By Joni BoydFriday 19 Apr 2024Hope MorningsInspirational StoriesReading Time: 4 minutes
Mahyar grew up in Iran, studying at an Islamic school and considering himself a Muslim until he rejected all religions as a young adult.
Key points
- “I was one of those young people who was carrying that fear all the time… Not just Islam, I was sick of any religion, all of it.”
- “A wave pushed me forward and I fell down and I hit the floor headfirst… The shock to my spinal cord paralyzed me.”
- Mahyar experienced a peace, joy and freedom that he’d never known before. “I couldn’t take a step, but I experienced those things.”
- Hear the full conversation in the listener above.
As he told Hope Mornings, Mahyar did not want to know about any god when he moved to Australia to study. But he accepted an invite to church, and he had an encounter with Jesus. The very next day, Mahyar’s life changed, in a shocking way no-one saw coming.
His journey to knowing Jesus started, in his own words, back in high school.
“The short story is, [I was saved] by God’s grace.
“Because of His mercy, and He found me and saved me.”
In high school, Mahyar struggled with his sister and brother-in-law’s conversion to Christianity.
“As a young boy it was so hard for me to tolerate their faith against my religion, culture and traditions,” he told Hope Morning’s Ben McEachen.
“I was one of those young people who was carrying that fear all the time.”
“I’d argue with them from time to time sometimes even emotionally and aggressively.
“When your brain is filled with all of those teachings and also… religion is based on fear so the fear that you carry of punishment could make you do many things.
“I was one of those young people who was carrying that fear all the time, and what they were saying was against my religion… I was afraid that I would be punished, that they would be punished.”
Born in Tehran, Mahyar went to an Islamic school and followed on to complete a Bachelor of Business. When in 2016 he was invited to continue his post grad education in Australia, he jumped at the opportunity. His sister and brother-in-law were already living in Australia, having migrated earlier on.
Turning away from Islam
Mahyar stopped practising Islam in his early 20s.
“Like many other people in my generation, I was sick of religion because of the impact that I’d seen on my life,” he said.
“Not just Islam, I was sick of any religion, all of it.
“I was thinking, be a nice guy, live your life, don’t hurt anyone and that’s it.”
“Not just Islam, I was sick of any religion, all of it.”
Once he was living in Australia, his sister and brother-in-law introduced him to their Christian friends and invited him to their church. At first he was very reluctant.
“I wasn’t interested in Christianity or any sort of religion things, I really didn’t want to talk about it,” he said.
“I remember one time my sister started talking about Jesus and we were in a car; I said, ‘If you continue this conversation I will get out of the car’.”
God’s grace crashed in
On February 4 2017, Mahyar was invited to go to church with his family. With nothing else to do, he went along.
“Somehow in that day, God touched my heart,” he said.
“I said, I really want to know more about it.
“I think maybe it was the first time that I opened my heart to know about it.”
“A wave pushed me forward and I fell down and I hit the floor headfirst… The shock to my spinal cord paralyzed me.”
And the next day, when Mahyar went surfing, everything changed in a shocking way that no one saw coming.
“I was surfing and I was trying to catch a wave and hold my balance on a surfing board,” he said.
“A wave pushed me forward and I fell down and I hit the floor headfirst and broke my neck.
“The shock to my spinal cord paralyzed me.”
“Amazed by Jesus”
Mahyar ended up in Royal North Shore Hospital for six months. Not surprisingly, Mahyar’s sister had asked Christians all around the world to pray for him. It was in hospital that Mahyar learned more about who Jesus is, why He came and what He has done. When local pastor Paul Dale began working through ‘Christianity Explained’ with him while he lay in the hospital bed, it all started to make sense.
“I was amazed by Jesus,” he said.
“We were reading the Mark gospel and the story about a paralysed man, and Jesus healed him.
“Jesus said, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ – and I was like, ‘Ok, that’s handy but can I be healed first?'”
Mahyar experienced a peace, joy and freedom that he’d never known before. “I couldn’t take a step, but I experienced those things.”
Mahyar wrestled with the reality of his body not being healed. But the beauty of being in Jesus’ presence, being filled with His love was overwhelming.
It was a “peace that I’ve never experienced in my life,” Mahyar said.
“I had joy I’d never experienced.
“I had freedom.
“I couldn’t take a step, but I experienced those things.”
Becoming a quadriplegic changed Mahyar’s life – but even more so, meeting Jesus.
Hear the full conversation in the player above.
Feature image: Photo by CanvaPro