Experiencing God’s Almightiness Through My Niece’s Disruption
When I went to church for gatherings after that, my daughter and her husband no longer hindered me—my life became peaceful as it had been before. But when my sister’s daughter found out that I had shared God’s gospel of the last days with her mom, yet another spiritual battle commenced …
One day I received an unexpected call from my niece in China. She said to me, “Don’t you know that the CCP government is fighting against faith in Almighty God? Don’t talk to my mom about this stuff anymore or else I’ll cut off ties with you. Soon I’m going to make a trip to South Korea to bring my mom back to China.” I never expected that my niece, who had always been such a nice girl, would talk to me that way. She didn’t even politely call me “Aunt”—I was very surprised and very upset. My niece then told my daughter that I had shared the gospel with my sister, so my daughter immediately called me to chew me out. But no matter what she said, it didn’t have the same impact on me as it had before. I thought to myself, “No matter what all of you say or how you try to hinder me, this time I won’t pull back. We three sisters will be firm in our faith.” After that our kids started keeping an eye on the three of us, looking at our phone records, and not letting us meet or call each other. We could only talk or meet up when they weren’t home, and as soon as we got off the phone we’d rush to erase our call history. Day after day went by, but whenever I thought of my niece saying she was going to come to South Korea to stop us from practicing our faith I felt awfully uncomfortable. I was afraid she’d keep us from going to church, and I was concerned that my sisters would be turned away from their faith. The more I thought about it the more emotional I felt, and I just couldn’t find any peace. I couldn’t help but think, “There are so many barriers, so many roadblocks to having faith. Why does it have to be so hard?” I realized that I was falling prey to their disruptions so I rushed to pray to God and read His words.
I read in the word of God: “Today, most people don’t have that knowledge. They believe that suffering is without value…. The suffering of some people reaches a certain point, and their thoughts turn to death. This is not the true love of God; such people are cowards, they have no perseverance, they are weak and powerless! … Thus, during these last days you must bear testimony to God. No matter how great your suffering, you should go on to the very end, and even at your last breath, still you must be faithful to God, and at the mercy of God; only this is truly loving God, and only this is the strong and resounding testimony” (“Only by Experiencing Painful Trials Can You Know the Loveliness of God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). What was revealed by God’s words was precisely my own state. I had been making a big deal out of being obstructed and hindered by my family because of my faith—isn’t that really feeble? I thought of all those brothers and sisters who have been put into prison and brutally tortured by the CCP, but they still stayed strong in their faith. Even in the face of such great difficulties, they never folded to Satan, but resolved to believe in and follow God. My little bit of discomfort doesn’t even count for anything. I have gained this rare chance to welcome the Lord’s return—how could I be knocked down by just a little hardship? I then thought of how before, my daughter and her husband had stood in the way of my faith, I prayed to God and relied on Him, and His words enlightened and guided me. They gave me faith, strength, and wisdom, allowing me to overcome Satan’s temptation and see God’s deeds. They were no longer able to stand in my way. Wasn’t that entirely God’s guidance that got me through? And now my niece was saying that she would come to South Korea to keep us from practicing our faith, and that she was going to take my sister back to China; from the outside it looked like human interference and disruption, but behind that it was actually Satan employing its tricks. I couldn’t fall prey to it—I knew I had to lean on God and stand witness for Him.
I later read these words from God: “Man’s heart and spirit are held in the hand of God, everything of his life is beheld in the eyes of God. Regardless of whether or not you believe this, any and all things, whether living or dead, will shift, change, renew, and disappear in accordance with God’s thoughts. Such is the way in which God presides over all things” (“God Is the Source of Man’s Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). It’s so true. God rules everything and has everything in His grasp. As human beings, we are all in His hands, and our thoughts and concepts shift with God’s intentions. Whether my niece would come to South Korea and whether she would try to hinder our faith was all in God’s hands. However, the moment I heard that she intended to come, I started to worry about her stopping me and my sisters from going to church. Wasn’t this a lack of faith in God and a lack of belief that He manages everything? My worries, my concerns were so unnecessary! My niece is also a created being and she is also within God’s grasp. If she were to come to stand in the way of our faith, it would be with God’s permission; God would be using that to test our faith and devotion to Him. Thinking of this felt very liberating for me, and I prayed to God, “Oh God! From Your words I’ve seen that everything is under Your rule. I am too weak and my faith in You is so small that I feel worried and afraid when my family stands in my way. God, I’m willing to put my niece into Your hands and go through whatever is ahead relying on You. No matter what she does, I will stand witness for You and Satan will be shamed.”
In the time that followed my sisters and I would frequently use chatting apps to share God’s words, share fellowship, and encourage each other. My niece did end up coming to South Korea, and my sister employed her wisdom to deal with her daughter. She made sure her daughter didn’t know when she went out to gatherings, and then my niece never again brought up the topic of faith. Also, my other sister’s two children weren’t happy about her faith at first, but later stayed out of her way. Thanks be to God!
Over more than two months of spiritual battles, I was able to triumph over Satan’s temptation step by step, all with the guidance of God’s words. Through all of these experiences I clearly saw how evil and despicable the CCP is. I also really and truly saw that God’s rule is almighty, and that when I stand witness for God by genuinely leaning on Him and relying on His words, Satan is shamed and retreats. My family stopped trying to hold me back or get in my way. Now I go to church every day to gather with my brothers and sisters and fellowship on God’s words. I watch the church’s videos and films at home, and my daughter and her husband no longer take issue with it. My younger sisters are also performing the duties in the church that they are able to. This is all thanks to God’s guidance!
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