I was born into a Chinese Christian family. When I was young, my grandmother often took me to church to attend gatherings and sing hymns to praise God. Later, only as I grew up did I gradually understand that the Lord’s love for man is faithful, and that the Lord’s words are possessed of authority and power and can bring hope to man. Whenever I sang hymns or prayed to the Lord, I would feel at ease and peace. In 2007, I moved to the United States. In October, 2010, I received baptism in the church, and started serving the Lord. At that time I was fervent. As I lived far away from the church, every time when there was a gathering I had to take the subway to the church at 5 a.m. Still I felt sweetness inside, thinking it was all worthy as long as I could satisfy the Lord. At that time I took part in everything of the church, whether big or small, and I was often particularly enlightened when reading the Bible. However, a few years later, somehow, I became sleepy once I listened to sermons, had no apparent enlightenment when reading the Bible, and often felt weak and down in my spirit. The pastors of the church talked the same platitudes without any new light. Every time after the gathering, my brothers and sisters would talk about matters that had nothing to do with believing in the Lord. Some sold insurance, some introduced boyfriends or girlfriends, and some talked about traveling…. I couldn’t help recalling what was recorded in the Bile: At the end of the Age of Law when the Lord Jesus came to do His work, people were selling oxen, sheep, and doves in the temple. The Lord Jesus walked into the temple and, seeing this, overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of the dove sellers, and rebuked them for turning the temple where people worshiped God into a den of thieves. Nowadays seeing the church become just like the temple of that time, I felt very distressed and helpless in my heart. I couldn’t figure out why the church was like this. I often went before the Lord and cried, “O Lord! Where are You? The church is no longer a church. People all worship You only with their lips and their hearts are far away from You. Everything they have done is not approved by You. Lord, where are You? When will You return and receive us?”

Just when I was in distress and confusion, I was acquainted with a sister, and she witnessed the work of Almighty God of the last days to me. Not until hearing her fellowship of Almighty God’s words did I realize that the reason why the church was desolate and people were cold in faith was that long ago God had done a new work, work of judging and cleansing people of the last days. The work of the Holy Spirit had been transferred, so the church was in chaos. The sister talked from the significance of God’s work during the Age of Law in the Old Testament to the significance of the Lord Jesus’ work of crucifixion, and then to the results that Almighty God’s work of judgment during the last days would achieve. She explained every step of God’s work in a very thorough manner with solid evidence in the Bible, and made me fully convinced. So I accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days. In August of 2012, I started living the church life. Gradually I felt no more thirst in my spirit. Three months later, in order to make more people return to God’s throne, I started to cooperate in preaching the gospel to the brothers and sisters in my former church. However, I received sieges from my family who believed in the Lord and from the pastors and preachers of the church. Thanks to the guidance of God’s word, I overcame Satan’s temptations step by step and stood firm in my testimony to God.

One day in January, 2013, I took Sister Liu of The Church of Almighty God to Sister Chen, who was in my former church, to preach the gospel to her. When we were fellowshiping, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law rushed in. My mother-in-law pointed to Sister Liu with her finger and shouted, “What are you doing here? Why are you stealing sheep from our church?” For the moment, I was astonished by this unexpected scene. I couldn’t figure out why my mother-in-law, who had believed in the Lord for many years and was always kind, suddenly became like this. In order to let Sister Liu keep on witnessing God’s work of the last days to Sister Chen, I hurriedly persuaded my mother-in-law and sister-in-law and brought them home. After getting home, my mother-in-law said angrily, “If Sister Chen’s mother hadn’t called me, I wouldn’t have known that you went to her home to preach the gospel. The preachers and co-workers in the church said believing in Almighty God was straying from the Lord Jesus. The pastors have believed in the Lord for decades; do they not know much more than you? Could they deceive us? You are too young and lacking in experience. You have taken the wrong way.” Hearing her words, I thought of the words I had read in the meeting concerning the truth about “The Difference Between Following God and Following People.” Almighty God says, “Since we are searching for the footprints of God, it behooves us to search for God’s will, for the words of God, for His utterances—because wherever there are new words spoken by God, the voice of God is there, and wherever there are the footsteps of God, God’s deeds are there. Wherever there is the expression of God, there God appears, and wherever God appears, there the truth, the way, and the life exist” (“The Appearance of God Has Ushered in a New Age” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “Those who do not understand the truth always follow others: If people say that this is the work of the Holy Spirit, then you, too, say it is the work of the Holy Spirit; if people say it is the work of an evil spirit, then you, too, become doubtful, or also say it is the work of an evil spirit. You always parrot the words of others, and are incapable of distinguishing anything by yourself, nor are you able to think for yourself. This is someone without a position, who is unable to differentiate—such a person is a worthless wretch!” (“Only Those Who Know God and His Work Can Satisfy God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). From God’s words I realized that if one wanted to follow God he must seek the truth, and that where there is the expression of the truth there is the work of God. I had seen the words expressed by Almighty God were all the truth that couldn’t be spoken by any person. God’s words also told me to have my own views, not to repeat what others said especially when it came to the matter of investigating the true way. My mother-in-law didn’t seek or investigate in person but complied with the pastors blindly; was she not following people? This kind of practice wasn’t in accordance with God’s intention. So I said to my mother-in-law, “Mom, I have made a careful investigation. From the words of Almighty God, I’m sure that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus. Jehovah set forth laws in the Age of Law, the Lord Jesus redeemed mankind in the Age of Grace, and Almighty God does the work of judgment during the last days. These three stages of work are different work done by one God in different ages, and the aim of the three stages of work is to save mankind. So accepting the work of Almighty God is following the footsteps of the Lamb rather than betraying the Lord Jesus. It is just as when the Lord Jesus came to do His work; His followers not only didn’t betray Jehovah but rather kept pace with God’s work. It is the same with today. Almighty God has done a stage of work of judgment beginning with the house of God on the foundation of the Lord Jesus’ work. Accepting God’s work of the last day is exactly following the newest work of God. How could we say it is a betrayal of the Lord? Mom, faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the word of the Christ. We shouldn’t believe the pastors blindly. We should investigate it before we can discern the true way from the false way. Moreover, when we don’t understand, we should have a heart that reveres God and not sin through our words in case we become the modern-day Pharisees.” Just when I said this, my mother-in-law interrupted me and said, “What? Did you say I am a Pharisee? As early as 1997 I heard The Church of Almighty God witnessed that the Lord Jesus had come back and did the work of judgment of the last days. But the pastors and elders said this way was wrong. So you should give up your belief in it. If you insist on believing in Almighty God, then we will end our relations, my son will have to divorce you, and you shall leave without anything.” My sister-in-law also accused me. I felt scared and sad in my heart, so I prayed to God unceasingly, “O God, You know I am of little stature. Now I am afraid that my mother-in-law will act according to what she said. O God, I am very weak. May You give me faith and strength, and make me know Your will and stand firm in my testimony to You.” After the prayer, my heart calmed down a lot. Then I recalled the words in the Bible, “These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes” (Revelation 14:4), and the lyrics of a hymn, “Do not be discouraged, do not be weak, and I will make things clear for you. The road to the kingdom is not so smooth; nothing is that simple! You want blessings to come to you easily, do you not? Today, everyone will have bitter trials to face. Without such trials, the loving heart you have for Me will not grow stronger and you will not have true love for Me. Even if these trials consist merely of minor circumstances, everyone must pass through them; it’s just that the difficulty of the trials will vary from one person to another. Trials are a blessing from Me, and how many of you come often before Me and beg on your knees for My blessings?” (“Suffering Is God’s Blessing” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). At this thought, I understood that there was God’s permission when this matter came upon me. Through the words of my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, God was testing if I still had the faith in following Him. The way of believing in God is full of hardships. Since I was certain this was the true way, no matter how many hardships and obstacles there would be, I should follow God and keep going along this way. This is what a Christian should abide by. After understanding God’s will, I felt at ease, and told myself in my heart, “Never give up the chance to pursue the truth just because of the physical suffering, and much less miss this rare opportunity of being saved by God for the sake of a peaceful family.” With the faith given by God’s words, I made the resolution: No matter how my mother-in-law and sister-in-law hinder me and resist Almighty God, I will follow Almighty God to the end.

After that, word came to the pastors that I had believed in Almighty God. A pastor and a preacher got very angry when they saw I, together with the sisters of The Church of Almighty God, set up a stall and preached the gospel. Since then, they often came to my house to lecture me. My life was disturbed and troubled, and I felt miserable in my heart. One day, the preacher came to my home again and said, “Sister, you must come back as soon as possible. How could a smart person like you be stolen? You should have discernment….” The other co-worker said, “Indeed, the good sheep in the church have all been stolen. The people of The Church of Almighty God are really powerful! They only steal the good sheep.” I cried out to God to help me in my heart. Then I said, “Brothers, if you want to seek the way of Almighty God, I am glad to discuss and fellowship with you. I can also invite the brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God to our church to witness God’s work of the last days, so that all the brothers and sisters can listen and see if Almighty God’s words are the utterances of God. But if you still want to persuade me to give up believing in Almighty God, then you don’t need to say anymore.” The preacher immediately used my words against me, “You said Almighty God’s words are the words of God; do you have any evidence? How do you know it is God’s words?” I said, “When the Lord Jesus came to do His work, He didn’t say He was God. The people who followed the Lord at that time had a pure and seeking heart, so they gained enlightenment from the Holy Spirit and recognized that the words of the Lord Jesus are the truth. For example, both Nathanael and the Samaritan woman recognized that Jesus was the coming Messiah from His words, and then followed the Lord Jesus. So today when hearing someone preaching the gospel, we should seek and investigate, seeing if it is God’s utterances. I have read many of the words of Almighty God and found they indeed are not spoken by any man. Almighty God’s words can disclose and judge the substance and truth of man’s corruption, tell man’s deviations in their belief in God, and point out the right way for man, letting them know what to do to satisfy God’s will. After reading Almighty God’s words, I am no longer thirsty in my spirit, and have recovered the faith that I had when believing in the Lord Jesus at first. Who could possess such power except God Himself?” Seeing I couldn’t be persuaded, the preacher said many words in exasperation that condemned Almighty God, but I refuted them all according to Almighty God’s words. In the end, I said, “It is recorded in the Bible, ‘He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’ (Revelation 2:7). If there is someone preaching the gospel of the Lord’s return and you don’t listen or study but condemn it at will, it’s not in accordance with the Lord’s teaching, and also you will offend God’s disposition. Just like the Pharisees of that time, you will be nailing God to the cross again.” When I said that, I saw the preacher break out in a sweat. At that time, my old granny was sitting nearby, and she said, “You won’t be able to persuade her. The way she believes in now is really high.” Seeing what I said was irrefutable, they left exasperatedly.

Looking at their receding figures, I thought: All the words that Almighty God has expressed is the truth, but you don’t study or accept it; aren’t you the blind leaders? Then the words of the Lord Jesus came into my mind, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13). Almighty God also says, “Look at the leaders of each denomination—they are all arrogant and self-righteous, and their interpretations of the Bible lack context and are guided by their own imaginings. They all rely on gifts and erudition to do their work. If they could not preach at all, would people follow them? They do, after all, possess some knowledge and can preach on some doctrine, or they know how to win others over and make use of some artifice. They use these to bring people before themselves and deceive them. Nominally, those people believe in God, but in reality, they follow their leaders” (“Only to Pursue the Truth Is Truly to Believe in God” in Records of Christ’s Talks). Though these pastors and elders repeatedly proclaim they are longing for the Lord Jesus’ return, when the Lord has really come back, they don’t investigate or seek, but condemn God’s new work at will and hinder the believers from accepting it. Such kind of man believes in God only in name, working and preaching every day, and actually they are opposers of God. God arranged this in order for me to see through their true face. In substance they are just like the Pharisees the Lord Jesus condemned at that time. They are exactly the antichrists who hate the truth and are enemies of God. If I hadn’t read the words of Almighty God, today I would also, like my mother-in-law, have foolishly followed them to resist and reject God’s work of the last days. Thinking of this, I sincerely appreciated God’s salvation and compassion of me. It was God who gave me courage and wisdom and allowed me to refute them with His words. Afterward, they came a few more times, but I already had discernment about them and was determined to believe in Almighty God. Seeing that, they didn’t come anymore.

However, the siege of Satan didn’t end. My mother-in-law was opposed to me accepting Almighty God’s work more and more greatly. She kept focusing on me all the time. As long as I left for a while she would call me and ask where I was. Living under her supervision, I felt nervous and particularly depressed every day. Looking back, when I was leading the choir in the religious church, the brothers and sisters all praised me, and my family never persecuted me. But now I suffered great physical and mental torment and pain from the persecution of my family and the ridicule and slander of the brothers and sisters in the church.

One day when I came home after spreading the gospel, my mother-in-law came to hinder me again. At first she cried and quarreled, trying to stop me from believing in Almighty God. When I didn’t listen to her, with one hand on her knee and the other beating upon her chest, she wailed, “Why can’t you listen to me? Please free me from my worries.” Looking at the way she wailed, I felt pangs of pain in my heart, and became weak unconsciously. Suddenly I realized my condition was incorrect, so I hurriedly came before God and prayed, “O God, please protect my heart. May You open up a way out for me, and help me stand firm in my testimony to You in such an environment.” When attending the gathering, I told a sister about my difficulties. She read these passages of Almighty God’s words together with me, “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 of work 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” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “You should not be afraid of this and that; no matter how many difficulties and dangers you might face, you are capable of remaining steady before Me, unobstructed by any hindrance, so that My will may be carried out unimpeded. … Be not afraid; with My support, who could ever block this road? Remember this! Do not forget!” “You must possess My courage within you, and you must have principles when it comes to facing relatives who do not believe. For My sake, however, you also must not yield to any dark forces. Rely on My wisdom to walk the perfect way; do not allow any of Satan’s conspiracies to take hold. Put all your efforts into placing your heart before Me, and I shall comfort you and bring you peace and happiness” (“Chapter 10” of Utterances of Christ in the Beginning in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Then the sister fellowshiped, “From the words of Almighty God we can see: Externally what came upon you today appears to be the persecution from your family, but it actually is a war in the spiritual realm. Satan tries every way possible to control man. God wants to gain man, but Satan can’t bring itself to quit. It disturbs us through the people around us, and restrains us through our weaknesses, like emotions and face, so as to make us weak and down in the spirit. The purpose of its disturbances is to make us stray far from God and betray God. So we should see through Satan’s scheme, go before God more often to pray to Him, consider things according to God’s word, and ask God to lead us to stand firm in our testimony.” After hearing the sister’s fellowship, looking at the words of God, I felt God was talking to me face to face. God’s words were consoling me, giving me strength and faith, and making me resist the control of the dark influence of Satan and have faith to stand firm in my testimony to Him. I understood God’s will, and also realized He was almighty and that everything was under God’s orchestration and arrangement. Then I recalled that Job would rather curse the day of his birth than complain about and forsake God, and stood firm in his testimony to God. Ultimately, God appeared to Job, and blessed him greatly. What came upon me today also had God’s permission. God used it to help me gain discernment, test my faith in Him, and moreover purify my love for Him. With this in my mind, I felt that I couldn’t be passive or complain about God anymore. I must stand up to cooperate with God. No matter how great my sufferings would be, I must stand firm in my testimony to God and comfort God’s heart. When I thought that way, I felt not so depressed and painful as before, and had an unfailing strength.

Not long after, Satan’s temptation came upon me again. However, I stood firm in my testimony to God by relying on God’s words, and saw God’s wondrous deeds. One day, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law came to my house again and said, “You’ve taken the wrong way. You have left the name of the Lord Jesus.” At that time, I was at peace before God and cried out to God to protect my heart. I thought of the words of God, “From the work of Jehovah to that of Jesus, and from the work of Jesus to that of this current stage, these three stages cover in a continuous thread the entire gamut of God’s management, and they are all the work of one Spirit. Since the creation of the world, God has always been at work managing mankind. He is the Beginning and the End, He is the First and the Last, and He is the One who begins an age and the One who brings the age to an end. The three stages of work, in different ages and different locations, are unmistakably the work of one Spirit. All those who separate these three stages stand in opposition to God. Now, it behooves you to understand that all the work from the first stage until today is the work of one God, the work of one Spirit. Of this there can be no doubt” (“The Vision of God’s Work (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Then I said peacefully, “I’m not on the wrong way, much less betray the Lord. Almighty God that I believe in today is exactly the only true God who created the heavens and earth and all things, and is the returned Lord Jesus. Almighty God has revealed the mystery of God’s six-thousand-year management plan, and told us that God has three stages of work and that the three stages of work are done by one God though in different ways, ages, and locations.” Just as I finished speaking, my mother-in-law threatened me, saying, “If you are determined to believe in Almighty God, we will not accept you. You make a choice.” At that time I didn’t feel any fear because I believed everything was ruled and orchestrated by the hands of God. I said calmly, “Mom, sister, for these years you should have known what kind of person I am. Since I got married, I have been living my life dutifully. Today you cannot accept me just because I believe in Almighty God and walk the right path of life. Then I have nothing to say, because I have a clear conscience. Mom, please don’t call me again to hinder me from believing in Almighty God, nor ask the pastors and preachers to my house. Citizens have the freedom of belief in the United States, so you have no power to interfere with anyone’s belief. Besides, no matter whether you let me believe or not, I am determined to follow Almighty God. It is immutable.” When I stood firm in my testimony to God, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law didn’t cut off relations with me. It seemed that they had forgotten I believed in Almighty God, and they never hindered me again. I returned to my former peaceful life. Almighty God says, “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). This experience made me further realize that Almighty God is the one true God and that the heart and spirit of man are ruled and controlled by Almighty God. My faith became greater.

Having experienced these matters, I practically felt God’s almightiness and wisdom, and even more saw His wondrous deeds. In the eyes of man, many things that God has done don’t conform to our conceptions. God permitted Satan’s temptation to befall me in order for me to gain discernment about its sinister motives and ugly face. Besides, God also perfected my faith and loyalty in such environments. I have seen that everything is under God’s orchestration and arrangement; as long as man practices according to God’s words and requests, God will provide assistance whenever man needs it and bestow peace, joy, security, and sweetness in the spirit upon man. That kind of happiness is beyond expression.

Thanks and praise be to Almighty God! It was God’s words that led me to overcome Satan’s temptations gradually and triumph at every step. I made a firm resolution: I will repay God’s love with my heart. I will preach the gospel and bear witness to God so that people who live under Satan’s influence of darkness just like I used to can follow Almighty God’s work as soon as possible, receive the guidance and work of the Holy Spirit Himself, and obtain real happiness and joy.

Extended Reading:

The Appearance of God Has Ushered in a New Age