Why You Can Worship When the Enemy Rages Against You

Vibia Perpetua was a young woman of noble birth who lived in the first century A.D. She was well-educated for a woman of her time and was known to be breathtakingly beautiful. Vibia Perpetua was one of the first converts to Christianity in North Africa and knew that her newfound and vibrant faith would inevitably cost her everything. She understood that publicly declaring her Christianity could require her to sacrifice her beloved family and her very life.

When the day came that Perpetua was arrested, she was first taken to prison to await trial before the tribunal. In prison, her spirit became burdened not for herself but for her infant son whom she was forced to leave behind. Because this noble Christian woman came from an influential family, they were able to prevail upon the political leaders in their town to bring the infant son to her.

These are the words written nearly 2,000 years ago by this precious mother:

“I suckled my child, who was already weak from want of nourishment—and then I obtained leave that my child should remain with me in the prison. Immediately I gained strength and being relieved of my anxiety about the child, my prison suddenly became to me a palace, so that I preferred to be there rather than anywhere else.”

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