Just in case you don’t know, let me help you out. Stephen was stoned to death. Peter was crucified in Rome, said to have been upside down. Andrew was said to have been crucified. James, the son of Zebedee, was executed by the sword by Herod Agrippa I. Philip was said to have been martyred in Hierapolis. Bartholomew was said to have been killed after being tortured. Matthew was said to have been martyred. Thomas was said to have been killed by spears in India. James, the son of Alphaeus, was l said to have been killed for his faith. Jude was said to have been martyred while preaching. Simon the Zealot was said to have been martyred. Matthias, who replaced Judas, was traditionally said to have been martyred. Did you know what they all died for? Jesus. They died for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And our God is not deaf, nor is He indifferent to the cries of His people. “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry.” Psalm 34:15 Stephen was being stoned, and what did he see? “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Acts 7:56 God heard Stephen. But God did not stop the stones. Why? Because Christianity never promised us that following Christ means we will never suffer or die. Jesus Himself said: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” John 15 And: “They will put some of you to death. Everyone will hate you because of me. Luke 21:16–17 So when you ask, “If their God can hear them, why doesn’t He save them?” He does hear them. But sometimes His answer is not physical deliverance. Sometimes He gives them the grace to endure. Sometimes He delivers them from death. And sometimes He delivers them through death. Stephen didn’t lose. Peter didn’t lose. James didn’t lose. Because the Christian’s ultimate victory isn’t that we never die. It is that death cannot have the final word. Jesus said: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” John 11:25 And Scripture says: “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants.” Psalm 116:15 The question isn’t whether God hears the cries of His people. He does. The question is whether we believe God is still God when His answer isn’t the answer we expected. And Christianity says yes. Because even when the believer loses his life, he has not lost Christ. “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21 And at the end of it all: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.” Revelation 21:4 That’s the hope of the Gospel.