By Wilma, Canada

I accepted Almighty God’s gospel of the last days in 2016, and shared the gospel with my husband. After I gained faith in God, he noticed that my entire demeanor changed, and I was much more even-tempered. So my husband felt that believing in God was a really good thing, and he supported my belief. But he said he didn’t have time to believe in God himself, and just wanted to make money. Then one day when he came home from work, he asked me, “You believe in ‘Eastern Lightning,’ don’t you? I gave Mike a ride home today, and he told me that his church’s pastors and elders all say that Eastern Lightning is not the true way, it has lofty sermons and it’s easy to be misled. Mike urged me to remind you not to listen to Eastern Lightning’s sermons.” Mike was my husband’s superior, a long-time believer in the Lord, and very talented. My husband really admired him. I saw that my husband believed what Mike said, so I told him, “You don’t understand faith in God, so you can’t just parrot what other people say.” He hesitated for a moment, and then didn’t say anything.

After some time passed, my husband got very serious one day and said to me, “I did some research online, and the Almighty God you believe in is that Eastern Lightning that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is cracking down on. There are many online opinions about Almighty God, saying that He’s just a person, not God, and that they bring people into The Church of Almighty God to extort money from them. So from now on, you’re not allowed to get together with people from The Church of Almighty God. I’m afraid you’re going to be cheated.” When I heard my husband say that, I got really angry and said, “Many of those online rumors are fabricated and spread by the CCP. You haven’t read the words of Almighty God, and you don’t understand The Church of Almighty God, so you shouldn’t make arbitrary judgments based on online rumors. You know that Christians all believe in the Lord Jesus and acknowledge that He is the true God. But two thousand years ago when the Lord Jesus came to do His work, many people condemned and denied Him. They said He was just an ordinary person, the son of a carpenter. Although the Lord Jesus looked like an ordinary person on the outside, He had a divine essence, and the ability to express the truth and redeem mankind. He was God’s Spirit clothed in the flesh, the Redeemer of mankind. According to the CCP, anyone who looks like an ordinary person on the outside is not God. Doesn’t that deny the Lord Jesus Christ? Like the Lord Jesus, on the outside Almighty God is an ordinary person, but He can express the truth, the voice of God. He is the Savior who has come down to earth. I’ve read a lot of Almighty God’s word. He reveals many of the mysteries in the Bible, and shows how Satan corrupts people, how God saves mankind, the root of all darkness and evil in the world, and the truth about mankind’s corruption. His word also shows us the path to deliverance from sin, receiving God’s salvation, and entering the kingdom of heaven. No famous or great person can express these truths. Among all of mankind, who can express the truth? Who can redeem and save mankind? No one. This proves that Almighty God really is God’s Spirit incarnate come to the human world, and that He is the one true God. Online, some are saying that Almighty God is a person, and not God. But all such things are rumors and devilish words that blaspheme God.” I also told my husband that The Church of Almighty God has never made appeals for contributions. All the books of God’s word that we read are distributed for free. The CCP’s claims that The Church of Almighty God is extorting money from people are all rumors and slander. I told him not to believe that deceptive nonsense. But after listening to what I had to say, he walked off without a word.

One time when I came back from sharing the gospel, my husband looked unhappy and said to me, “I did some research online, and saw that people who believe in Almighty God abandon their families. You’ve been going out a lot lately. Are you planning to take off?” I said, “I take such good care of our home. How could I abandon it? I go out to share the gospel, so people know the Savior has come and they can accept His salvation. How could that mean I’m going to abandon my family? You’ve seen how people are becoming more corrupt all the time, following evil trends and living in sin. Look at your friends—they all either gamble or go to prostitutes. The world has become so evil. Mankind denies and resists God, and corruption is at an all-time high. The Bible prophesies there will be great disasters in the last days that will destroy corrupt mankind. In the current age, disasters are becoming more and more serious. Only by accepting Almighty God’s judgment and chastisement, and casting off sin and corruption, can mankind be protected by God, survive in the midst of disaster, and enter His kingdom. Those of us who believe in Almighty God understand His urgent intention to save humanity; we forgo the pleasures of the flesh, and spread and bear witness to God’s kingdom gospel. This is right and just! But the CCP doesn’t allow people to believe in God, share the gospel, or bear witness to Him. The CCP is arresting and persecuting Christians like crazy, causing lots of Christians to leave their families, unable to go back, and some are even arrested and imprisoned, or persecuted to death. Isn’t this all the result of the CCP’s persecution of Christians? But the CCP makes false accusations about the victims, saying that people who believe in God are abandoning their families. Isn’t that distorting the facts, and turning the truth on its head? The CCP is evil, and tells nothing but lies. You not only don’t despise the CCP—you even believe their devilish words. You’re just going along with the CCP, saying that those of us who believe in God desert our families. That’s confounding right and wrong.” But my husband was deceived by the CCP’s lies, and wouldn’t listen to anything I said. He got very angry and said, “I don’t care. You can believe in anything you want, but you’re not allowed to believe in Almighty God.” Seeing how harsh his attitude was, I panicked. We’d been married for over a decade, and had been through many trials and tribulations together. Whatever issues we faced, we discussed together, and supported each other, without any major disputes. But now he was so angry with me because of my faith in Almighty God. I felt so sad, and said a silent prayer, hoping that God would guide me to understand His intention. After praying, I remembered this in God’s word: “In every step of work that God does within people, externally it appears to be interactions between people, as if born of human arrangements or from human disturbance. But behind the scenes, every step of work, and everything that happens, is a wager made by Satan before God, and requires people to stand firm in their testimony to God” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God). God’s word helped me understand that on the surface, it seemed like my husband was obstructing my belief in God. But in reality, Satan’s interference was behind it all. Satan wants to rule over and possess people forever, and did everything possible to obstruct me from believing in and following God. Satan used rumors and untruths to mislead my husband so he would obstruct and persecute me; as a result, I would be constrained by my affection for my husband, and I would forsake the true way and betray God. Satan is so treacherous and malicious! After coming to understand that, I resolved that no matter how Satan interfered, I would remain committed to believing in and following God, and never compromise with Satan! So I told my husband, “I believe in and follow God. It’s the right path of life. This is my choice, and you have no right to interfere!” There was nothing my husband could say. He was furious, and walked out.

One day when my husband saw me listening to hymns of God’s word, he immediately pulled a long face and angrily said, “Didn’t I tell you that you’re not allowed to believe in Almighty God? Why don’t you ever listen? Mike has believed in the Lord for many years, and he is a devout Christian. He told me that Eastern Lightning is not the true way. So if you want to believe in God, you can go to Mike’s church. It’s big and has a good reputation. If you want to go, I can accompany you. We can go together every week, and Mike can get his pastor to talk with you.” I told him, “Why do you believe what Mike says and revere that pastor so much? You just see that the pastor has credentials, and a good reputation, but you don’t look at what they actually preach. They just talk about biblical knowledge and doctrines, the same old platitudes. But when it comes to putting the Lord’s words into practice or resolving the problem of people living in sin, they basically have nothing to say. I won’t get anything out of attending that church. I get enjoyment and sustenance from The Church of Almighty God gatherings, and can understand more about the truth, and know how to live out normal humanity. You yourself said that after I found faith in God, I changed a bit. So why don’t you talk based on facts, and stop believing in rumors and preventing me from believing in Almighty God?” He couldn’t argue against that, so he just threatened me, saying: “I try to persuade you, but you won’t listen. If you insist on believing in Almighty God, hand over all of your money and bank savings to me, and transfer the house that’s under your name to my name.” Hearing him say that was like a knife to my heart. During all our years of marriage, I was always frugal and worked hard to earn money. Scraping together a down payment and buying a house wasn’t easy. I was even reluctant to buy new clothes. I was totally devoted to our home, and never thought my husband could say such heartless things to me. How could he ignore all our years together as husband and wife just because of my faith in God? Without any money or property, if he kicked me out, what would I do? When I thought about all these things, it was like a knife piercing my heart. I went into the bedroom and started crying, praying to God through my tears, “Oh God, I’m weak and in pain. I don’t know how to get through something like this. Please guide me to understand Your intention.” After I prayed, I thought of God’s word: “In the past, people would all come before God to make their resolutions, and they would say: ‘Even if no one else loves God, I must love Him.’ But now, refinement comes upon you, and since this does not align with your notions, you lose faith in God. Is this genuine love? You have read many times about the deeds of Job—have you forgotten about them? True love can only take shape from within faith. You develop real love for God through the refinements you undergo, and it is through your faith that you are able to be considerate of God’s intentions in your practical experiences, and it is also through faith that you rebel against your own flesh and pursue life; this is what people should do. If you do this, then you will be able to see God’s actions, but if you lack faith, then you will be unable to see God’s actions or to experience His work” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Those Who Are to Be Made Perfect Must Undergo Refinement). God’s word gave me strength. In the face of oppression and hardships, what God wants is genuine faith and love. No matter what we’re going through, or how much we suffer, we cannot stray from Him. I was very lucky to hear God’s voice in the last days, welcome the Lord’s return, witness God’s appearance, and enjoy the sustenance of so many truths. This was God’s salvation. Suffering in order to follow Christ has value and meaning. It is persecution for the sake of righteousness. I thought of the Lord Jesus’ apostles and disciples, who followed God and bore witness for Him. They were brutally persecuted by the Roman government, condemned and oppressed by the religious leaders, and even martyred for the Lord, sacrificing their lives. Compared to the saints of the past, my suffering today is not even worth mentioning. I shouldn’t feel sorry for myself, but should learn from them, and follow God till the end no matter how great the suffering. Thinking about these things, I dried my tears, came out of the bedroom, and said to my husband: “We’ve been married for more than a decade, and I’ve been devoted to our home. Now you want to take all my money and property away, and control me financially to force me to give up the true way. But I won’t listen to you. I must have faith!” When my husband heard me say that, he flew into a rage, as if he’d lost his mind. He snatched away my MP3 player, and then tore through all of my personal belongings. He took all of my identity documents, my gold and silver jewelry, and my bank cards and cash. He also grabbed my phone, threw it to the floor, and then picked up a stool and smashed the phone, leaving it mangled. He did that to cut off my connection to the outside world. Then he called my parents, sisters, and brother-in-law over to our place, and they all ganged up on me.

My family members regularly watched Chinese news media and had no discernment about the CCP. They just swallowed the CCP rhetoric whole. My sisters had found many slanderous rumors online that the CCP made up about The Church of Almighty God, and showed me things the CCP fabricated about the Zhaoyuan case. I told them, “I know all that. The Zhaoyuan case was tried in a CCP court, and the criminals all denied they were part of The Church of Almighty God. In court, they clearly said that they never had any contact with The Church of Almighty God, but the CCP judge insisted on saying they were church members. Isn’t that framing and blaming the church? Isn’t that a false legal case fabricated by the CCP? You all know that the CCP is an atheistic political party, and has persecuted religious beliefs ever since it came to power. So how can you believe anything the CCP says against The Church of Almighty God?” But my two sisters had been deceived by the CCP, and didn’t use any discernment about the rumors they spread. They told me, “If many well-known news outlets are saying that, how could it be wrong?” I said, “All the Chinese news media outlets are controlled by the CCP government—they’re CCP mouthpieces. They have to say whatever the CCP tells them to say, and they don’t dare report the real facts. The CCP has also bought off more than a few foreign media outlets, and they, too, speak for the CCP. Isn’t any of this clear to you? Facts speak louder than words, and I urge you to open your eyes and stop blindly believing the rumors you hear.” When I finished, they had nothing to say. My mom got angry, and said, “So many of us have tried to talk to you, but you won’t listen. Is it really that hard for you to give up Almighty God? The whole family is worried about you because of your belief. Why do you refuse to listen to our advice?” Then she started crying. Seeing my mom so sad was hard for me. She raised all three of us by herself, and suffered a lot. Now she was old, and I was still causing her to worry. That thought left me on the verge of tears. Then my younger sister said, “Are you trying to infuriate our mom? Do you want her, or Almighty God?” My other sister said coldly, “If you insist on believing in Almighty God, don’t blame us for not treating you like family. We’ll report you to the police, and say you’ve scammed people and taken their money. Then they’ll deport you to China. Don’t forget, the only way you could apply to come to Canada was because I sponsored you.” When I heard that, I was incredibly angry. I never thought they could come up with such malicious, despicable tactics to threaten me, and force me to abandon my faith in God. But they couldn’t fool me. I was already a naturalized Canadian citizen, so they couldn’t arbitrarily charge me with a crime and get me deported. Seeing my own family oppress me that way was so painful, and I couldn’t hold back my tears. But just then, I remembered a church hymn, “You’re With Me All the Way”: “Your words and work guide me, and Your love draws me to follow You. I eat, drink, and relish Your words every day. You are my constant companion. When I am negative and weak, Your words are my sustenance and my strength. When I suffer setbacks and failures, Your words are the hand helping me up. When I am besieged by Satan, Your words give me courage and wisdom. When I encounter trials and refinement, Your words guide me to stand firm in my witness. Your words accompany and guide me, and my heart is warm and at ease. Your love is so real, and my heart is full of gratitude” (Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). Even though my family didn’t understand me and oppressed me, God was always by my side, using His word to enlighten and guide me, and help me see through Satan’s tricks. God also used His words to comfort me, and give me confidence and strength. Thinking about things that way, I didn’t feel so miserable. I also recalled God’s word: “Do not be discouraged, do not be weak, and I will make things clear for you. The road to the kingdom is not so smooth; nothing is that simple! You want blessings to come to you easily, do you not? Today, everyone will have bitter trials to face. Without such trials, the loving heart you have for Me will not grow stronger and you will not have true love for Me. Even if these trials consist merely of minor circumstances, everyone must pass through them; it’s just that the difficulty of the trials will vary from one person to another. … Those who share in My bitterness will certainly share in My sweetness. That is My promise and My blessing to you” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 41). Pondering God’s word, I understood that the path to the kingdom of heaven is full of difficulties, which no one can avoid. My family’s oppression and attacks gave me a chance to bear witness to God before Satan, gain God’s guidance and enlightenment, and have faith and discernment. These are things I would never have gotten from a comfortable environment. That suffering had value and meaning! Since I firmly believe that this is the true way, and God’s work, no matter how much oppression and suffering I face, I will continue to follow Him.

Seeing that I wouldn’t compromise, my husband was livid. He became very aggressive and said, “I know it was your friend that convinced you to believe in Almighty God. She dragged you into the church so they could cheat you out of your money. I despise her. Believe it or not, I’m going to kill her, even if it means prison time.” Hearing him say that was shocking and frightening, and I couldn’t help but start trembling. I never really imagined that the man I lived with for over 10 years could suddenly change and become so malevolent. How could that be my husband? He was clearly a devil who hated God and hated the truth! He could even say such malicious things to keep me from believing in God. Having seen my husband’s fiendish side, I was afraid he would actually kill my friend. Before I had a chance to recover, my mom said to me, “It looks like you two are going to be fighting. Get some clothes and come stay at my place for a few days. Don’t have outside contacts or go to work. Just stay at home, and think about what you’ve done.” Hearing my mom say that worried me. My husband had gone mad, so there was no telling what he’d do. My phone was smashed and useless, and at my mom’s place I couldn’t contact anyone or even go to work. Wasn’t that putting me under house arrest? How could I warn my friend, get in touch with the church, or lead the church life? I urgently called on God, asking Him to guide me. Then I remembered that in Western countries, religious beliefs are protected, and they don’t interfere with people’s freedom of belief. My family said they wanted to report me to the police, and slander me. But I also could file a report with the police, which would protect my friend, and get the police involved so my family wouldn’t dare do anything rash. So I said to my mom, “I don’t want to go to your house. I want to go file a police report.” When they heard that, they were stunned. I left right away and went to the police station, and told the officers that I was being persecuted by my family for my belief in God. After the police heard my story, they could hardly imagine that something like that could happen in a Western country. They were sympathetic, and took me back home. The police gave my husband and family a warning, saying, “In Western countries we have freedom of religious beliefs. You cannot interfere with her belief or restrict her personal freedom. If she wants to go to work, you can’t stop her. Furthermore, identifying documents are personal property, and you must return them to her.” After hearing what the police said, they didn’t dare try to coerce me. I was so grateful to God, and thanked Him for giving me a way out.

My husband was subject to legal restraints, so he didn’t dare directly coerce me or prevent me from believing in God. But he was adamant, and kept thinking of ways to force me to give up my faith in God. Two days later, he pressured me to transfer the house into his name. When he said that, I was a bit worried. Just two days before, he had confiscated all my cash and gold and silver jewelry, and now he wanted me to transfer the house into his name. So if he forced me to leave our home, I would have nothing. And my parents and sisters wouldn’t take me in. Thinking about all that, it was hard to bear, but then I remembered God’s word: “When God works, cares for a person, and looks upon this person, and when He favors and approves this person, Satan trails closely behind, trying to mislead the person and bring them to harm. If God wishes to gain this person, Satan will do everything in its power to obstruct God, using various wicked ploys to tempt, disturb and impair the work of God, in order to achieve its hidden objective. What is this objective? It does not want God to gain anyone; it wants to snatch possession of those whom God wishes to gain, it wants to control them, to take charge of them so they worship it, so they join it in committing evil acts, and resist God. Is this not Satan’s sinister motive?” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique IV). “If they wish to be saved, and wish to be completely gained by God, then all those who follow God must face temptations and attacks both great and small from Satan. Those who emerge from these temptations and attacks and are able to fully defeat Satan are those who have been saved by God. This is to say, those who have been saved unto God are those who have undergone God’s trials, and who have been tempted and attacked by Satan an untold number of times. Those who have been saved unto God understand God’s intentions and requirements, and are able to submit to God’s sovereignty and arrangements, and they do not forsake the way of fearing God and shunning evil amid Satan’s temptations. Those who are saved unto God possess honesty, they are kindhearted, they differentiate between love and hate, they have a sense of justice and are rational, and they are able to care for God and treasure all that is of God. Such people are not bound, spied upon, accused, or abused by Satan; they are completely free, they have been completely liberated and released. Job was just such a man of freedom, and this is precisely the significance of why God had handed him over to Satan” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II). Job had genuine faith in God, was obedient, and feared Him, which is why he could stand firm amidst Satan’s temptations, and free himself from Satan’s bonds and accusations. Job believed that God presides over all things, and that all he possessed was bestowed upon him by God. So whether God gave or took away, Job was able to accept and submit. When Job lost his property and his children, and even when his whole body broke out in boils, he still didn’t complain to God, but praised His name as before. Job’s wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God, and die” (Job 2:9). And Job rebuked her, saying, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive adversity?” (Job 2:10). Job’s testimony really inspired me, and I wanted to emulate him. No matter how my husband oppressed me, or how much property he took from me, and even if he threw me out of the house and left me with nothing, I would still rely on my faith to follow God, stand firm in my witness, and humiliate Satan.

The next day when we went to the bank to transfer the mortgage on our house, the bank employee told us that our mortgage was a new loan. So if we wanted to get a new mortgage, the process would be really complicated and we would suffer a considerable loss. The bank employee suggested that if at all possible, we should wait five more years, and make the transfer when the original mortgage payment period expired. My husband had no choice, so he gave up. Thereafter, I got back in touch with my brothers and sisters. When my husband found out he asked me, “Are you going to keep attending gatherings?” I responded, “Do you still want to stop me from attending gatherings? If so, I can move out and live somewhere else. Aren’t you always worried that if I believe in Almighty God someone will swindle me, and I’ll abandon my family? The whole time I’ve been a believer, has The Church of Almighty God ever cheated me out of any money? Have I abandoned our family like the rumors about believers claim?” My husband was stunned. After a while he said, “You’re right. I haven’t seen The Church of Almighty God cheat you out of any money, and you haven’t abandoned our family. I was too gullible about those rumors, and I only wanted to stop you because I was afraid you would be cheated. From now on, you can believe in whatever you like.” I was so happy that my husband would never try to control my faith in God or stop me from attending gatherings again. Later, he started feeling that money management wasn’t his strong suit, and taking care of our finances required a lot of time and effort, so he handed over all of our funds and let me manage them. And he never mentioned transferring the mortgage to his name again.

By experiencing my family’s oppression, I saw how evil the CCP really is. The CCP is not only running amok suppressing, persecuting, and arresting Christians in China, but is also wantonly fabricating rumors online to smear The Church of Almighty God. The CCP wants to mislead the whole world to become hostile to The Church of Almighty God, side with them and resist God, and be condemned to hell and punished along with them. The CCP is a demon, an evil spirit that resists God, and misleads and devours people. Although Satan is evil and contemptible, God makes His wisdom manifest through Satan’s schemes. Satan wanted to use my family’s oppression to get me to betray God and lose my chance to be saved, but never imagined that I would use that experience to develop discernment, and really see Satan’s ugliness. In my heart, I have cursed and forsaken Satan, and my faith in God is even stronger. Thanks be to God!