Hello friend. More often than we’d like to admit, we call fear “prudence.” We treat comfort like wisdom, or caution like faithfulness, when we’re really just trying to protect ourselves from paying the actual price. 

Scripture never calls us to seek danger for its own sake. But it does call us to follow Jesus wherever he leads—and sometimes obedience costs us comfort, approval, safety, or control.

With Pentecost right around the corner, let’s remember that the Spirit was not poured out to make disciples comfortable, but to make them witnesses. And as millions begin turning their attention toward Mecca for one of Islam’s holiest weeks, we pray that many would come to know the true and better sacrifice of Christ. 

In today’s edition:

🇦🇫 Why believers in Afghanistan still follow Jesus—even when the cost is high.

🔥 Why Pentecost reminds us that courage is not a personality type, but a gift of the Spirit.

🇸🇦 Why this Hajj season is a crucial moment to pray for Saudi Arabia and the Muslim world.

Hidden (Not Forgotten) 🇦🇫

Afghanistan remains one of the hardest places on earth to follow Jesus. Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, many Christians have fled, and the few who remain live under intense pressure. 

In a country ruled by Islam, being known as a Christian can mean losing family, freedom, or even life. Sharing the gospel openly or meeting seekers in person is dangerous. That’s why much of Radical’s gospel work there happens through secure digital evangelism and online theological training.

Even where the Taliban claims no Christians remain, the Lord knows his people by name. He is sustaining hidden believers, strengthening them through Scripture and fellowship, and raising up leaders who can courageously help others follow Jesus. 

In Afghanistan, risk is not abstract—and God’s faithfulness isn’t either.

How to Pray:

🙏🏼 Pray for protection and wisdom for Afghan believers whose faith remains hidden.

🙏🏼 Pray for discipleship, fellowship, and access to Scripture for isolated Christians growing under intense pressure.

🙏🏼 Pray for bold and discerning witness—that even in secrecy, many Afghans would come to know Christ.

Risk Is Essential for Life 🏔️

There they stood, on the brink of the promised land. 

God had promised his people that he was going to lead them out of slavery and bring them to a fruitful, abundant, prosperous place. And God had done exactly what he said he would do. 

Spies were dispatched to check out the land, and report with which they returned was clear: “This land is glorious!”

But…

The majority of the spies said, “It’s not safe. It’s not secure. We can’t take the risk—for our own sake, and for the sake of our children. So we won’t take the land” (see Numbers 13:25-33).

Why did they decide the risk wasn’t worth it?

On one hand, they disregarded God’s goodness. 

“Would that we had died in the land of Egypt!” they cried. In an instant, they had forgotten the God who fed them with bread from heaven and gave them water from rocks, daily and faithfully providing for their every need.

On the other hand, they doubted God’s greatness. 

“Giants live in this land, and they’ll destroy us!” they lamented. It was like they hadn’t even seen God split a sea in half to deliver them or come down in a consuming fire on a mountain to visit them.

So they disobeyed God’s Word and disqualified themselves from God’s blessing. 

Their lives wasted away in a wilderness as a testimony to everyone in redemptive history after them: the blessing of God is reserved for those who take risks for the glory of God.

In light of their testimony, I simply want to ask you today: What risks are you taking based on God’s Word for the sake of God’s glory?

For followers of Jesus, risk is essential for life. Jesus says in Matthew 10:39, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” 

In other words, if you try to hold onto your life without risk in this world, you’ll lose it.

But if you risk your life for Jesus’ sake, you’ll find it.

One of my favorite quotes comes from a persecuted pastor named Josef. 

As Josef was being interrogated, he told an officer who was threatening to kill him: 

“Sir, let me explain how I see this issue. Your supreme weapon is killing. My supreme weapon is dying.” 

He continued. “Here is how it works. You know that my sermons have spread all over the country. If you kill me, those sermons will be sprinkled with my blood. Everyone will know I died for my preaching. And everyone who hears one of my sermons will say, 'I’d better listen again to what this man preached, because he really meant it; he sealed it with his life.' So, sir, my sermons will speak ten times louder than before. I will actually rejoice in this supreme victory if you kill me.” 

After Josef said this, the interrogator sent him home. And days later, another officer who was interrogating another pastor said, “We know Josef would love to be a martyr, but we are not that foolish to fulfill his wish.”

Josef then wrote, “I stopped to consider the meaning of that statement. I remembered how, for many years, I had been afraid of dying. I had kept a low profile. Because I wanted badly to live, I had wasted my life in inactivity. But now that I had placed my life on the altar and decided I was ready to die for the gospel, they were telling me they would not kill me! I could go wherever I wanted in the country and preach whatever I wanted, knowing I was safe. As long as I tried to save my life, I was losing it. Now that I was willing to lose it, I found it.”

This is the story of every Christian, not just persecuted pastors in difficult countries.

We’re all called to take risks for Jesus’ sake—whether it’s with our reputation or our money, our dreams or our very ways of life. We can’t follow Jesus truly while playing it safe in this world. 

So what we should ask ourselves is:

Will we believe in the goodness of God?

Will we trust the greatness of God?

Will we obey the Word of God?

Will we experience the blessing of God that he promises to all who take risks for his sake in the world?

I want to encourage you to consider practically: what is one risk Jesus is leading you to take today in order to share the gospel—or to give for the spread of the gospel, or to live for the glory of God—in a way that might cost you greatly, but will ultimately be worth it?

—David Platt

A Holy Week, A Deeper Need 🇸🇦

Saudi Arabia is entering one of the holiest weeks in Islam. In the days ahead, millions of Muslims will focus on Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, and then celebrate Eid al-Adha, a festival centered on sacrifice and devotion. 

For many of us, these observances may feel distant. But for Muslims around the world, this is a deeply significant spiritual moment—a time of prayer, pilgrimage, remembrance, and longing for God’s mercy.

That is why this is such an important week to pray.

Saudi Arabia remains one of the most restrictive places in the world for public non-Islamic worship. In a country with no legal public churches and immense pressure on converts from Islam, many believers follow Jesus quietly. Radical supports a multi-year plan to establish a gospel presence in Saudi Arabia through one-to-one evangelism among young Arabs.

As millions seek God as best they know how, let’s pray that many would come to know the true and better sacrifice of Christ.

How to Pray:

🙏🏼 Pray that many Muslims would come to know the true and better sacrifice of Christ.

🙏🏼 Pray for Saudi believers and Christian migrant workers who follow Jesus quietly in a place with no legal public churches.

🙏🏼 Pray for open hearts, bold witness, and gospel clarity during this spiritually significant season.

📍 Attention Worthy

• Secret Church 26: Elijah is available for everyone to watch. Spend time in God’s Word through Elijah’s life, and explore The Living Room, where you’ll discover how Secret Church began and why Radical exists.

• Staying human is not a soft skill—it is part of faithful witness. Pete Nicholas offers four vital virtues we need to cultivate to stay human in our AI world.

• What do we lose when we stop studying the Bible for ourselves? Glenna Marshall shows why personal Bible study is one of the ordinary ways God builds conviction, depth, and spiritual steadiness in his people.