God loves the world. Each of us is chosen by God, and we all have different experiences and stories behind our faith in God. Here are 40 stories and experiences behind people's faiths that I have heard and seen. Maybe the story behind your faith might be here.
1. His mother's illness made him believe in the Lord.
This was a Christian family: Their 92 years old mother was a Christian, two among the three children were Christians, but the son was not. Although he was raised in a Christian family, he remained stubborn and unbelieving after many years of persuasion.
A few years ago, when their old mother was ill, the sisters advised him: "Believe in the Lord, we can pray for mother every day with one heart, asking the Lord to heal her with the help of doctors' medical skills and medicine". But he said, "I do not care about those things, I will believe only the person who can cure my mother's disease". With the prayers of their mother, the two sisters, and that of some church members, after active treatment in the hospital for some time, the lung cancer-stricken 92-year-old mother had an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan and other examinations. The doctor was surprised to find that the lung cancer of the old mother was calcified, which meant that she was cured!
Having personally experienced this testimony of the Lord's healing, the brother said, "I was too stubborn, now I surrender to God!" He decided to believe in the Lord. So he was led by his sister to the church, and after a while, he was finally baptized and converted.
2. Helpless after her husband's death, she became a Christian.
This sister was a mid-level official in a state-owned enterprise and a former believer in another religion. After retirement, she spent time at home with her husband, enjoying her later years, burning incense and chanting Buddha; she felt very happy every day. Unfortunately, one day, her husband suddenly had a headache. After the ambulance took her husband to the hospital, the doctor announced that he suffered from a cerebral hemorrhage and passed away.
Immersed in indescribable grief, she spent all day alone at home lying in bed, with her face bathed in tears, helpless. At that time, a neighboring sister who believed in the Lord, comforted her, enlightened her and preached the gospel to her. She also reflected: Why did my husband pass away so early when I had been devoting myself to burning incense and chanting Buddha for so long? So suddenly? What kind of "evil" is in the house? So she followed the old sister to the church. After a few meetings, listening to the gospel and cultivation by believers, she suddenly repented and invited the church members to her home to get rid of her idols. She returned to the Lord Jesus Christ and actively dedicated herself to the ministry, becoming the leader of a fellowship in the church. Now she and her son, both Christians, serve in different groups in the church and are happy and blessed in Christ.
3. His mother led him to Christ.
His mother believed in the Lord since the 1930s. The son was influenced by his mother since he was a child to believe in the Lord and imperceptibly had a vague understanding. But he still did not believe in the Lord. After the reform and opening up, the church resumed and his mother went to the church for meetings every Sunday. As the only son, his wife was busy with housework, his child was also little, and there was no other person, so he always had to take his mother to church. After arriving at the church, he would seat at the back or corner waiting for his mother's meeting to end and take her home. His mother did not deliberately demand that he believe in the Lord, she only asked him to take her to church; she believed that her son would believe in the Lord sooner or later.
Every time he went to church, he listened passively. He also knew that it was a temple and that he had to obey the rules. He prayed silently in his heart for the health of his old mother. But he had no true spiritual faith in his heart. After several years, in the process of accompanying his mother, the truth of God slowly moistened his heart. Finally, one day through the grace of Christ, he received the call of the priest, stood before the altar, became a catechumen and participated in the training. A year later, he passed the exam. After believing in the Lord, he said emotionally, "Thank God! My mother led me to believe in the Lord". His mother said: It is not me, it is God.
4. He believed in the Lord while he was ill.
The old brother had been frail and sickly since he was a child. After the hard work and hard life working in the fields, he suffered from heart disease, stomach disease, tracheitis and other diseases in his middle age. He spent some of his salaries on medical treatment every year. Although there were some effects, it was a disaster. He felt empty and vague in his heart: What can a man in his fifties do? Where is the future?
His wife was a believer, and besides praying silently for her husband every day, she influenced him at home by her caring for him. One Sunday he suddenly said to his wife, "I too will go to church". His wife was very happy to accompany him to the church. On that day, it happened that the head pastor was preaching. He listened to the sermon and felt a warmth and hope in his heart. He said, "My heart suddenly opened up, I felt that the pastor was speaking to me".
He followed his wife to church every Sunday to listen to the sermon and to pray and praise like other believers. After a while, he received the pastor's call, he was trained in the church, baptized and became a believer. Now his health is much better than before, and he is much more energetic. He said that people should not be afraid of diseases; more importantly, they should not have disease in their hearts, the heart should be strong so that God can help us to fight the disease and we can live a healthier life.
5. Amid internal and external difficulties, he followed Jesus Christ.
The first half of his life felt very hard, but after going through rough times, he had a successful career and a happy family, the family of three people lived in harmony. He claimed to be an atheist and believed in nothing. But when he was 55, his wife suddenly had leukemia; she spent all her savings yet she lost her life. His small company was insolvent due to its negligence in managing its losses. His only daughter was also depressed because of the death of her mother and was unable to work. At that moment, he was troubled internally and externally and was mentally exhausted.
One weekend, he called one of his friends and asked, "What are you doing on Sunday?" His friend said "I'm going to church. Are you going?" He did not know why, but without thinking or hesitating, he said, "I will go!"
When his friend took him to the church, he listened to the hymn before the sermon and wept. His friend handed him a piece of tissue and said "Wipe your tears, don't cry." It was so strange! He entered the church and listened to the sermon once, got moved by the spirit, and his heart was softened by the Lord's mercy.
From then on, he went to church every Sunday to attend services and listen to sermons. He purchased a Bible, newly compiled hymns, and other necessary books, and carefully took notes during sermons. When the time was right, God chose him, and he believed in the Lord.
After believing in the Lord, he was no longer depressed. Although he could not continue running his business, he got off his high horse and worked as a security guard in a company. In his spare time, he accompanied his daughter to go out for relaxation and sometimes took her to church. Gradually, his daughter began to smile and was willing to communicate with others. Although he was not as rich as when he was a boss, he saw changes in his child, felt the grace of the Lord, and was filled with hope for life.
6. He accepted Jesus after reading the Bible.
He was a middle-aged man who was admitted into university after the reform and opening up to study history. He loved reading since he was a child. Especially in those turbulent times, he was hungry for knowledge. He once bought a Bible at a secondhand bookstall and began to read it. At that time, he barely understood the scriptures of the Bible. In his workplace, he served as the executive vice president of the company, and he had no energy to read the Bible anymore.
He found the Bible again by chance and began to read. It seemed to deeply read it. He began with Psalms, Proverbs, and the gospels, and then proceeded from Genesis through to Revelation. Gradually, he was deeply attracted by the truth in the Bible and felt the charm of believing in God. So, one day, he asked for the venue and time of the local church meeting, and then went to church on his own initiative.
At the church, he was warmly received by the sisters who served, who shared some general knowledge about the faith with him. The pastor of the church also especially had an hour of private communication with him. He was inspired and enlightened. From then on, he went to church every Sunday evening to worship, listened to sermons, and took notes. After several training sessions in a catechism class, he took a catechism exam and was baptized into the Lord. After that, he said, "Thank God! It is this Bible that brought me into the truth of faith and made me a believer in the Lord."
To be continued…
(The article is originally published by Gospel Times)
