23 April 2014 by Mindy Oon CM –
As Christians, we sometimes forget that God cares about every detail of our lives. Sometimes we worry about what will happen in our lives, and other times, we just seem to ‘drift away’ from God, discerning the Holy Spirit less and less. However, we need to remember that God is interested in every part of our lives. Natalie Kock is a student in UTAR who has recently accepted Christ. This is what she shared about her journey thus far.
I accepted Christ just few weeks ago and it has not even been a month yet; but I can tell you that my life has changed so much. I sometimes ask myself if I’m dreaming. Of course, there are ups and downs, but the downs will eventually go up; EVERYTIME. Two significant things have happened within this short period of coming to know Christ.
It is amazing what He is doing to me. As a person, I would describe myself as super impatient, easily annoyed, and that I can be a pain to some people. While I would not simply dislike a person for no reason, I often take great dislike to people who rub me the wrong way. And once this happens, I will just NEVER like the person again. However, after accepting Christ, there’s something different in me. While I don’t know what is wrong (or maybe right?); and am still trying to figure things out, there will be this voice inside my head every time I’m about to burst out cursing. This voice inside my head would just calm me down and ‘makes me chill’.
A few weeks ago, I remember asking my friends what they would do when someone they disliked appeared in church. This guy whom I did not like appeared in church the other day and I was annoyed just at the sight of him. All I was thinking was “Why can’t you give me a break?!” And suddenly, the voice inside my head says “Calm down, chill and be nice Nat, welcome him”. This voice would just appear out of nowhere and tell me to take it easy, and to do things God’s way. While I felt better, I didn’t speak to him during or after the service. It was when I arrived home and had to talk to him about something regarding an event.
Surprisingly, I found myself speaking in a nicer way – usually my words and tone of voice would be harsh. And I actually said “glad to see you in church!” before ending the conversation. The next day, I told my friends who also don’t like him very much about what happened, and as they didn’t like him as well, they started talking bad about him. And I found myself saying things like “actually he’s okay one. He is not bad”. It was then that I realized that my level of enmity towards this person had been tremendously reduce. I can even say that there was no dislike at all. That was when I realized that God wants me to forgive first. And I believe the first thing God wants me to do is learn to forgive, because it is only after learning to forgive, that one can learn to love truly love.
The next thing that happened was regarding my internship. Last week was pretty bad week for me, as I was worrying about whether or not I would be accepted to do my internship at a local private school. I had been praying day and night that I would get a place in this particular school, and when one of my seniors got a call from the school to go for an interview, I thought my application must have been rejected as I did not receive any calls. So, I keep praying.
That night, I went for connect group, and we watched The Bible Series. It was the final episode of the series, and the moment Jesus appeared on the screen, the very first thing he said was “stop doubting, and believe.” That was the second time when it ‘hit’ me again. “Why do you have so little faith Nat?” The voice in my head was doing its job again “Why? Don’t doubt and believe! You have already prayed right? Then it will surely be fine”. After that, the worries just….disappeared. I felt an incredible sense of peace and relief. Mark 4:39 says ‘Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” and Mark 5:36 says ‘As soon as Jesus heard the word that way spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.”
Isn’t it awesome to be a child of God? No matter what, don’t be shaken. Pray and believe. Only believe. God has our future in His hands.
Reference for picture:
http://amazingarrivals.blogspot.com/2013/07/be-not-afraid-only-believe-bitsy.html
A great sharing and really touched me… *crying heavily.Noticed that I've drifted far away from Him.
An encouraging testimony! Keep trusting Him and you will experience more of His goodness and grace. I have been a Christian when I was in school and now I am a grandfather and I know that Jesus is real and He will never short-changed you. I have seen His goodness in my own life.