The Fellowship of Suffering
There’s something profound happening in Lebanon right now.
As families flee their homes and sleep on streets or school-turned-shelter floors, two of the world’s great religious calendars are colliding: Ramadan and Lent.
Muslims across Lebanon are fasting from sunrise to sunset, crying out to God to reveal Himself. Christians are walking the forty days toward Easter, preparing their hearts to remember that following Jesus means sharing not only in the power of His resurrection, but in the fellowship of His suffering.
And in the middle of it all: war.
The Fellowship of Suffering
Paul wrote to the Philippians about his deepest desire: “I want to know Christ – yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10).
We love the first part. We sing about resurrection power. We celebrate Easter victory. We preach about abundant life.
But the second part? Participating in suffering? Our eyes quickly skim over the rest of Paul’s statement.
Yet here’s the truth Lent forces us to confront: You cannot have Easter without Good Friday. You cannot know resurrection power without participating in Christ’s suffering.
The Lebanese church understands this in ways most Western Christians never will.
They are suffering with their neighbors, choosing to stay when they could flee, choosing to serve when they could stay home, choosing to open church doors when closing them would be safer.
They’re living out what it means to be the Body of Christ – broken and poured out for a hurting world.
And in doing so, they’re preparing for their own Easter in the most biblical way possible: through sacrifice, through service, through co-suffering love.
Two Journeys, One Witness
What does the convergence of Ramadan and Lent mean in a context of war?
During Ramadan, faithful Muslims seek God with unusual intensity. They fast. They pray. They ask for revelation, for mercy, for God to show Himself.
This year, many of those prayers are being prayed from emergency shelters.
And here’s what’s remarkable: The answer many are receiving comes through the hands of Lebanese Christians.
When a mother receives a mattress for her children from a local church, she’s not just receiving relief supplies. According to her, she’s receiving an answer to her Ramadan prayers – tangible evidence that God sees her, knows her need, and cares enough to respond.
The God she’s been seeking during Ramadan suddenly has a face, a name, a people who demonstrate His love in the darkest moments.
The Muslim family sees Christians who don’t just talk about a God of love – they demonstrate it. They don’t just preach about sacrifice – they live it.
This is the living witness of the Church: the people of God loving their neighbors in Jesus’ name, especially when it costs them something.
That is, if we do our part of sharing in the fellowship of suffering.
Your Part in This Sacred Moment
The Church in Lebanon is living out this journey in real time. They’re walking toward Easter not just through liturgy, but through the fellowship of Christ’s suffering.
Will you help them?
Every mattress you help provide becomes part of a family’s war story – evidence that God hears and answers prayers.
Every blanket you help distribute becomes part of the church’s Lenten journey – evidence that God doesn’t just sympathize with human suffering, but enters into it, and calls His people to do the same.
Every dollar you donate shows the Church in Lebanon that they are not walking alone – evidence that God’s presence, through His people, is with them every step of the way.
This Lent, may we learn from our brothers and sisters in Lebanon what it looks like to participate with Jesus through suffering as we await the coming celebration of His resurrection.