God’s Presence in the Worst Times
Haralan Popov became a pastor in Bulgaria in the 1940s. And early one morning in 1948 some men arrived at his door to take him away for “a little questioning”, supposedly. This was Communist land, and the Communist leaders were very suspicious of the church. Popov was accused of being a traitor and a spy, and it would be 13 years before he would be released from prison – 13 years of some of the most intense and brutal torture any human being could face.
Popov's Unwavering Faith in the Face of Adversity
But through it all, Popov’s faith remained firm. His story is a remarkable one of God’s faithfulness in the life of a faithful man of God.
Soon after he was arrested, Popov was taken to a place known as “The White House” – the infamous headquarters of the Secret Police. As he was led in, Popov saw the words “All hope abandon, ye who enter here” written above one of the cells - a quotation from Dante’s The Divine Comedy. And listen to what he wrote on page 14 of his book: “As I was led into the building, fear and insecurity swept over me. It had been a week of sleeplessness and interrogation, and my body trembled and shook. As I was led through the door, the words from Psalm 73:28 came to me: “I have put my trust in the Lord God” … I breathed a silent prayer, “God my life is in Your hands”. My fears began to subside. I had a very strong feeling of peace. The tension in my body was gone. Death was perhaps waiting for me in the “White House”, but my heart praised and worshipped the Lord.”
Amazing! But this is the type of hope that a man or woman of God has.
There were many moments for Popov, where God’s presence became real to him even though he was suffering terribly in jail. At one point he was put in solitary confinement for ten days, and he writes this: “I felt so close to God in solitary confinement that I spent the time in praise and worship. Such close communion with God! I talked with Him. He comforted me. It was a spiritual feast for me. During this time, I received new strength, though my body wasted away to nothing. Tears of joy ran down my face. Here, in the DS prison, alone and with nothing, I had everything – Christ. Stripped of everything, without any worldly distractions, I found a deep and beautiful communion with God. Joy and peace flooded my soul. My body ached with starvation but my spirit has never been closer to God” (pg 45).
Divine Comfort in the Midst of Torture
And in fact once while he was being tortured – forced to stand millimetres from a wall without moving or blinking for days on end – he was feeling terrible abandoned by God and then suddenly, he writes: “In that moment of total, crushing hopelessness, I heard a voice as clear and distinct as any voice I have ever heard in my life. It said “I will never leave you nor forsake you…” The presence of God filled the Punishment Cell and enveloped me in a divine warmth, infusing strength into the shell that was my body” (pg 33).
I’m sharing these quotes with you today because I want you today that the same is true for you, if you are a child of God. You might be in a type of prison cell of your own, or you might be suffering in a particular way. Please know that God is with you! Please know that He is right with you now, and that by praising and worshipping Him you may have sweet communion even through your pain!
Popov found sweetest communion with God in his worst moments, because he worshipped through them. You and I can find that closeness with God too. Look to Him even in your suffering, and like Popov, find peace.
