One
day, I saw these words of God: “People
always tend toward the world, harboring too many hopes, wanting too
much for their future, and having too many extravagant demands. They
are always thinking about and planning for their flesh and never
interested in seeking the way of belief in
God. Their hearts have been captured by Satan, they have lost their
reverence for God, and they are devoting their heart to Satan. But
man was created by God. Thus, man has lost the testimony, meaning he
has lost the glory of God. The purpose of conquering mankind is
to seize back the glory of man’s reverence for God. It can be put
this way: There are many people who do not pursue life;
even if there are some, the number can be counted on one’s fingers.
People are most concerned about their future and are not paying any
attention to life whatsoever”. From God’s
words, it can be seen that if we can’t put aside the prospects of
flesh, and if there are full of extravagant desires within, our heart
will easily be captured by Satan and we will become more and more
distant from God. At that time, I thought confidently: Others may
stray from God for seeking the prospects of flesh, while I will
absolutely not. For I’ve understood God’s thoughtful intention to
save man from His words. However, in the face of facts, I had to hang
my head and admit that what God’s word discloses is the truth. In
my experience, I also saw that God never leaves or forsakes me but
loves and saves me.
My
family ran a transportation business. As the business was more and
more prosperous, I became distant from God involuntarily. I thought:
Our business is booming and we become well-off. Today people treat
others by appearances. If we change our private car for a deluxe one
and drive it to talk business, it will not only make us more
distinguished, but also help us drum up more business and make
greater profits. As people say, “People struggle to go upward, but
water flows downward.” As soon as I shared my opinion with my
husband, he agreed, “You are right. It’ll be highly advantageous
to us if I drive a luxury car to negotiate business with others. For
example, since one of my friends bought a Benz car, it has given him
considerable advantages in business. Now more partners are willing to
cooperate with him.” Thereupon, we began to rush about to all kinds
of vehicle dealer’s shops to see cars, like BMWs, Bens, minivans,
cross-country cars, etc. In addition, we also searched the Internet
for all sorts of luxury cars and their prices.
As
I put my whole heart into purchasing a car during that period of
time, I couldn’t calm down when reading God’s words in the
meeting. I said to myself, “I might as well stop having meetings.
After purchasing a car, I’ll continue having meetings and
performing my duty. However, as I carefully planned for having a
luxury car, something unexpected happened.
One
day in March of 2016, I was cleaning my rented house. In the yard,
there was a small house built with wood and glass, which was used for
storing some wooden articles for daily use as well as some sundries
of the landlord. Since we had moved to the city, I decided to give
the yard a spring clean and burn up the junk and garbage before
leaving. Then I piled the garbage and lit a fire. After that, I kept
on the cleaning in the room. A dozen or so minutes later, I heard
some explosions from the yard all of a sudden, and then I ran out
hastily. At the sight of the scene in the yard, I was petrified. The
flames spread straightly to the small house of the landlord, and its
glass had been burned to shatters. Then the fire spread into the
small house, so the wood and sundries all caught fire. The fire was
so strong that part of the roof was burned away and the tongues of
fire kept leaping from the burning house. My legs trembled with fear
at the sight of such a scene. I thought: The neighbor on the left
raised many chickens and ducks in the yard. If the fire spreads to
the neighboring houses, I can’t afford to pay even with all my
properties. I wanted to call a fire engine immediately, but I found I
had forgotten my cellphone. At the time, my forehead sweated
profusely with anxiety. In desperation, I rushed out of the yard and
shouted, “Help! Fire! Fire! Help!” Nevertheless, as it was around
nine o’clock in the morning, neighbors were not at home. The fire
was getting stronger and stronger, and moreover, combustibles were
around the burning house. Frightened, I was at a loss what to do. In
a panic, I hurried to carry water with a tub to douse the flames.
However, when I turned the tap on, the water came out slowly, which
made me extremely anxious. There was no enough water and no people
helping me put out the fire. Besides, I couldn’t make an emergency
call. Seeing the brisk fire, I was utterly desperate. Will I forfeit
all my savings? Thinking of the serious consequences, I was terrified
and started to cry. Suddenly, I thought of God I believe in: God has
authority and power. I cannot rely on others; I can only rely on God.
I
cried while praying to God, “O God, please help me! God, no one can
help me now. I realize that I’ve turned away from You for the
enjoyment of the flesh recently. I’m too disobedient. Oh, God! If
the fire continues to burn, I’m willing to obey. God, please have
mercy on me and help me.” After the prayer, I saw the water began
to flow faster and for a short while, the tub was filled. I knew God
heard my prayer. I couldn’t stop thanking Him. Promptly, I threw
the tub of water to the roof. After that, I turned on the three taps
in the room, filled every tub with water and threw it to the flames
one by one. I didn’t know how many tubs of water I poured upon the
fire in this way. By then my clothes were wet through, my face and
hands were covered with dust, and my arms as well as legs numbed
because of’ overexertion. At that time, the neighbor’s chickens
and ducks were scared by the fire and explosion, quacking loudly. The
fire was still burning; however, I was exhausted. I could only cry to
God in tears without ceasing, “Oh, God! I can do nothing and I’m
almost exhausted. Please help me. God! Help! …” After a while,
the flames, which had been burning high, burned down a lot. I
thought: “Man’s end is God’s beginning!” Consequently, I went
on pouring water. The fire in the house burned down slowly, and later
became white smoke, so did the flames above. I saw God’s
almightiness and sovereignty, for I had used up all my strength to
throw water, but the flames were not put out; however, after I prayed
to God, they became white smoke miraculously. Seeing the scene before
my eyes, I wept for joy and kept praising God’s great power and
marvelousness in my heart. After the last flame was extinguished, my
heart was finally released. At that moment, I was weak and limp,
without any strength. When thinking about what happened at that time,
I had palpitations. If not for God’s salvation, I didn’t know how
to clean up the mess.
Then
I recalled my actions and deeds during that period. I ran around for
the sake of my own flesh and extravagant desires. Not only did my
heart stray from God, but I even wanted to give up having meetings
and performing duties, intending to make more money in the world.
Though I treated God in that way, He didn’t abandon me. When I
reached an impasse, He still listened to my prayer. Thinking of
these, I was overwhelmed with regrets. Thank God for His another
mercy on me! He used His love to awaken my numb heart. Without His
salvation, all would have come to nothing due to the fire, such as
buying a luxury car, making a fortune, and making others look up to
me. Now I saw clearly that we are so impotent in the face of
disaster, and money and materials I pursuit have no significance or
value.
God
says, “Whether
you can gain life before God, and what your ultimate end will be,
depends on how you carry out your rebellion against the flesh. God
has saved you, and chosen and predestined you, yet if today you are
unwilling to satisfy Him, you are unwilling to put the truth into
practice, you are unwilling to rebel against your own flesh with a
heart that truly loves God, ultimately you will ruin yourself, and
will thus endure extreme pain”. “The fate of
man is controlled by the hands of God. You are incapable of
controlling yourself: Despite always rushing and busying about for
himself, man remains incapable of controlling himself. If you could
know your own prospects, if you could control your own fate, would
you still be a creature?”.
From God’s words, I understood that how much money I can earn and
what my fate will be are in God’s hand. I should obey His
sovereignty and arrangements. However, I was too greedy and my
desires were too great. I was possessed for the flesh, living in
Satan’s snare and becoming distant from God, with the result that I
nearly ruined myself. I will forsake my flesh, keep my feet on the
ground, have meetings and perform my duty properly. In this way, I
can live securely. This is the most meaningful life.
In
the afternoon, when I related the story of the fire accident to my
husband, he was astonished. I talked to him with emotion, “If God
didn’t save me, we would have been finished. We can’t afford the
loss even with all our properties.” He said repeatedly, “Yeah,
that’s right!” Right after that, I spoke to him seriously, “As
to purchasing a car, I’ll leave it up to you. I’ll keep my mind
on gatherings and perform my duty properly in the church to
repay God’s
love.”
Hearing my words, he nodded and said, “All right, I’ll deal with
the business myself. Don’t worry about it any longer.” At that
moment, I felt so relaxed and happy from the bottom of my heart.
Though
the fire accident befell me, I have truly experienced God never
leaves or forsakes me but loves and saves me. I even more saw His
almightiness and sovereignty. Today in the last days, various
disasters occur frequently. If we can’t give up our fleshly hopes
to follow God steadily, once we miss the opportunity to be saved by
God, we will live in remorse till the end of our days. For God says,
“I
am mankind’s only salvation. I am mankind’s only hope and even
more, I am He on whom the existence of all mankind rests. Without Me,
mankind will immediately become stagnant. Without Me, mankind will
suffer catastrophe and be trod upon by all manner of ghosts, even
though none take heed of Me. I have done work that can be done by no
other only in the hope that man repay Me with good
deeds.
… If you cannot work for good in My presence, then you will not
escape suffering the disaster”.
Jesus Christ is God Himself. The Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit, They are One. We can know from the bible verses, the Lord Jesus said, “he that has seen me has seen the Father….” (John 14:9) “I am in the Father, and the Father in me….” (John 14:10) “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30).
