4 Ways to Quiet Your Heart Before God

4 Ways to Quiet Your Heart Before God

By Liujing

Over the past few years when I believed in the Lord, I persisted in praying and reading the Bible every day, and always went out to work for the Lord, but I felt that I was still estranged from the Lord. Even when sometimes I prayed or read the Bible, my mind would wander away into other things, being bothered by some trifling matters in my daily life, and then I was incapable of quieting my heart before the Lord at all. So after several years, I did not have much understanding of the Lord’s words, nor did I have much growth in my spiritual life.

Recently, I read some books. And only then did I understand that if we want to achieve a result in our spiritual training, the most fundamental lesson to enter is to quiet our heart before God. Only by doing so can we receive the moving, enlightenment, and illumination of the Holy Spirit, and then establish a proper relationship with God and enter the right track in our spiritual life. Gradually, our spiritual life will have ever greater progress. Then what should we do to practice quieting our heart before God? I have found some ways of practice from a book. Now, I’d like to share them with you.

1, While Praying, Our Heart Must Be Focused and Sincere

As a Christian, we pray to the Lord every day, but most of our prayers are the following of procedure: We neither truly quiet our heart before the Lord or use a single-minded and honest heart to speak from our heart to Him, nor bring any issues we don’t understand or any difficulties we have before the Lord to seek, to ask for His enlightenment and illumination, and for more and new understanding of His words. Instead, we always kneel there merely to murmur what we do not mean, speaking some commonplace or repeated words. Sometimes when we hurry to go to work or go out to do something, in order to finish our prayer as soon as possible, we just say some words simply, going through the motions; even when sometimes we are kneeling in prayer, our heart is thinking about other things, and so on. All these behaviors show that we are not truly quieting our heart before God to have true communion with the Lord, but are stalling and deceiving the Lord. When we pray in this way, not only can we not obtain the Holy Spirit’s moving or enlightenment, but we will make God feel disgust and hatred. The Lord Jesus said, “When the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him” (John 4:23). From these words we can see that, the Lord’s demand for us is that we should worship God with an honest and focused heart. So while praying, we should tell God about our true states and difficulties. No matter what ideas and plans we have in our mind, we should completely open ourselves up to God. Only then will God be interested in our prayers, let us be more touched by the Holy Spirit, be enlightened and illuminated in various things that we do not understand, and let us gradually come to understand God’s will.

For instance, in the face of difficulties, our heart is always occupied by matters of wealth or the flesh, so we are unable to put our heart into working or expending for the Lord. At this time, we can speak the truth to the Lord, “O, Lord, I see that my stature is too small. I always live in the entanglement of the flesh, always consider and plan for my future, and always cannot wholeheartedly serve You. When I see those brothers and sisters who expend for You can forsake their flesh, and are considerate to Your will, I feel very ashamed. I also want to rise up to care for Your will, to expend and work for You, but my faith is too paltry, so I cannot achieve it. I only wish to entrust this difficulty into Your hands. May You lead me and grant me confidence and strength….” If we always share what is in our heart and commune with God like this, God will see our prayer is sincere rather than the following of procedure. Then the Holy Spirit will work within us, lead us to gradually break free from the entanglement of the flesh and to rise up to devote ourselves to the Lord. Simultaneously, when we pray to God, we should avoid all of the matters, people, and things that can disturb our mind, and find a quiet environment. Just like the Lord Jesus said, “But you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret shall reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6).

2, While Reading the Word of God, We Should Be Quiet and Use Our Heart to Ponder

Although we often read the Bible at ordinary times, we seldom expend effort in pondering God’s word. Most of the time we just read without devotion, like viewing flowers on horseback, and being satisfied with understanding the literal meaning of the truth. Even though sometimes we are staring at God’s word and reading it, our heart is wandering in the great world, and as a result, after we read it, we do not know what God’s word means. Sometimes we also ponder God’s word for a while, but if we have no enlightenment afterward, then we will give up pondering it. Actually, we do not at all quiet our heart before God to figure out why God say these words, what results God wants to reach with them, and how to practice and enter in order to meet God’s requirements. That’s why we have believed in the Lord and read God’s word for many years, but we still do not have much understanding of the will of God, nor have we found the way to practice the many truths which we should practice and enter. It is clear to see that ordinarily we do not ponder God’s words enough, so even though we have read much of God’s words, we are still incapable of comprehending their inner meaning, and our spiritual life still cannot grow. Then, as to this aspect of truth, how should we do to enter into it? Here is an example. The Lord Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Mat 19:24). Then we should contemplate: What did the Lord mean by saying that? Which aspects of God’s will and disposition are revealed? What result does God want to achieve on us? By contemplating, we see that those people who pursue money but not the truth cannot get into the kingdom of God. We may think back to the Age of Grace. Some landlords also wanted to follow the Lord. But they were unwilling to give up their wealth and superior living conditions because they were greedy for comforts and pleasures of the flesh, and could not bear to live a simple and poor life. Therefore, although they knew that those who believed in the Lord would have eternal life and the chance to enter into the kingdom of heaven, they still lost the opportunities to get God’s salvation. This shows that it’s nearly impossible for a landlord to enter into the kingdom of God. Through this story, God’s will is that we should not pursue money but should pursue life. If we pay attention to money, and when we get the money, we lose our life, then what benefit is this to us? As we ponder God’s words like this, we will understand God’s will better and better, and then we can also act in accordance with God’s will better no matter what we encounter.

3, When Something Happens, We Should Seek and Practice the Truth, and Live Before God

We all know that spiritual devotionals take up only a small portion of time in our daily life; most of the time we are working or dealing with various matters in our life. So if we want to practice quieting our heart before God, then we cannot be limited to just practicing reading the Bible and praying. We should also practice to come close to God, to meditate on and contemplate God’s love with our heart, and to focus on seeking the truth and God’s will, and on acting in accordance with the truth at any time in all the people, events, and things that we encounter in our daily life. God’s word says, “In your daily life, you must grasp those words you say and those things you do that will cause your relationship with God to be abnormal, then rectify yourself and enter into the correct manner. Examine your words, your actions, your each and every move, and your thoughts and ideas at all times. Grasp your true state and enter into the way of the work of the Holy Spirit. Only in this way can you have a normal relationship with God. By weighing out whether your relationship with God is normal, you will be able to rectify your intentions, understand the essence of man, and understand yourself; through this, you will be able to enter into real experiences, truly forsake yourself, and achieve deliberate submission.”

Through God’s words we can see that, only by always quieting our heart before God and seeking God’s will in all the things we encounter, can we have a clearer understanding of our true states, shortcomings, and inadequacies; can we grasp God’s will in everything we encounter to practice the truth and satisfy the Lord. Only through this can we maintain a normal relationship with the Lord, live before Him, avoid being ensnared in the temptations and schemes of Satan and doing things that rebel against and oppose the Lord.

Just like Job, during his daily life, he sought to fear God and shun evil in everything, for fear that he would sin against God and make God feel disgusted in what he did. So when his sons and daughters feasted and made merry, he not only distanced himself from them, but also sent and sanctified his sons, and sacrificed burnt offerings for them. Even when Job encountered Satan’s temptation and lost a mountain of sheep and cattle, untold masses of wealth, and his sons and daughters, although he was very distressed in his heart and did not understand God’s will, he still was able to quiet his heart before God, seek God’s will, neither sinned with his lips nor said hurtful words about God, much less resisted God. And it was precisely because Job was possessed of rationality and a heart of seeking the truth and fearing God that he could submit to such environment and said, “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21), thus standing a beautifully resounding bearing of witness and made Satan retreat in humiliation. In the end, Job was doubly blessed by God. Not only that, but he got the opportunity of seeing the appearance of Jehovah God, and got the blessings which no one had ever previously received.

4, Paying Attention Every Day to Reflecting on Our Problems and Shortcomings

Every day we will face with various things. So we should come before God to reflect on all the things that we have done in a day: Over what matters we practiced the Lord’s words and our actions conformed to the truth; over what matters we followed our own will and went against the Lord’s will. We can recall them and try our best to write them down in our notebook when conditions and time allow. We can go on practicing the things that we acted according to God’s word; as for our doings that were not in line with God’s will, we should integrate God’s words to inspect ourselves about the problems and deviations in them, and seek the truth to resolve them timely. For example, we believe that we can treat the brothers and sisters with sincerity when in association with them at ordinary times. But at nighttime when we reflect on ourselves, we are aware that in the daytime, we did not speak openly and honestly to others in order to protect our own interests in something. We see that for the sake of our personal interests, we lied and committed fraud to the brothers and sisters, and revealed deceitful corrupt disposition in this thing. We know that God is disgusted with deceitful people; He loves those people who are honest, innocent and open. So we should open ourselves up to the brothers and sisters actively, confess to having told lies and deceived them, ask them to forgive us, and resolve not to do this anymore. In this way, unconsciously, we will have some entry into the truth of being an honest person. If we do not reflect on ourselves by coming before God, we will pay no heed to our everyday expressions of corruption, thinking they are all trifles, and then we cannot achieve the effect of improving our spiritual life. So only by focusing on quieting our heart before God, by always reflecting on ourselves and pondering those problems in ourselves, will our spiritual life grow ever greater, our relationship with God become ever closer, and we gradually become a person compatible with God’s intentions.

The four aspects above are the direction and path of practicing entry into quieting our heart before God. I really hope that we can all benefit from them.

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Knowing God Can Help Us Shake Off Worries

Knowing God Can Help Us Shake Off Worries

By Lin Lin

Photo by Giorgio Montersino – CC BY-SA 2.0

Worries are the invisible ties with which Satan bind our heart. Once we get ensnared in Satan’s net, we would lose faith in God and finally be shoved into the abyss of death.

In today’s rapidly changing and competitive society, we are assailed by various kinds of worries without release.

Worrying that we can’t win others’ affection, we have cosmetic surgery and lose weight at the expense of our health and money. Worrying about the children’s prospect, we make them attend all kinds of remedial classes, which leads to enormous pressure on them. Worrying that the work can’t go well, apart from doing the job carefully, we also need to deal with the guards and attacks from colleagues. Worries about the quality of life cause us to apply for various loans and become mortgage slaves; worries about our children’s living conditions keep us laboring even at an old age; worries about sudden sickness and disasters impel us to buy various kinds of insurance. … Because of these worries, we have no God’s place in our heart, living in a world without light.

God says: “Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit to his stature?” (Matthew 6:27).“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:34). However, who will truly believe and submit to God’s words, and come before God to enjoy His promise without any worries?

In fact, worries come from our arrogance, greed, and ignorance. They are the expressions of our distrust and disobedience of, and resistance to God. The root of worries is that we don’t know God. Only when we know God’s authority and sovereignty, can we gain the true freedom and release, and no longer feel worried.

Just as God’s word says: “Because people do not recognize God’s orchestrations and God’s sovereignty, they always face fate defiantly, with a rebellious attitude, and always want to cast off God’s authority and sovereignty and the things fate has in store, hoping in vain to change their current circumstances and alter their fate. But they can never succeed; they are thwarted at every turn. This struggle, which takes place deep in one’s soul, is painful; the pain is unforgettable; and all the while one is frittering away one’s life. What is the cause of this pain? Is it because of God’s sovereignty, or because a person was born unlucky? Obviously neither is true. At bottom, it is because of the paths people take, the ways people choose to live their lives. Some people may not have realized these things. But when you truly know, when you truly come to recognize that God has sovereignty over human fate, when you truly understand that everything God has planned for and decided for you is a great benefit, and is a great protection, then you feel your pain gradually lighten, and the whole of you become relaxed, free, liberated.”

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Obey God’s Sovereignty, Ordinary But Wonderful

Obey God’s Sovereignty, Ordinary But Wonderful

Gao Qian

At nightfall, under the dim light, I was looking at the fallen leaves outside the window with a thread of slight grief welling up in my heart. Thinking that I lacked proficiency at my work, didn’t do things as well as others, and suffered loss of face, I felt I was dwarfed by others, and could not help but be a little depressed: Why do so many unpleasant things appear in my life? Why am not I outstanding in all respects like others? Why don’t others pay attention to me? … When I was full of complaints within, a delicate fragrance floated toward me and interrupted my thoughts. Turning around, I saw the pot of jasmine on the windowsill. If it didn’t emit fragrance, I could hardly pay attention to it. I hadn’t taken good care of that flower, so it lacked nutrition, only bearing two little white flowers. It was hard to believe that these two flowers which were small and unremarkable could emit such fragrance. I couldn’t help walking forth to observe them. I found that these two flowers weren’t big, but their fragrance was so refreshing that I felt a comfort and happiness; they were common, ordinary and unremarkable, but could bring a thread of pleasure to people. Suddenly, I realized that these little flowers live a meaningful life.

Looking at the little flowers, I couldn’t help thinking of God’s words, “While God was speaking, all these things came into being following the thoughts of God, and in an instant, an assortment of delicate little life forms were unsteadily poking their heads up through the soil, and before they had even shaken the bits of dirt from their bodies they were eagerly waving to each other in greeting, nodding and smiling to the world. They thanked the Creator for the life that He bestowed upon them, and announced to the world that they were a part of all things, and that they would each devote their lives to showing forth the authority of the Creator. … This barren world, in which there had not been any trace of life, was rapidly covered by a profusion of grass, herbs and trees and overflowing with greenery…. They were all born, and lived, because of the words of the Creator. They would receive the unceasing provision and nourishment of the Creator, and would always tenaciously survive in every corner of the land in order to show forth the authority and power of the Creator, and they would always show forth the life force bestowed upon them by the Creator …” (“God Himself, the Unique I”).

God’s words gave me a deep feeling. God bestows life on these plants, and they are all demonstrating God’s great power. In addition, they treasure their instincts God has bestowed on them, giving play to their own functions: They add colors to the world for people to enjoy, devoting their life silently and quietly. Though they’ll be withered soon after, they still try their best to give play to their own functions in the limited time, emitting their delicate fragrance and demonstrating God’s authority and power. They thank the Creator for the life that He has bestowed upon them and willingly submit to the order of the Creator. With a thankful heart, they live in happiness, relaxation, freedom and release and haven’t been unworthy of their life bestowed by God. I’m also a creature, but why am I unable to live a relaxed and calm life like these flowers?

Recalling the time when I wrote cases with my two coworkers, they talked about their thinking and opinions, but I sat there and said little. Sometimes, I put forward a piece of advice, but it wasn’t adopted. Then, I felt very uncomfortable, envious and defiant at that moment. And I secretly thought: I can’t fall behind them, otherwise they’ll more look down upon me. However, the more I wanted to express some unique insights in order to be approved, the more I had no thinking, my mind went blank and I had nothing to say. So, my heart became extremely pained. Even more, I wanted to escape that environment and didn’t want to stay there at all. I could not but ask myself: Why am I so sad, painful and always unhappy? I thought of God’s word, “Human beings, dominated by their satanic disposition, harbor a sort of desire, a type of ambition, inside of them. This is hidden within their humanity. They never want to stay on the ground; they keep wanting to go up into the air. Is being in the air a place for a person to stay? Whose place is it to stay? (Satan’s.) That is a place for Satan, not a place for humans. When creating humans, God put them on the ground so that your daily lives could be completely normal and your lifestyles disciplined, and so that you could learn general knowledge about how to be human beings, and learn how to behave, how to live, and how to worship God. God did not give you wings; He did not allow you to stay up in the air. Those with wings are birds, and the ones wandering around in the air are Satan and evil spirits and filthy demons. Those are not human beings! If people keep having such ambitions, always wanting to turn themselves extraordinary and superior, different from others, and special, then that is a problem!” (‘The Five Conditions People Have Before They Enter the Right Track of Believing in God’). The judgment in God’s words made me understand: The reason why I was unhappy and pained was that my ambitions and desires were too strong. In fact, God’s intention of creating us is not to ask us to pursue becoming supermen, great persons or unique men, but to be grounded and forthright in conducting ourselves and doing things, and to be an ordinary and normal man. Though we live a simple life, we can worship God and obey God’s orchestration and arrangement. I reflected on myself: I was unwilling to submit to God’s orchestration and arrangements, living in dependence on Satan’s poisons, such as “ranking higher than others” “rising above others.” I always wanted to be on a higher level, cultivate my own image in other people’s hearts, and let them look up to me, so when I could not be looked up to by others, I would be worried about personal gains and losses and live in agony. Am not I the same as Satan? Satan is unwilling to obey God’s sovereignty and wants to ascend to the highest heights. As a result, it was struck down and into the air by God. I always wanted to rank higher than others, so would I be disgusted by God? How can a man who is disgusted by God obtain God’s blessing or have real joy?

Just then, I remembered a paragraph of words in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life: “If God lets us be like grass, we should be like grass and not seek to be great trees; if we’re like trees, we shouldn’t seek to become high buildings. Just be ourselves. We should stand correctly in our positions and be honest in seeking truth and fulfilling our duties. Only living in this way is the best and not tiring.” Just then, I had a clear understanding and had a way of practice: Though I’m ordinary, I can try my best to do what I should do, which is the best manner of living. I was no longer depressed, nor did I escape or stay away from this environment, and instead, I was willing to obey the order and arrangement of the Creator, living out the manner of a created being like these flowers. I couldn’t help praying to God, “Oh, God! I’m willing to straighten out my state of mind, and try my best to do what I should do according to Your words. Whatever You give me is the best. I hope that I can live freely, submit to Your orchestration and arrangement, stand correctly in my position, and manifest and glorify God like these little flowers!”

These flowers made me realize a principle of how to be human: Though we are ordinary, we aren’t humble. As long as we submit to God’s sovereignty, we can also live out a wonderful life.

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Put Aside Our Notions to Welcome the Lord’s Return

Wang Hui

We often live in our notions and imaginations, which can give us wonderful hope or become the motivation of our life. However, once the reality doesn’t line up with our imaginations, that can have serious consequences for us.
I have heard such a story:

Once there was an old lady and her two sons. When the sons were small, their father went abroad to work. The father often sent money and necessaries of life to support the family. As time passed by, the two sons had forgotten what their father looked like, so the old lady often talked about their father to them. Thus, there was an imagined father in their mind. Soon after the old lady’s death, their father wrote to them that he would come back, but he didn’t tell them the time of his return. Knowing that their father would be back, the two sons were very excited and looking forward to their father’s return, for they had long known from their mother that their father had already become a rich man abroad.

One day, an ugly old man dressed in rags, was standing at the door of the elder son. He knocked at the door softly and called the son’s pet name. “Who is it?” asked the elder son. “It’s me, your father,” answered the old man. Hearing his pet name, the elder son knew it was his father coming back because no one knew his pet name except his mother and father. He was both astonished and happy; he wasn’t expecting his father back so soon. He gladly ran to open the door, but he was dumbfounded. Standing outside the door was an old man, short, ugly, and in shabby clothes. “How can he be my father? My father will come back in a limousine with his bodyguards.” So he roared angrily, “You poor beggar! How dare you profess to be my father! I won’t give you any food! Go away!” Hearing that, the old man still said calmly, “I am really your father…” But before he could finish speaking, the elder son interrupted him and shouted, “My father is not like you! He is abroad, rich, and will be back soon. Don’t you try to profess to be my father to take advantage of me? Go away quickly!” The old man wanted to say more, yet the elder son pointed at him and said, “Do you not go? If you don’t go, I’ll set my dog on you!” The old man shook his head, sighed and left disappointedly.

Then the old man came to the younger son’s house. He called his pet name as he knocked at the door. On hearing this, the younger son felt it was like his father’s voice, but he was not sure, for this old man before him differed greatly from his father in his mind. However, he invited the old man into the house and got him something to eat. Afterward, he inquired him of the details of his past. From his words, he confirmed that this old man was indeed his father. So he said, “Father, whether poor or rich, you are my father. I will look after you. Please live with us. This is your home.” Hearing these words, the old man was moved to tears.

Afterwards, the old man had ascertained that his younger son treated him genuinely. No matter how his brother gave bad advice to him, his younger son never kicked him out, but treated him better. In the end, the old man gave all his property to his younger son. After the elder son knew it was a test, he sorely regretted, kowtowing continually and apologizing to his father in bitter tears. He promised that he would mend his ways and treat him well. However, his father shook his head and said, “It’s too late!”

After reading this story, you may feel sorry for the elder son. When his father was standing at his door, he refused him and shut the door on him due to his imaginations. Eventually he was filled with bitter regret. This shows us that our notions and imaginations are too harmful. At the moment, I can’t help thinking of the time when the Lord Jesus came to do His work. Wasn’t it because of their notions and imaginations that the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees opposed the work of the Lord Jesus? Because God’s work was incompatible with their imaginations, that is, because they held on to the views of “impossible,” such as the Lord couldn’t possibly be called Jesus or preach outside the temple when He came, much less be born in a manger, etc., they opposed God—nailed the Lord Jesus who came to redeem mankind to the cross—and committed a heinous crime. Consequently, the entire Israel was subjected to destruction.

Today, two thousand years later, all Christians are looking forward to the return of the Lord Jesus. But they have committed the same mistake, that is, they also use their notions and imaginations to define God. Some insist that God cannot work in China and should work in Israel; others think that God cannot come in flesh and should come upon a white cloud in spiritual body; and so forth. These notions and imaginations severely hinder people from investigating God’s work, and make them shut the door on God’s salvation time and again. Jehovah God said, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). And the word of God says, “Put aside your view of ‘impossible’! The more that people believe something is impossible, the more likely it is to occur, for the wisdom of God soars higher than the heavens, God’s thoughts are higher than man’s thoughts, and the work of God transcends the limits of man’s thinking and conception. The more that something is impossible, the more there is the truth to be sought; the more that something is beyond the conception and imagination of man, the more it contains the will of God” (“The Appearance of God Has Brought a New Age”).

From God’s words, we can see that God’s thoughts soar higher than the heavens. We can never fathom His thoughts, much less can we measure how He will work by our notions and imaginations. God cannot possibly do His work according to our notions, for man’s notions and imagination are Satan’s schemes. If we always live in our notions and imaginations, we will make the same mistake as the Pharisees—nailing God to the cross. Only if we put aside our notions and imaginations, seek and investigate God’s work, can we witness God’s appearance and welcome the Lord’s return. Otherwise, we will lose the chance to be saved. Just as God says, “The return of Jesus is a great salvation for those who are capable of accepting the truth, but for those who are unable to accept the truth it is a sign of condemnation. You should choose your own path, and should not blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and reject the truth. You should not be an ignorant and arrogant person, but someone who obeys the guidance of the Holy Spirit and longs for and seeks the truth; only in this way will you benefit” (“When You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus Will Be When God Has Made Anew Heaven and Earth”).

The Lord Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 5:3). We can see that the Lord loves people who has a humble heart. So when it comes to the matter of the Lord’s second coming, if we can put our conceptions to one side, seek humbly and follow God’s footprints, then we will be the most blessed ones. If you have other understanding and new light, you’re welcome to have a real-time chat with us via the online chat window at the bottom of the website or send an email to info@findshepherd.com. We’re all ears to your experience and knowledge of belief in the Lord. Looking forward to exchanging our sharing and welcoming the Lord’s second coming together.

Recommended:
Have You Welcomed the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus?
I Have Drunk the Water of the River of Life

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God Creates the Miracle of Life

God Creates the Miracle of Life

Li Qi

I had gone through an unhappy marriage and I started a new family in 2007. After marriage, due to my physical unfitness, I had habitual abortion. In 2011, I was over the child-bearing age, but luckily, I was pregnant once again. To give birth to the baby smoothly, I strictly followed the doctor’s advice to have tonics and take rest; I had examinations and injections of tocolytic agents regularly in the hospital, in fear of an unexpected miscarriage. However, more than six months later, amniotic fluid breaking, I delivered a premature baby with the weight of 1.8kg. The doctor diagnosed my son’s illness as a congenital biliary atresia, which might take his life at all times. Hearing that news, I felt as if the sky had fallen and I couldn’t help but drop tears unceasingly, thinking: It is not easy for me to bear this child. How come he has a congenital disease? No! I must try my best to cure him. Nowadays, science is so developed. Besides, it has been publicized in the newspaper and on TV that any disease can be cured. I’m assured that science will cure my son’s disease.

After my son was born, the doctor placed him in the incubator, injecting him with the imported nutraceutical on time every day, monitoring his heart around the clock and specially assigning persons to take care of him. However, having stayed in the incubator for twenty-three days, he only gained 200g. I was burning with anxiety. Seeing that my child felt too unwell to fall asleep, he breathed a shallow breath, cried with his face getting purple, and his navel swelled up, I was heartbroken, with tears wetting my face every day. I thought: So many days have passed and we have used almost all leading medicines and remedies; how can they be ineffective? The modern medical science is so advanced now, but why can it not alleviate my son’s pain? Is the medical skill not up to the mark or the equipment not advanced in this hospital? Perhaps those are better in a large-scale hospital.

So, after discussion, my husband and I decided to transfer our son to a provincial hospital. Regardless of my rather frail body, I was discharged from the hospital quickly and on the very day, we left for the provincial capital. In the provincial hospital, my child was sent to the incubator again, and took blood test every day. After several twists and turns, the results of inspection were the same as before, and the doctor gave the same medical treatments. After nine days, my son’s illness didn’t take a favorable turn, but was aggravated owing to being drawn too much blood for tests. His cries became weaker and weaker, his navel got more and more swollen, his weight decreased, and he sucked the breast with difficulties. Observing this situation, the doctor was afraid that my child would die in the hospital, so he said to us, “You’d better go home. I’m incapable of curing your child. There’s no use in continuing healing him.” Hearing the specialist’s words, my husband and I were agonized. I thought: Will my kid’s life end that way? Isn’t it said that all the disease can be cured by modern science? Why can’t it cure my son? I still didn’t give up, then I cried and pleaded with the doctor, “Please seek other ways to save my child. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, I’m willing to do no matter how much it costs.” But he shook his head resignedly. My husband also advised me, “Since the specialist can’t cure our son’s disease, now we can only wait for his good fortune.” We had no alternative but to take our child back home.

On the second day after we returned home, my aunt (my father’s sister) came to visit my child and me. She testified about God’s gospel to me. And then she picked up a book and read a passage of God’s words to me, “From the moment you come crying into this world, you begin to perform your duty. You assume your role in the plan of God and in the ordination of God. You begin the journey of life. Whatever your background and whatever the journey ahead of you, none can escape the orchestration and arrangement that Heaven has in store, and none are in control of their destiny, for only He who rules over all things is capable of such work.” After reading these words, my aunt fellowshiped, “God is the Creator and the source of life for all things. He presides over everything of man. So everyone’s fate is in control of His hand and cannot be governed or decided by anyone. Your son’s disease cannot be cured in this hospital, nor in that hospital. You can hand the child to God, pray to Him, depend on and look up to Him more often. Whether he is well or not, let God control and decide. We just submit to His sovereignty and arrangement. …” Hearing her words, I gasped and thought: I have never heard about such words. They are reasonable. I thought back to the past. After I had a pregnancy, I started having injections, taking medicine and having health care for the safe birth of my child. Beyond my expectation, I had a premature delivery and my child had a congenital disease. We transferred him from a general hospital to a large-scale one, but both of them couldn’t cure him of disease. It cost a lot of money, but his disease turned no better. It seemed that science cannot take charge of man’s fate, much less change one’s fate. Is my child indeed in charge of God? My son’s disease, congenital disease couldn’t be cured even in the largest hospital in the provincial capital. Is God able to? My aunt seemed to read my thought and said to me, “God’s authority and power cannot be fathomed by man. If you experience practically, you can see God’s wondrous deeds.” Hearing what she said, I wanted to have a try. Maybe, if I believed in God, there would be a little hope for my son’s disease. Thereupon, I began to follow my aunt to believe in God. Whenever I had time, I would read God’s words. The brothers and sisters often had gatherings at my home and fellowshiped with me. And I often committed my son’s disease into God’s hands and allowed Him to control and arrange.

One evening, my son felt unwell again and cried very bitterly with sweat all over, his navel swelling badly. Seeing his agony, I began to worry again: He is so small and thin and doesn’t want feeding. If this continues, how can he bear? I’d better let my husband take him to the hospital again. Perhaps there’ll be a gleam of hope. I told my thought to my husband. He took a look at our child and said dejectedly, “Our son has a congenital disease. The best expert has refused to treat him. Even if we go to the hospital, what problems can be solved?” Then I thought what he said was reasonable. Even the expert in the provincial hospital couldn’t cure him. Science can’t save my child. What should I do? One day, I saw two passages of God’s words, “From when man first had social sciences, the mind of man was occupied by science and knowledge. Then science and knowledge became tools for the ruling of mankind, and there was no longer sufficient room for man to worship God, and no more favorable conditions for the worship of God. The position of God sunk ever lower in the heart of man.” “Mankind merely uses scientific knowledge that the naked eye can see and the brain can comprehend to anesthetize his heart. … Regardless of whether you are able to recognize the deed of God, and irrespective of whether you believe in the existence of God, there is no doubt that your fate lies within the ordination of God, and there is no doubt that God will always hold sovereignty over all things. His existence and authority are not predicated upon whether or not they can be recognized and comprehended by man. Only He knows man’s past, present and future, and only He can determine the fate of mankind.” At this time, I understood: Originally, I had been esteeming science and relying on it, and I had thought science was all-purpose, could solve people’s various difficulties and cure people’s all kinds of diseases. Before the birth of my child, I tried to prevent a miscarriage with scientific methods for my child to be born smoothly. However, unexpectedly, my son was delivered prematurely with a congenital disease. During the treatment, I, again, put all of my hope on science, believing that, in modern times, science was well-developed, and with advanced apparatus and equipment, imported medicine as well as the treatment of the specialists, my son would recover from his disease. As a consequence, we spent lots of energy and money, but all hardly helped. It turned out that science is not all-purpose, and it cannot rule over man’s fate, much less change man’s foreordination. I was deceived by science, believing it in the depth of my heart, but not admitting God’s sovereignty, not believing man’s fate is in the hand of God. Hence, as soon as I had difficulties, I would think of science and intended to alter my child’s fate by it. It could be seen that what I believed and depended on in my heart was science, and I wasn’t a true believer in God! From then on, I am determined to rely on and look unto God genuinely, and allow God to reign over, dominate and arrange my son’s fate. No matter whether my son would die or survive, I would obey Him and have no complaints.

Four months later, the symptom of my son showed little improvement, his face yellow and thin, and his breath feeble. I planned in my heart again: My son is always suffering so much and has not improved a bit. Should I find a better hospital? Thinking of these, I was anxious and uneasy. In pain, I came before God and cried to Him, “Oh, God! My son hasn’t had a better turn for so long a time. I don’t know whether I shall go to the hospital. Oh, God! I would like to depend on You! May You lead me to understand Your will.” After prayer, I saw two passages of God’s words, “Almighty God is an all-powerful physician! … Faith is like a single log bridge….” “People’s faith is required for when something cannot be seen by the naked eye, and your faith is required for when you cannot let go of your own notions. When you are not clear on God’s work, what is required is your faith and that you take a firm stance and stand witness. … If you have lost hope in God, how will you be able to experience Him? Therefore, only when you have faith and you do not harbor doubts toward God, only when you have true faith in Him no matter what He does will He enlighten and illuminate you in your experiences, and only then will you be able to see His actions. … What does faith refer to? Faith is the genuine belief and the sincere heart that humans should possess when they cannot see or touch something, when God’s work is not in line with human notions, when it is beyond human reach. This is the faith that I speak of.” Having read these words, I recalled: Before I believed in God, I only believed science. Consequently, seeking medical advice had no result. Today, I have believed in God, but I have suspicion in my heart. I still want to depend on science. Neither do I believe in God’s sovereignty, nor do I believe that man’s life is in God’s hand. Feeling uncertain about God, I will not see His actions. Only by genuinely believing in God can I see His wondrous deeds. Therefore, every day I, by prayer, put my son’s disease in God’s hands and left it at the mercy of Him.

When I truly committed my son to God’s hands, after a short period of time, he had unconsciously a little ruddy complexion, and didn’t cry bitterly as before. Seeing he was on the mend, my husband took him to the hospital to check. After the checkup, the doctor made certain that my son had gotten over the disease and said, “It’s really a miracle!” At that moment, I dared not believe my son’s disease was gone miraculously and he could grow up like other normal children. I was so excited that tears swarmed to my eyes. I said to my husband gladly, “Thank God! Thank God! God is indeed marvelous!” Watching our son, my husband nodded happily and gaily.

Through this matter, I have personally experienced and seen: God, using His extraordinary authority and power, created the miracle of life. These years, whenever I see my son grow up healthily and happily, I will think of God’s salvation and can’t help sighing from the bottom of my heart: Science simply can’t change man’s fate. Only God is the source of man’s life. The life and death of each person are determined by God.

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A Trader’s Regret

A Trader’s Regret

Xingwu

I once heard a thought-provoking story:

A trader who had been away from home for many years decided to return home, and he would walk through a vast desert on the way. With the gold coins earned through years of hard work and enough food and water, he set out on the journey happily. However, soon the blistering heat of the desert was unbearable for him. He must lighten the load so as to walk out of the desert as soon as possible. He was hesitant to make a choice among the coins, food and water. Thinking that he had spent most of his life accumulating the wealth, he was too loath to throw a single coin away. Hence, he discarded most of the food and water and was on his way again.

He had not walked far when there was little food and water left. Just then, he heard the sound of camel bells: A camel caravan was coming towards him. The trader was overjoyed and hurriedly went forward seeking for help.Unexpectedly, after learning the trader’s situation, the caravan asked him for a large sum of gold coins in exchange for food and water. The trader, hungry and thirsty, touched his money bag and said to himself: “To exchange the gold coins for food and water can support me to walk out of the desert as quickly as possible. But, if so, little of my wealth will remain.” Finally, the trader gritted his teeth and said: “I won’t buy your food and water. As long as I hold on a little longer, I can walk out of the desert.” The members of the caravan all laughed at him: “What a miser! He prefers money to life!” Yet the trader ignored their derision and resumed his journey.

Without water, the trader could scarcely move his dragging limbs and flaked out before he got much farther. He touched his gold coins and thought: How I wish these gold coins could be drunk as water! Just at this moment, another caravan passed by. The trader begged them for water, but they also asked him to trade many gold coins for food and water. Still, he was too stubborn to do that. Then he picked himself up with difficulty and stumbled forward. The people of the caravan shouted behind him: “Which is more important, coins or life?” However, the trader was indifferent to their words.

The following day, the trader trudged to the edge of the desert, and he even dimly saw the smoke from the village in the distance. Nevertheless, he had already been exhausted. Eventually, he toppled down. Before he died, he sighed: “If I had given up my gold coins earlier, I would not be dying now. It’s late, too late …”

At this point of the story, many of us may feel sorry for the trader’s greed and ignorance. However, we might as well put ourselves in his shoes and reflect upon ourselves, or pay attention to the people around us. Are we not the same as him most of the time? Being beguiled by Satan, so many people bustle about struggling for fame and fortune with every effort all their lives. Not content with living comfortably, some people try their best to obtain better material enjoyments throughout their lives and are unwilling to give up their pursuit even when they are full of illnesses. Not satisfied with being rich only, some fight for status to stand out and be distinguished. Some spend their lifetime striving for fame and profit, and when they fall ill lying in bed they still worry about their gains and losses. Tempted by fame and fortune, people expose various follies, which forces us to reflect: Does man live only for fame and fortune? What exactly is the value of man’s existence? Almighty God says: “People spend their lives chasing after money and fame; they clutch at these straws, thinking they are their only means of support, as if by having them they could keep on living, could exempt themselves from death. But only when they are close to dying do they realize how distant these things are from them, how weak they are in the face of death, how easily they shatter, how lonely and helpless they are, with nowhere to turn. They realize that life cannot be bought with money or fame, that no matter how wealthy a person is, no matter how lofty his or her position is, all people are equally poor and inconsequential in the face of death. They realize that money cannot buy life, that fame cannot erase death, that neither money nor fame can lengthen a person’s life by a single minute, a single second.” “The Creator treats everyone fairly, giving everyone a lifetime’s worth of opportunities to experience and know His sovereignty, yet it is only when death draws near, when the specter of death hangs over one, that one begins to see the light—and then it is too late” (“God Himself, the Unique III” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh).

God’s words warn every one of us that fame and money cannot bring man life because they are the tools used by Satan to deceive and harm man. If man becomes obsessed with them, they will only stray further and further from God. Without God’s care and protection, mankind will be fooled by Satan like a plaything in its hands, blinded by fame and fortune and incapable of distinguishing between good and evil. People spend a lifetime’s worth of energy pursuing fame and gain. What’s more, when faced with the threats of disaster, disease, and death, they still think how to preserve their hard-earned money and fame, just like the trader in the desert. They do not awaken until the last minute of their lives. But it is too late to regret then. In fact, man was created by God personally, so his life and fate are controlled by God’s hands. It is God’s will that man should worship Him, obey His sovereignty and arrangement, and commit everything to Him, so God will protect man from Satan’s test. Only by living before God and obtaining the truth as life can man live out a most meaningful life.

During the last days, Almighty God bestows upon mankind all the truth of pursuing salvation and gaining eternal life. If man is able to not be restrained by fame, money and position and come before God to receive His salvation, he will obtain God’s guidance and blessings and live out the value a created being is supposed to. As God’s word says: “If one views life as an opportunity to experience the Creator’s sovereignty and come to know His authority, if one sees one’s life as a rare chance to perform one’s duty as a created human being and to fulfill one’s mission, then one will necessarily have the correct outlook on life, will live a life blessed and guided by the Creator, will walk in the light of the Creator, know the Creator’s sovereignty, come under His dominion, become a witness to His miraculous deeds and to His authority” (“God Himself, the Unique III” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh).

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