By Wenwen
In the summer of 2007, I fortunately accepted the gospel of God’s Kingdom. After a period of having meetings and reading God’s word, I knew that the heavens and earth and all things were created by God, and that man’s fate is also controlled by the hands of God. So I thought: It’s pretty good. Now that I believe in God, no matter what difficulties I have, God will help me, and everything will be fine in my future life. The more I considered it, the sweeter I felt in my heart. And I felt so energized to follow God. Unexpectedly, before long, some things that fell short of my will happened. …
One day, I rode my electric scooter to take my child home. When I neared suburbs, I felt someone was pushing my electric scooter, and that the handbag on my shoulder was being pulled by someone. I thought that someone got too much close to me in order to dodge the coming truck from behind. So I cried: “Hey, hey, hey!!!” Before I realized what was happening, I suddenly felt like something was taken away from me, and then two motorbikers on a motorcycle, like a shot, flew by my side. I looked down, only to find that my bag had been snatched by the motorbikers, and only the strap of my handbag was left. There were several hundred yuan in the bag. I shouted loudly to the motorcycle: “You stop!” But the motorcycle disappeared from sight soon. My child said: “Mommy, they held a knife.” Until then I recovered from my sense. My child must see the thief cut off my handbag with a knife. Reflecting on what happened just now, I couldn’t help gasping. If they hadn’t cut off my handbag with a knife, but pushed or pulled me down, the consequences would have been unimaginable. At the time, I felt the hair stand up on my neck, and began trembling all over. If I hadn’t taken my child, I would have collapsed on the ground. Instantly, I was freaking out and unsettled. Before, I just heard of many incidents of drive-by bag snatching, but I never thought that something like this would happen to me. These thieves were too unbridled and savage. They went so far as to openly and brazenly rob others in broad daylight, which was really so devoid of conscience. How dark this society was. … The more I thought, the angrier I became, thinking: Those who don’t believe in God can encounter such things. I have believed in true God, but how can I still be robbed of my bag by thieves? I am very careful all the day. When I walked on the way, I consciously kept my hand gripping on my bag; when I rode my electric scooter, I put my handbag under the saddle and locked it in. Just this once, I carried it on my shoulder, and it was robbed. Why didn’t God protect me? At that time, I didn’t know what God’s will was, and lived in complaint toward God.
When I arrived home, I found that I not only lost the money in my handbag, but lost the key to the door within it. I couldn’t enter my home. What should I do? It would be dark soon. My child got hungry, while I didn’t even have money to buy something to eat. Though my husband worked at a very short distance from my home, I didn’t want to trouble him because it was difficult for him to ask for leave. Thus, I had to borrow tools from my neighbor to pick the lock. I was anxious and hungry, feeling very distressed. The moment I opened the door, I felt a thrill of sick at the stomach; darkness came over my eyes and I stunned to the ground. I heard my child’s loud crying, but didn’t have any strength to stand up. At the time, my neighbor came over, and helped me call my husband. With the help of the neighbor, I drunk some water and then relieved the sickness.
After my husband came back, I told him what had happened today. He said: “You’re lucky. You came across skilled thieves. If you met green ones, they might pull you down, and things might get worse. Forget the money. It’s fine as long as you and our child are safe. Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise.” Hearing his comforting words, I felt a little better. After all, it took him a month to earn the money I had lost. As my husband came back home during work hours without permission, I asked him to go back to work. However, he was afraid that I might have an accident again, so he stayed at home to take care of me. Unexpectedly, on the third day, when my husband went back to work, he was fired for not asking for a leave of his boss. After I got this news, I couldn’t express how I felt, and thought how hard the boss was. While I complained against the boss, I made more complaints toward God. I thought: God, what’s going on? I don’t yet get over the matter of losing my handbag the day before yesterday. Today, my husband was fired too. It’s really that one trouble follows another. God, why can’t I see your care and protection? I lost my money, and my husband lost his job. Our present life becomes a problem now. I lived in misunderstanding toward God, and I also became darkened in my spirit.
Just when my spirit sank downward and was passive and weak, Sister Xiaoling came to my home to see me. I poured out to her what had happened in these days, and in the end I said: “Now, I have believed in true God, but why did I still encounter bad things one after another. Why didn’t God care for and protect me?” The sister comforted me and said: “Now, you are in a bad mood. I can totally understand. God knows what has come upon you. This is a spiritual battle, and also is the work God does on you.” After speaking these words, she asked me to take out the book of God’s word, and then found a passage of God’s word and asked me to read: “In every step of work that God does within people, externally it appears to be interactions between people, as if born of human arrangements, or from human interference. But behind the scenes, every step of work, and everything that happens, is a wager made by Satan before God, and requires people to stand firm in their testimony to God. Take when Job was tried, for example: Behind the scenes, Satan was making a bet with God, and what happened to Job was the deeds of men, and the interference of men. Behind every step that God does in you is Satan’s wager with God—behind it all is a battle” (“Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God”).
After I finished reading, I said to the sister: “Oh, it turns out to be Satan’s disturbance when my handbag was robbed or when my husband was fired.” The sister replied: “Yes. Outwardly, all things that come upon our family seemed to be something between people, or out of people’s arrangement or disturbance, but actually, behind them are the disturbances of Satan. Satan wants to take advantage of these things to make us stay away from God and deny God. This is the evil intention of Satan. Because before we believed in God, we all lived in Satan’s domain, and were freely fooled, trodden, and abused by Satan without any ability to change the situation. But after we followed true God, by reading God’s word and praying to God we are able to break away from Satan’s ruling. How can Satan let go of us? It attempts to contend for people with God. In this way, a spiritual battle has started. Satan is malicious and evil. It knows our original purpose of belief in God is gaining blessings, so it uses this chance to disturb us, makes some ill things befall us, and tries to let us complain against and misunderstand God to produce a heart of betraying God. But God’s wisdom is based on Satan’s schemes. God allows Satan’s temptations to befall us, which is to test whether we are someone who genuinely seeks the truth or believes in God. God wants to defeat and shame Satan with our testimonies. When we are able to see through Satan’s schemes according to God’s word and stand on the side of God, God will win, and meanwhile, Satan will have nothing to deal with us, and will be completely defeated. Just like Job’s trial, though, outwardly, it was robbers that took away his possessions, Job could accept it from God. He believed everything is in God’s hand, so he didn’t utter any complaints or sin with his lips, but stood testimony for God.”
The sister finished speaking, and then found another passage of God’s word: “Almighty God, the Head of all things, wields His kingly power from His throne. He rules over the universe and all things and He is guiding us on the whole earth. We shall often be close to Him, and come before Him in quietness; never shall we miss a single moment, and there are things to learn at all times. The environment around us as well as the people, matters and objects, all are permitted by His throne. Do not have a complaining heart, or God will not bestow His grace upon you” (“The Sixth Utterance”). After reading God’s word, the sister said: “Today, since God has allowed these things to come upon you, there must be God’s good intention in it. We are mortal beings and can’t see through anything, so the only thing we can do is praying more to God, reading more of God’s word, and believing everything is with God’s permission. Remember, never complain. It’s the rationality we should have.” After hearing the sister’s fellowship, my heart was suddenly brightened, and I knew that the reason behind these things that came upon my family was because of Satan’s accusation and particularly from my wrong views of belief in God.
After the sister left, I saw God’s word says: “Why do you believe in God? Most people are confounded by this question. They always have two entirely different viewpoints about the practical God and the God in heaven, which shows that they believe in God not in order to obey, but to receive certain benefits, or to escape the suffering of disaster. Only then are they somewhat obedient, but their obedience is conditional, it is for the sake of their own personal prospects, and forced upon them. So: why do you believe in God? If it is solely for the sake of your prospects, and your fate, then you’d best not believe. Belief such as this is self-deception, self-reassurance, and self-appreciation. If your faith is not built upon the foundation of obedience to God, then you will ultimately be punished as a result of opposing God” (“In Your Faith in God You Should Obey God”).
After reading God’s words, I thought back to my views of belief in God: Believing in God is just gaining peace and blessings and making everything go well. My purpose is to conduct transactions with God, and such a view of faith in God can’t be approved by God. I thought: Since I have believed in God, I should correct my views, believe in God in accordance with His demands, and learn to obey God. After knowing these, I knelt down and prayed to God: “Oh, God, in these days, my family frequently came across things, and by reading Your words, now I know they are all spiritual battles. I also have seen my incorrect views of belief in God: I just want everything to go well or be safe and sound. And once I encounter some environments contrary to my will, I want to stay away from You. How can I be called a believer in God? Now I have known Your will, so I am willing to obey You. May You keep my heart, and keep me from falling into Satan’s plots. No matter whether my husband can find another job, I won’t complain against You.” After my prayer, my heart became calm a lot. Thinking back to the scenes after I believed in God, I saw Satan precisely wants me to fall down in this matter. God’s word reveals the hidden truths behind things, and makes me know it is exactly the schemes of Satan. I saw my stature was so small that I almost betray God because of these things. Thanks to God’s protection and mercy, He timely arranged for the sister to come and fellowship His word with me. Thanks be to God!
Soon after, my husband came back carrying his toolbox. I peacefully comforted him and said: “It doesn’t matter. Since you have come back, you can have a rest for several days and then go to other place to find a job.” I consciously entered into the truth of obeying God, and didn’t live in the scheme of Satan, so I didn’t feel that troubled. Unexpectedly, on the second evening, we were about to bed when we suddenly heard a hurried knock at the door. We rushed to open the door, and found they were my husband’s four colleagues, who were the nonlocal. My husband hurriedly let them in. They were all injured in different degrees. Two of them had their arms and knees broken and their clothes were bloody, and another two person’s clothes were all torn up. Then we learnt from them what had happened: A young man of their store had a quarrel with two local young men, and they called on a dozen people taking sticks to go to the store to beat him. When his colleagues saw and came up to reason with them, they fell into a hard fighting. Both sides had injured people, and the policemen also came over. They four fled out by night. With nowhere to go, they had to come to my home to hide a night and planned to go to their hometown on the second day.
I suddenly realized: It turns out that God knew there would be a fierce battle, so He arranged for me a series of things: First, I lost the handbag; then I stunned when picking the lock; next, my husband broke the rules of his store and came home without asking for a leave; finally he was fired by his boss and left there. Otherwise, he must have been involved in this fierce battle. Those who were not the locals could run away while we, the local people, could not. Those young people must come to make trouble for my husband later on. Thinking back to what I had experienced, I saw God’s care and protection and knew God’s good intention. Thanks God. Bad things turn into good ones. At the moment, my heart was full of guilt toward God, so I immediately knelt down and prayed to God: “Oh, God, I have seen Your protection and Your love. I am really so blind, ignorant, and foolish. God, please forgive me. I am willing to seek Your will more and have a heart of obeying You in my future life. I won’t do things that hurt Your heart again.”
Unexpectedly, two days later, a store near my home recruited workers, and my husband smoothly passed through the interview and went to work there. His wage was more than double what he earned previously. Besides, because his working place was very close to my home, he could take care of our family at any time. And I could also do some duties within my power in peace. Through this experience, I even more convinced that God is the truth, the way, and the life; I also made my heart firmer to pursue the truth and follow God to walk the correct path of life.
In real life, we will encounter various environments, that is, different kinds of temptations. When practical people, things, and objects are placed before us, we are shortsighted and can’t fathom God’s will, so we need to know God’s work: No matter what God does, His ultimate purpose is good for us. Even if in our sight they seem to be bad things, but behind these bad things lies God’s will. So, when we encounter unexpected environments, never complain, lest we fall into the scheme of Satan. We should seek God’s will more, and await and submit to the people, things, and objects that God arranges for us. When you experience them, you will see God’s love, and know God’s love is hidden behind the things. Just as God’s word says: “Sometimes things that look bad on the outside are not necessarily bad, and are actually good things” (“Only When One Has the Truth as Life Can One Resist Evil Trends”).
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