“Every child saved with my help is the justification of my existence on this earth, and not a title to glory.”

We recognize Sendler as a hero, yet her humility would not allow her to see herself that way. “I could have done more,” she once said. “This regret will follow me to my death. Every child saved with my help is the justification of my existence on this earth, and not a title to glory.”

Yad Vashem awarded Sendler with the Righteous Among the Nations medal and designation in 1965 for her heroic efforts in saving thousands of children. She passed away in 2008 at the age of 98.

Sendler’s story isn’t often told, but it should be. Her phenomenal courage and perseverance in saving lives from death while risking her own speaks to us as a memorial of her efforts and an inspiration for us today. Though we may not be in a position to save lives from a warzone, we are called to stand with and love the Jewish people wherever we are and however we can now.

If you ever see Sendler’s name listed in the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations on a visit to Yad Vashem, you’ll now know why she is remembered as a Gentile hero in the eyes of the Jewish people.

About the Author