Triple Experiences of Overcoming Temptation of Satan | Eastern Lightning enlighten me
By Jingxun, United States
I used to be a co-worker of the church. Through seeking, investigating, and reading lots of God’s word, I was certain that Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus. After accepting Almighty God’s work of the last days, I cooperated with the brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God and brought before Almighty God more than nine hundred brothers and sisters of my former church. Just when I preached gospel with tremendous joy and full confidence, Satan’s temptations came upon me.
The First Temptation: My Head Was Splitting
One day, my head ached terribly all of a sudden. I could endure the pain while going out to preach gospel in the daytime, but it hurt so bad that I could not fall asleep at night. In the beginning, I did not take it to heart, just thinking that it was because I was too busy and did not sleep well. But later, my head was getting more and more painful, which made me writhe on the bed. And taking medicine did not help. I felt as if there grew something in my brain. When I walked, my head ached so badly that as if it would split. I could not move my neck and touch my eyes and brow ridge, and even I dared not chew. So, I could only eat some porridge. I did not know why such a disease would suddenly come upon me. I thought in my heart: Do I have brain tumor? Why does this happen? Is my faith wrong? Is Almighty God really the Lord Jesus’ return? If so, why am I not at peace after believing in God? Why is my headache getting more and more severe?
When I was tortured to feel worse than death by headache and began to doubt God’s work, the sister of The Church of Almighty God came to see me. I opened up my heart and told her my state, and then the sister fellowshiped, “When we follow God’s footsteps and preach gospel to bring people before God, Satan is not willing to admit defeat and will attack our flesh so as to make us doubt God and betray God. If we cannot see through the dynamics of the spiritual world, we will fall into its schemes and betray God, and even become its tool to resist God. Yet no matter how savage Satan is, it is merely a tool in God’s hand. Although our flesh suffers a little, as long as we have faith to bear witness for God, Satan will retreat in shame.”
Later, the sister also read to me a passage of God’s word, “When Satan comes before Me, I do not recoil from its wild ferocity, nor am I frightened by its hideousness: I simply ignore it. When Satan tempts Me, I see through its trickery, causing it to slink away in shame and humiliation. When Satan fights with Me and tries to wrest away My chosen people, I go all-out with it in My flesh; and in My flesh I sustain and shepherd My people so that they may not easily fall down or get lost, and I lead them every step of the way. And when Satan retires in defeat, I will have been glorified in My people, and My people will have borne bright and resounding witness to Me. Hence, I will take the foils in My plan of management and cast them down once and for all into the bottomless pit. This is My plan, this is My work. In your lives, there may come a day when you will meet with this kind of situation: Would you willingly allow yourselves to fall captive to Satan, or will you have Me obtain you?”
After reading God’s word, the sister continued to fellowship, “God’s word clearly tells us that no matter how savage Satan is, it is just a foil in God’s work. Today, we encounter Satan’s temptation. This is out of God’s permission and is also a spiritual war. Satan uses the illness to disturb us so as to make us stray away from God and betray God; while God anxiously hopes that we can stand testimony and shame Satan when we are besieged by Satan. God also asks us whether we are willing to be carried off by Satan or bear witness for God. God is watching our performance and waiting for our response. Today, God has become flesh and expressed the truth, revealing all Satan’s schemes. So long as we rely on God and read God’s word more, we can understand the truth to see through Satan’s schemes and stand testimony for God. In this way, God will gain the glory and Satan will fail in humiliation.”
Hearing the sister’s fellowship, I felt less pain in my head and also had faith to bear witness for God. But after the sister left, my head ached badly again. So I prayed to God and said, “O Almighty God! Now I have understood that Satan’s attacking my flesh is just to make me betray You. I am not willing to fall into its trickery. O God, I have brought before You all the brothers and sisters that You let me shepherd. If I have brain tumor, I’d rather die than complain against You. May You give me faith and strength, so that I can stand testimony for You and shame Satan. Amen!” After praying, I stood up and then felt very comfortable as if the thing in my brain was suddenly taken away. I shook my head and surprisingly I did not at all feel pain. I was very happy and unceasingly thanked God in my heart. God is really so wondrous! That night I slept best after I accepted Almighty God’s work.
However, Satan was unwilling to lose, so a greater temptation befell me.
The Second Temptation: My Son Got Cramp in His Foot
The next morning, I was dusting the cabinet in the living room after preparing breakfast for my son. When my son came in with a bowl of noodles, he suddenly uttered a heartrending cry, “Mom — Mom — Oh — ” And then he fell on the floor with a bang. I turned in a fluster and saw: My son’s face is ghastly pale. He is seized by an attack of cramp. One of his feet is out of shape, which makes him look like the crippled. The bowl of noodles is upset all over his clothes and the floor. Seeing this, I felt painful as if my heart was torn and I also trembled with fear from head to toe. I held my son and cried bitterly. At that time, I could only cry, “O God! O God! May You save my son.” Just a few seconds later, my son could not walk. It was his classmate that took him to the school on the bike.
That evening when I returned home, my son had already been asleep. When I thought of the scene in the morning, my heart tightened and I was afraid to see such a scene again. However, in the following several days, as long as my son appeared in front of me, he would have a cramp and fall on the floor, screaming, “Mom — Mom — Oh — ” Seeing that my son looked so painful and helpless, I felt pained as if my heart was cut by a knife. I was out of my head, feeling that I was about to fall apart. In those several days, my heart ached as if being wrenched by the meat grinder. I was afraid that my son was tormented as a plaything by Satan and that I would be unable to resist Satan’s temptation and betray God. Because I did not have the truth and had too little faith in God, the heart of betraying God emerged and I thought: Forget it. I have brought all the believers before God and fulfilled one of my wishes. I’d better continue with my belief in God a period of time later. I cannot let my son suffer the pain and torture because of my believing in God. What if he becomes crippled?
While I was struggling in pain and wavering back and forth, the sister came to see me. I tearfully told her what happened to me these days and the difficulties in my heart. Then, the sister fellowshiped with me, “Through the sufferings you experienced, we see Satan’s meanness and evilness. Satan specially attacks the weaknesses of our flesh, just like the headache you suffered from last time. The more we valued our flesh, the more painful we felt. But when we prayed to God and made a resolution to bear witness for God, Satan failed in humiliation. Satan knows that your son is your favorite and that you treat him as your lifeblood, so it takes advantage of your son to attack you. The more afraid and anxious we are, the more savage it is. Its evil purpose is in order to make us betray God and return to its dominion.” Hearing the sister’s fellowship, I said, “Now, Satan tortures my son in this way. I feel so bad and weak. I’m so worried that my son will be crippled in the future.”
The sister asked me, “Is your son’s fate in God’s hand or in Satan’s?” “In God’s hand,” I said. The sister nodded her head and continued to fellowship, “Right. The fate of each of us is controlled in God’s hand. What your son will be like in the future is also in God’s hand, not in Satan’s. As long as we have faith to rely on God, Satan will naturally have no way to attack us anymore. Take Job for example. He was tried because of Satan’s accusations and what happened to him was also Satan’s afflictions. But it is because of his faith in God that he could stand testimony in the trials. When he bore witness for God, Satan retreated in shame. So, Satan afflicts your son and forces you to betray God. This is its sinister motive. We need to have discernment. Satan presses us step by step, trying to take a mile after being given an inch. If we cannot see through its scheme and stand testimony for God, we will be a plaything in Satan’s hand in the end.”
The sister’s fellowship woke me up and I said, “Yeah. These days, my mind is occupied with my son. I completely have no place for God in my heart and have little faith in God, living in Satan’s deceit painfully.” The sister went on fellowshiping, “At the same time as experiencing Satan’s temptation, we also experience God’s trial. This is out of God’s permission and this is God’s test as well as the path that must be taken by every person who accepts Almighty God’s work of the last days.”
The sister continued to read to me the scriptures of the Bible and Almighty God’s word. Jehovah God says, “And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, said the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God” (Zechariah 13:8–9). Almighty God says, “Those who truly follow God are able to withstand the test of their work, whereas those who do not truly follow God are incapable of withstanding any of God’s trials. Sooner or later they will be expelled, while the overcomers will remain in the kingdom. Whether or not man truly seeks God is determined by the test of his work, that is, by God’s trials, and has nothing to do with the decision by man himself. God does not reject any person at whim; all that He does is so that man may be utterly convinced. He does not do anything that is invisible to man, or any work that cannot convince man. Whether man’s belief is true or not is proved by the facts, and cannot be decided by man. That “wheat cannot be made into tares, and tares cannot be made into wheat” is without doubt. All those who truly love God will ultimately remain in the kingdom, and God will not mistreat anyone who truly loves Him.”
Through God’s word and the sister’s fellowship, I understood: God tests us to see whether or not we truly believe in Him not according to how loud we shout the slogans, but instead, He uses Satan’s disturbances in real environments to reveal our faith in God. God is very wise. After understanding God’s will, I felt much released in my heart and I resolved inwardly: I am willing to entrust my son to God. I must stand testimony and not allow Satan’s trick to succeed.
After having breakfast the next day, I was dressing in front of the mirror and was going out. My son walked into my bedroom, calling, “Mom! Mom!” Just when he stood behind me, a heartrending cry came to my ears and he fell on the floor. I shed tears but I closed my eyes and didn’t see him. I prayed to God, “O Almighty God! Satan torments my son again. Satan wants to take advantage of my son to make me betray You. I will never fall into its scheme. I am willing to entrust my son into Your hand.” After praying, I did not move and still stood there. Amazingly, my son got up from the floor by himself this time. Not only did his foot not ache but he could walk. After that, he no longer had a cramp in his foot.
Experiencing these two Satan’s temptations, I saw Satan’s meanness and hatefulness, and I also saw God’s deeds. Although I bore witness in the matter of my son, Satan was still unwilling to lose and it tempted me again.
The Third Temptation: My Husband Was Cheated in Business
Later, my husband was cheated and was in a debt of tens of thousands of yuan while doing business with others. Experiencing Satan’s temptations for two previous times, I knew that it was out of God’s permission when I encountered this. So, I was calm. Through praying and reading God’s word, I learned that although Job lost all his property, he neither sinned with his lips nor complained against God, but held on to his integrity and bore witness to shame Satan. So, I should imitate Job. No matter how Satan disturbed, I would stand testimony and follow God. Unexpectedly, my husband concluded a deal later. He not only paid off the debts but had some remaining money.
Thank God! Experiencing these several temptations of Satan, I truly tasted: Satan is too evil and vicious. It attempts to use schemes to make me betray God and live under its dominion. However, God’s wisdom is exercised based on Satan’s schemes. God gives me this aspect of truth through Satan’s disturbances and temptations, making me have discernment about Satan’s schemes and meanwhile see that God’s work is too practical and that God is too almighty. Although my physical body suffered a little when I experienced Satan’s temptations, I gained some practical knowledge and attainments. This is valuable wealth of life. Thank God! All the glory be to Almighty God!
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