Facing Block From Unbelieving Families, How Can We Keep Faith in God?（Part-1）
By Chuanzhen, South Korea
I have believed in the Lord Jesus for over fifty years, and had been longing desperately for His return. However, over several recent years our church grew more and more desolate and I couldn’t feel the work of the Holy Spirit there anymore. I visited many other churches and found they were all in the same situation. What’s worse, some congregations broke up because of losing too many believers. Seeing this situation, my faith in the Lord began to diminish, to the point that I only read the Bible at home. However, I still longed to welcome the Lord’s return during my lifetime.
In July 2013, I accidentally broke my leg. After an operation, I couldn’t walk easily, so I nursed my injury in my daughter’s home. When I felt lonely, I especially missed the times when I prayed and read the Scriptures in the church every day. One day, seeing that I was depressed, my husband passed a page of the Korea Daily to me and said that there was an article on Christian belief in it. I was very curious, so I took it and started to read it. Some words in large print immediately leaped out at me: The Return of the Lord Jesus. Beside them were some words in smaller print: “Utterances of Almighty God in the Age of Kingdom (Selections)” and “God’s Sheep Hear God’s Voice.” These words, like a ray of brilliant light flashing before my eyes, instantly took hold in my heart and I couldn’t wait to read the article. When I read the discourse, Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth, I saw that it discussed God doing the work of judgment in the last days. The word “judgment” made my heart beat quickly and brought to my mind 1 Peter 4:17, which says: “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God.” I thought to myself: “These words are not something that an ordinary person would utter. Only God could speak them. Now is the time of the last days. Could it be that the Lord Jesus has returned?” I finished reading it in one breath, and the more I read the more I felt that these words came from the Holy Spirit. Also, when I saw the book title, “From The Scroll Opened by the Lamb” at the end, I wanted to read the book very much. Therefore, I intended to dial the number of the gospel hotline of The Church of Almighty God, as published in the newspaper, and ask about the book. But to my great surprise, before the call got through my husband snatched the phone from me and hung up. He angrily said to me, “I really regret having allowed you to read it. I was afraid that you would start to believe in Almighty God, so I have been hiding the articles from The Church of Almighty God published in the newspaper these last few months. Almighty God’s words are spread from China and have shocked the whole religious community in South Korea. The pastors and elders all say that Almighty God is not the returned Lord Jesus. Do you still want to believe in it?”
Hearing what my husband said, I thought: “The return of the Lord is a serious matter. Since The Church of Almighty God has had a tremendous impact upon the religious community in South Korea, it’s not to be discounted easily. So I must investigate it much more carefully. If I really miss the return of the Lord, won’t it be too late for me to regret it later?” So, regardless of his hindrance, I dialed the gospel hotline of The Church of Almighty God.
Unexpectedly, the next day, two sisters came in the rain to bring me a copy of The Scroll Opened by the Lamb. After a short chat, they fellowshiped this with me, “The Lord Jesus has indeed returned, coming in the flesh as Almighty God. Almighty God has expressed millions of words, and told us the inside story of God’s six-thousand-year management plan for the salvation of mankind. Only if we pray to the name of Almighty God and follow God’s new work will we have followed the footsteps of the Lamb and receive the work of the Holy Spirit….” Hearing what the sister said, I was surprised and joyful. I asked, “Is Almighty God the Lord Jesus I have desperately been longing for?” One of them said, “Yes, all the words in the book have been expressed by Almighty God. God’s words are given to those who search with sincerity.” When I heard that, I got very excited. I never expected that I would be able to greet the Lord’s return. As a result, I made an appointment with them for the following day so we could fellowship together.
That night, my eldest daughter came back home, and my husband told her about the sisters’ visit to our home. After she learned that the two sisters were Korean, she protested, “Mom, society now is so chaotic. You have just met two Chinese nationals of Korean ethnicity who you are unfamiliar with. How could you allow them to enter our home?” Then my husband lent her his support by saying, “Your mom really doesn’t consider the pros and cons. The pastors and elders in the whole religious world are all condemning and opposing The Church of Almighty God, but your mom still called them in order to investigate further.” Immediately following that, my eldest daughter said to me, “My mother-in-law is an elder in the church and she understands the Bible well. Wouldn’t she know if the Lord has come back? But my mother-in-law doesn’t accept that He has. Mom, how could you ascertain that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus? Mom, you really should think carefully about this again.” I said firmly, “Having read the words of Almighty God, I feel confirmation in my heart that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus. At the time that the Lord Jesus came to carry out His work, He was also persecuted, rejected, and condemned by the whole religious community. If we weigh whether it is the true way or the false way based on whether the religious community accepts it, we also will condemn the work of the Lord Jesus. Whether it is the true way or the false way doesn’t depend on whether it is condemned by any man or woman but depends on whether it is God’s words and God’s work.” She saw my attitude was unyielding and so could only say, “All right, I don’t mind you believing in Almighty God, but strangers aren’t allowed to come home in the future.” After saying this, she went to her room. Although my family was all against my belief in Almighty God, my heart was no longer subjugated to them.
The following day, the two sisters came as promised. I told them what had happened the day before. They were very understanding and fellowshiped to me in the corridor. They also gave me a book Questions and Answers on the Testimony of the Kingdom Gospel and told me to pray to God more when I was confused and then God would lead me to find the answer in His words. In the following days, I read the books at home and the sisters occasionally called me and fellowshiped with me. Gradually, I came to understand some truths, and had some knowledge of God’s three stages of work, the mystery of God’s incarnation, and the significance of God’s Work of judgment and chastisement. Over one month later, I was certain about the work of Almighty God of the last days, and so accepted it. Two months later, my broken leg had recovered so I went to attend gatherings in the church. By reading the words of Almighty God, I gained some understanding of God’s work and God’s will. The gloomy state of the Age of Grace, in which I couldn’t feel the work of the Holy Spirit, thus completely disappeared. In order to bring before God more people who had desperately been longing for the Lord’s return, I coordinated with the brothers and sisters in the church and actively preached the gospel. Every day I lived a full life. But that’s when the obstruction and opposition from my family started again.
One day, my youngest daughter telephoned me and asked me to go to her home. After I got to her home, I found her eyes were swollen from crying, so I knew there was something seriously wrong. Then I learned that after the mother-in-law of my eldest daughter found out about my believing in Almighty God, she judged that I had been trapped by heresy and incited my son-in-law to stop me. My eldest daughter also felt that my belief in Almighty God made her lose face in the family, so she tearfully told my youngest daughter. So my youngest daughter then urged me, “Mom, my sister is suffering a lot because of your belief in Almighty God. Why must you go to that church so regularly? I know believing in God is the most important thing to you, but couldn’t you go to that church less often? You should consider the feelings of your family.” She carried on venting her emotions by complaining to me and weeping for a while. Seeing her so sad, I was very upset. Thinking how my belief in God made my eldest daughter feel ashamed, I somehow felt I had done her wrong. Thereupon, I prayed silently to God in my heart. After prayer, I suddenly thought of the words of the Lord Jesus: “He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that takes not his cross, and follows after me, is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37–38). Immediately, my mind was much clearer. The Lord said that anyone who loves their son or daughter more than Him is not worthy of Him. So if my belief in God was shaken because of my youngest daughter’s sobbing, or for the sake of protecting my eldest daughter from being ashamed before her mother-in-law, I would be revealed to not be a true believer in God. I also recalled what the brothers and sisters often fellowshiped during the meetings: On the path of following God, we are faced with spiritual battles all the time, and where there is God’s work, there is Satan’s disturbance. At that time, I came to realize this: The thing I encountered that day seemed outwardly to be an obstruction from my youngest daughter but actually, it was just Satan using her to disturb me. If I listened to her, or, in other words, compromised, wouldn’t I be falling captive to Satan? No. I had to listen to God’s words. I couldn’t satisfy the desires of my two daughters, much less compromise. And I had to be a created being who could satisfy God. This thought filled me with strength. So I said to my youngest daughter firmly, “You want me to go to the church less often. Perhaps you don’t think this is very serious, but to me, this is connected to bearing testimony to God. For instance, when God requires me to score 100%, if I strive and can’t make it, this is because of my small spiritual stature; but if I intentionally slow my pace and don’t pursue to score 100 %, that is like coming to a complete stop, right? I’m a created being, and I can’t make any requirements of God. I can’t say, ‘O, God! Let me slow my pace. Please show some consideration for me.’ This is making demands of God and trying to make God obey me, and isn’t what believers in God should do.” After saying this, I was very relieved, and felt peaceful and steady in my heart. Hearing me say this, my youngest daughter had nothing to say to refute me.
Source from: find the shepherd
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