By Lingdong
After my graduation from junior middle school in 1999, I began to work in the beauty industry. One year later, I became a beautician consultant. As my salary was two or three times higher than others’, I was financially secure, without any special worry. Later, I married my classmate. Our marriage was admired by all my relatives and friends, because he was rich and handsome. Our wedding was solemnized, which made me feel honored and proud before my relatives and friends. Although I didn’t speak it out, I felt very pleased within. Compared with my classmates and friends, I had a better living condition and a handsome husband. Thus, I felt that I was the happiest one. One year later, I gave birth to our little treasure, our daughter. Contrary to all my expectations, my husband had an affair three months later. When I found out, I felt like I was struck by a bolt of lightning and fell into an abyss. Agony, helplessness, resentment, and confusion attacked me all at once. I hated my husband and wanted to divorce. However, I had to endure it as I was competitive and put great value on retaining face, fearing being looked down upon and laughed at by others, and I also considered the benefit of my child. Only I myself knew the pain in my heart. What was worse, my forgiveness was presented with his second betrayal. So, my life was in complete darkness and I lived in endless sorrow and distress. Eventually, it developed to the extent that we pretended not to see each other when meeting and became the most familiar stranger to each other. My life was painful and I felt I was on the edge of collapse. I confided my sorrow and pain to my best friends. Some could only comfort me, others laughed at me and even spread my failed marriage. I was in tearless grief. No one could feel my pain. Afterward, I didn’t mention it anymore and tasted the bitterness by myself. I stayed at home alone and was very haggard. Several years passed in that way. In 2013, we got divorced, ending the married life which made me no longer resemble a person.
Misfortunes never come singly. Not long after my divorce, my face developed an allergy, becoming red and itchy. In the beginning, I got an allergic reaction once or twice in a month. But later, I was in a state of continually getting a reaction for almost a whole year. Whether I went out or faced my family members every day, I wore a mask and dared not take it off, much less looked at myself in the mirror. I sought medical treatment and looked for traditional remedies for my face allergy every day. However, the symptoms not only persisted, but also became more and more serious. I lost what a woman cared about most. I felt that life was not worth living. I even thought about dying several times. But I chose not to at the thought that my child would be very pitiable without a mother. In my distress, I used cigarettes and alcohol to relieve myself. I felt like I spilled out my resentment as I blew a puff of smoke. I had hated alcohol but then used it to numb my heart. I changed from an outgoing person to someone who stayed at home all day, smoking and drinking and didn’t want to speak with anyone and hid everything in their heart. Afterward, I went to wherever was said to have accurate fortune-tellers. I wondered what was wrong with me and why my life was difficult. However, no matter how many fortune-tellings I had, my marriage was still broken and I still had a severe allergy. I knelt down and cried bitterly, asking Heaven, “Oh Heaven, it is said that when God closes a door, He will open a window for man, not making them have no way to go. But why am I put in a tight spot? Heaven, if the world abandons me, please take me away, for I have no way out.” Right then, I was in the depths of despair, only wishing to be freed from that pain by death.
One day, the idea of going abroad crossed my mind. I thought: Maybe in another circumstance, my mood and face will get better. Allowed by my family, I was registered to come to Japan. One day several months later, my roommate Shanshan testified about God’s work in the last days to me. She told me the root of mankind’s corruption. She said, “After God created man, He put man in the Garden of Eden and gave them things to enjoy. Later, they sinned after being tempted by the serpent—Satan, and then were driven out of the Garden of Eden. Thus, man lived under Satan’s domain and was corrupted by Satan to an extent that they didn’t know what sin was and how to live. As man was created by God and God loves man, God began the six-thousand-year plan of salvation for mankind. God does three stages of work. The first stage is the work of the Age of Law. Then, God’s name was Jehovah, and He set forth laws and issued commandments for man to know sin and led them to worship Him and how to live. The second stage is the work of the Age of Grace. Then, God’s name was Jesus. God was incarnated for the first time and completed the redemptive work through His crucifixion. As long as man repented and confessed their sins to the Lord Jesus, they could be forgiven of their sins and be freed from the law’s curse and condemnation and thus be saved. And they could enjoy the abundant grace and blessings from God. Today, God comes to do the last stage of work, that is, the work of the Age of Kingdom, the third stage of work. His name is Almighty God. He is incarnated for the second time, expresses the truth to do the work of judgment beginning with God’s family, and judges and purifies man through His words, making man free from their sinful nature and corrupt satanic disposition, so that they can be saved, enter the kingdom of heaven and inherit God’s promise.”
Thanks be to God. After her fellowship, I had a rough knowledge of God’s three stages of work, which deepen stage by stage to save man. I knew that man was created by God and then sinned after being tempted by Satan, thus living under Satan’s domain. As man was created by God, God can’t bear to see them painfully live under Satan’s domain. So, God wants to snatch them back from Satan’s hands, making them come before Him and live in His light. So God does three stages of work to save them. Each stage is done to further save them back. After I had such knowledge, Shanshan clicked open the videos on the official gospel website of The Church of Almighty God for me to watch. I was astonished to see so many videos on their website. There were movies, choirs, MVs, videos of hymns, and so on, which were really abundant. Seeing there were many young people, I was surprised, because I thought belief in God was old people’s business. I had never expected that God’s kingdom gospel would be publicly proclaimed on the internet on such a great scale. It was a breath of fresh air to me. She opened the MV “The Happiness in the Good Land of Canaan”:
“Returning to God’s house, I feel incomparable joy and excitement.
I’m so fortunate to see the practical God, what I’ve longed for for years has been realized.
Almighty God’s utterances guide people to enter into the Age of Kingdom.
Based on God’s words I have a path to take, I understand the path I should take as a person.
I’ve been watered with the living water of life, being face to face with God is enjoyment beyond compare.
I no longer cast about, my dream of the kingdom of heaven has come true.
The beautiful land of Canaan is the world of God’s words, living within His love is enjoyment beyond compare.
Returning to God’s house, I feel incomparable joy and excitement.
I’m so fortunate to see the practical God, what I’ve longed for for years has been realized.”
Excerpted from Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs
At the sight of them dancing joyfully, my heart became lighter. The happy smiles brimming on their faces are very lovely and pure and are without the evil and indifference of the worldly people. Their worship and praise to God comes from their heart and their love and faith are true and sincere and are not cultivated or educated by anyone. I believe there’s God’s leadership. This made me become somewhat certain about Almighty God’s work in the last days. I wanted to integrate myself into them and I really needed such love and happiness. I had long been sick of outwitting each other, selfishness, contemptibleness, and seeking nothing but wealth in the world. That way of living tired me out. Then, Shanshan had me watch the musical drama Xiaozhen’s Story. Xiaozhen had been a pure and kind Christian and always treated every friend with her true heart. However, for the sake of their interests, her good friends became her enemies. After her misfortunes, Xiaozhen was forced to abandon her true heart and give up her former principles of being human, beginning to sell out her conscience and soul and associated with this evil world…. She became fallen all the way and was trampled upon by this world, scarred and wounded. Just when she was put in a tight spot and was in despair, Almighty God’s earnest calls finally awakened her heart and spirit…. Within the drama, there’s a hymn of God’s words, “The Almighty has mercy on these people who have suffered deeply; at the same time, He is fed up with these people who lack consciousness, as He has had to wait too long for an answer from humanity. He wishes to seek, to seek your heart and your spirit, to bring you water and food and to awaken you, that you may no longer be thirsty and hungry. When you are weary and when you begin to feel something of the bleak desolation of this world, do not be lost, do not cry. Almighty God, the Watcher, will embrace your arrival at any time” (“Almighty God Has Been Awaiting Your Return” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). Thanks be to God! After watching it, I was moved to tears and cried very sadly. I thought of how no one in this world pitied and cared for me, no one knew my inner pain and suffering, and even more no one could soothe my sorrowful and painful heart. I often felt that I was an unwanted person, a walking corpse who annoyed others. However, the Creator—Almighty God, didn’t disdain me and was always beside me, expecting me to turn to Him. I felt that in this world only Almighty God loves me and sympathizes with me and only He knows my pain clearly and can bring solace to my sorrowful heart. So, I accepted His work in the last days and threw myself into His arms without hesitation. After coming into The Church of Almighty God, I receive the supply of the Creator’s words and the care and consideration of the brothers and sisters. I feel at home and I am no longer a lonely, heart-broken woman who was drifting in Japan. Here I find true happiness. The enlightenment and comfort of Almighty God’s words and the help and sustenance of the brothers and sisters make me understand more and more God’s kind intention of saving man. I’m willing to follow Him for a lifetime.
After I experienced God’s work for a period of time, when I encountered difficulties and sufferings, I would pray to Him and could feel that He was beside me, practically leading me and comforting me. One day, I read God’s words, “These things came after the temptation of Satan, after man’s flesh became degenerate. The pain of the flesh, the troubles and emptiness of the flesh and the extreme wretchedness of the world came from Satan’s torment of man after it had corrupted them. Man then became more and more degenerate, the painful illnesses of man were deepened, their suffering became more and more severe, and man felt more and more the emptiness, the tragedy and the inability to go on living in the world. Man felt less and less hope for the world, and these are all things that came about after Satan had corrupted man. So this suffering was brought on man by Satan, and it only came after man had been corrupted by Satan and became degenerate” (“The Meaning of God’s Experiencing of Pain Among Man” in Records of Christ’s Talks With Leaders and Workers of the Church). I also read these words in Fellowship and Preaching About Life Entry “In this dark world, there is no human life, but animal’s life or demon’s life. So, you can’t find an intimate friend in this mankind. Can you find a close friend? Who can be your friend? Is there a true friend? Now the divorce rate is getting higher and higher. Why? Spouses don’t exchange confidence but cheat each other, to the point that they cannot be compatible with each other and thus they get divorced. Is there a closer relation except for that between husband and wife? Therefore, no one has a true friend, because man has no humanity.” In the past, I hated my husband and complained that my life was difficult and tiring. Now I know that it is because mankind is corrupted by Satan. Satan twists man’s views on things and outlook on life. Man is selfish and contemptible to an extent that they only know enjoyment and don’t respect others, much less consider others. Man is no longer like a human after being corrupted so much by Satan’s view on existence, such as “Seize the day for pleasure, for life is short,” “Have a wife and mistresses too,” and so on. In my mind, my husband was an introvert, guileless and inarticulate person. But even such a person couldn’t have a heart-to-heart talk with me and betrayed me. This world is dark and evil and doesn’t have any pure place. We are all victims. Without God’s salvation today, I would be afflicted by Satan and could not walk out of it, dying in depression. Today, it is Almighty God who has saved me. Thank Almighty God for His love and salvation!
Afterward, during my spiritual devotion, I read a passage of God’s words, “Although people live within creation and derive enjoyment from the many ways in which the world satisfies their material needs, and though they see this material world constantly advancing, yet their own experience—what their hearts and their spirits feel and experience—has nothing to do with material things, and nothing material is a substitute for experience. Experience is a recognition deep in one’s heart, something that cannot be seen with the naked eye. This recognition lies in one’s understanding of, and one’s perception of, human life and human fate. And it often leads one to the apprehension that an unseen Master is arranging all things, orchestrating everything for man. In the midst of all this, one cannot but accept fate’s arrangements and orchestrations; one cannot but accept the path ahead that the Creator has laid out, the Creator’s sovereignty over one’s fate. This is an undisputed fact. No matter what insight and attitude one holds about fate, no one can change this fact” (“God Himself, the Unique III” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Man’s fate is governed by God, which I have deeply experienced. Despite the experience of a broken marriage and of the torment of illness, I think it was arranged by God. If I lived in an easy and comfortable circumstance, I would not have come to Japan and would not have the opportunity to accept God’s work in the last days. It is God’s orchestration and arrangement, God’s salvation to me, and God’s love for me that today I can believe in God here. Now I’m living very happily, for I have received God’s salvation in the last days. When I came to a dead end, God was there to save me from the haze of life. My colleagues and friends all said that I have changed into another person. Thanks be to God. I know all this change is because of God’s deeds. Since I believed in God, I even more see God’s blessing to me. I no longer have a face allergy. This is God’s mercy to me. It is Almighty God who gives me the hope to live and gives me a second life. Thank God! All the glory goes to God!
