The Church of Almighty God | Faith Grows in Sufferings

Faith Grows in Sufferings

By Li Jin

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     Along with a shrill clang of the bell, an ambulance was driving to the city hospital speedily. Inside it, a man kept speaking to his daughter, “Don’t sleep, Xinyi. We’ll get to the hospital soon….” Xinyi, her face pale, said in a faint, shivering voice, “Daddy, am I dying?” These words brought the quick tears to the father’s eyes. He consoled her at once, “No, you won’t. We’ll get to the hospital soon….”

    At home, receiving her husband’s phone call, Jinghan learned that her daughter had an accident. At the moment, as if the entire world were quiet and still, Jinghan could only hear her husband’s words echoing in her ear, “Xinyi had an accident. She is under emergency treatment now. Come here quickly. …”

    Hanging up the phone, Jinghan’s heart was palpitating uncontrollably. She couldn’t believe her husband’s words, and constantly asked herself: How did this happen? How …? She is so cute and obedient. Every day when she goes to school and comes back, she always walks on the pavement. How could she get into a car accident? Oh, God, how could it happen? While thinking, she changed her clothes, took some money and her cellphone, and then rushed to the hospital.

    When Jinghan came to the hospital, she saw Xinyi had been pulled back from the brink of death through rescue. Her face looked very pale, some pipes were inserted into her body, and her lost blood had filled half a vessel. At this sight, Jinghan felt her heart, as if pierced by something, was in unceasing pain. She knew her daughter was injured too badly, so she dared not to touch her lest she might hurt her.

    Jinghan learned from the doctor that her daughter had been out of danger, but she suffered comminuted fractures in her lumbar vertebrae. The bone’s breaking point happened to have pricked half her nerve, so she must undergo a surgery. But once Xinyi was slightly moved, the bone’s breaking point would probably cut off the whole nerve, leading to paralysis for her life. More crucially, now in the city hospital, there was no doctor who could do such a surgery, so they had to take her to the provincial hospital at once. Because if the best time for surgery was missed, there would be faint hope that she would be cured.

    When Jinghan learned about this serious situation, her heart sank to the bottom at once: “What should I do? What should I do? …” She felt she was nearly suffocated. If staying in this hospital, Xinyi couldn’t have a surgery. If she was transferred to another hospital for operation, her injured nerve would be in grave danger of being cut off on the way; if that really happened, Xinyi would be unable to stand up any more. Jinghan felt that she was facing the most difficult problem and test of her life. Just as she was in a dilemma, she suddenly thought of a passage of God’s word: “The crucial thing now is that you are able to take action in accordance with My will, and those who do this will surely receive My blessings and be under My protection. … Why don’t you commit them into My hands? Do you not believe in Me enough? Or is it that you’re afraid I will make inappropriate arrangements for you?” God’s words, like a beam of light, lit up Jinghan’s heart, and they reassured her, making her uneasy heart calm down. She thought to herself: Yes, why do I not put my daughter in God’s hands? He is our backer, our refuge! God’s enlightenment and guidance made Jinghan, who was in a tight spot, find a direction and power. She couldn’t help praying silently in her heart, “God, thanks for Your guidance and enlightenment, making me know You are my rock in such a difficult situation. Besides, You show me that I have no place for You in my heart. Every time faced with something, I always depend on my own ability to deal with or resolve it, rather than relying on You and looking toward You. This time, I’m willing to deliver my daughter into Your hands, and no matter what will become of her, I’m willing to obey Your sovereignty and arrangement.” After the prayer, Jinghan felt steadfast in her heart, and many previous worries and anxieties gradually disappeared.

    Several days later, Jinghan and her husband transferred Xinyi to the provincial hospital. Although the ambulance jolted them for three hours, the result of Xinyi’s examination made them feel at ease: The bone’s breaking point in the nerve didn’t move. Jinghan couldn’t help offering thanks and praise to God from the bottom of her heart, for she really saw that all is in God’s hands, even if it was such a tiny nerve fiber. It was considered that three-hour-long travel would definitely damage Xinyi’s body, yet none expected that everything should go so smoothly all the way. It made Jinghan’s faith in God increase.

    Another week passed, and it was time for Xinyi to have a surgery. Before the operation the chief surgeon said to them, “Prepare for the worst. Since half of the patient’s nerve has been cut off, we can’t exclude the possibility that when we take out the fractures of bones and knit the broken bones during the operation, the nerve may be cut off. …” These words made Jinghan’s heart go to her throat once more. When she was asked to sign off for Xinyi, her hand was out of control. At last, her husband gritted his teeth and signed.

    The door of the operating room was closed. Jinghan couldn’t calm her heart down. She dreaded that once the operation failed, her daughter might never stand up; she dreaded to see the despair in her daughter’s eyes after that; she dreaded…. Fear and trembling overflowed her heart. Jinghan dared not to go on thinking. She struggled to cast away those bad thoughts, but as if sticking to her, they returned to her mind in an eyeblink. Jinghan felt so nervous that she nearly broke down. The minutes kept ticking by. The wait seemed as long as a century, so unbearable. Jinghan desired that the surgeon who operated on Xinyi would be of great skill so that she could be cured after the surgery. … Jinghan couldn’t stop thinking about these things as if her mind ran out of control. Suddenly, she realized: Have I not committed all these things to God? How can I turn to believing that Xinyi’s life is in the doctor’s hands? When I came to the hospital, I have seen God’s deeds; how can I not believe Him now? At this, Jinghan couldn’t help cursing herself: “Too rebellious!” Then she silently prayed to God: “God, I believe in You, but I don’t know You. I always think that the result of my daughter’s surgery depends on the doctor’s skill. I’m really blind and ignorant. God, whether the result is good or bad, I’m willing to commit it into Your hands. At this moment, You are perfecting my faith. I’m willing to rely on You, look toward You, and submit to Your orchestration and arrangement.”

    After the prayer, Jinghan understood a little of God’s will. She no longer worried or felt anxious, but slowly calmed down. At this time, she thought of a passage of words: “The heart and spirit of man are held in the hand of God, and all the life of man is beheld in the eyes of God. Regardless of whether or not you believe this, any and all things, living or dead, will shift, change, renew, and disappear according to God’s thoughts. This is how God rules over all things.” And her heart brightened: Yes! All things are in God’s hands; the fate of every one of us is dictated and arranged by God. No one can command man’s fate, for we are just God’s creation. Thinking of this, Jinghan’s uneasy heart was calmed at once. She understood that no matter what the result would be, she ought to face it; whether it was good or bad, there was God’s good purpose in it. Then she recovered the lost faith through God’s word, and had the courage to face up to the reality.

    During almost four hours, it was so quiet outside the operating room that one could hear a pin drop. However, in Jinghan’s heart, there was an extremely intense fight, where the reality and the guidance of God’s word passed through. In this period, it was God’s word that gave her faith and strength time after time, making her heart calm down. At last, the door was opened. Jinghan hurried to look at her daughter. At the sight of Jinghan, Xinyi faintly said, “Mom, it hurts …” Besides feeling sorry for her, Jinghan instantly understood: that her daughter still has sense of feeling is the best verification that God shows to her. At that moment, she felt God’s mercy, and shed grateful tears.

    After the operation, Xinyi’s injured nerve recovered quickly, and she was left with no sequela, unlike what the doctor said before. Seeing her daughter getting better and better, Jinghan thanked and praised God from heart. She couldn’t help but think of two passages of words she had read before: “People have received a lot of things through faith. What they receive is not always blessing—to feel the kind of happiness and joy that David felt, or to have water bestowed by Jehovah as Moses did. For example, in the case of Job, he received Jehovah’s blessing as well as a scourge through faith. Whether you receive a blessing or suffer a scourge, both are blessed events.” “If you wish to be perfected by God, you must learn to experience all things and be enlightened in all that you face. Whenever you are faced with something, be it good or bad, you should benefit from it and it should not cause you to become passive.” At this time, Jinghan felt these words are so practical. No matter whether receiving a blessing or suffering a scourge, they are indeed blessed events. For example, Job lost all his property and children, and his body became covered in sore boils. However, when he experienced suffering, he understood God’s care and mercy for him, and gained true knowledge of God and true faith in Him. So, from the outside, they seemed like bad things, yet in fact, they were God’s blessings for him. From the matter that her daughter had operation after accident, Jinghan found that her faith in God was really too little and too poor. After experiencing it, she gained some practical knowledge of God, and saw God’s wonderful deeds as well. Time after time again, it was God’s words that took her out of confusion and difficulties; it was God that gave her faith and strength. … At this point, Jinghan sincerely praised God: Thank You, my God!

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