By Wen Tao, China

In December 2012, I accepted the gospel of Almighty God of the last days, and soon after, I joined the ranks of those preaching the gospel. My mother-in-law was an atheist and a party member, and she strongly opposed my faith. One time, she said to me, “At a meeting, the village officials said that the government is cracking down hard on ‘Eastern Lightning,’ and that anyone who knows of believers in Almighty God must report them. They also said that children of those who believe in Almighty God won’t be allowed to serve in the military and take the civil service exam, and that their families’ welfare benefits would all be canceled.” My mother-in-law was afraid that my faith in God would affect the futures of my nephews and nieces, and that my brother-in-law’s subsistence allowance and my father-in-law’s pension would be canceled, so she did all she could to stop me from believing in God, repeatedly spreading baseless rumors and slandering me in the village. I said to her, “I am following the right path in life by believing in God, and I haven’t broken any laws. Don’t say such nonsense if you don’t know anything.” She refused to listen and even said blasphemous things while glaring at me. I was furious, so I testified to her about God’s righteous disposition, “God says: ‘Any person who resists the work of God shall be banished to hell by God; any country that resists the work of God shall be destroyed by God; any nation that rises up to oppose the work of God shall be wiped from this earth by God and shall cease to exist’ (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Appendix 2: God Presides Over the Fate of All Mankind). God’s disposition doesn’t tolerate offense. You will be punished by God for your blasphemy and slander against God’s work.” My mother-in-law didn’t say anything else after hearing that.

One afternoon in 2013, Sister Chen Li from my village came to find me to preach the gospel, and my mother-in-law saw us. The next morning, my mother-in-law took a stick and went to warn Chen Li not to come looking for me again. She also said that if anyone else came to me for gatherings or matters of faith again, she would report us to the police. When I heard she was going to report us to the police, I felt a bit fearful, thinking, “I was planning to go out and preach the gospel in the afternoon. What if my mother-in-law actually reports me to the police? What should I do if the police come to arrest me?” The thought of how the police tortured brothers and sisters made me feel afraid, but then I thought about how this is a crucial time for spreading the gospel and how many people have yet to come before God. I realized that if I believed in God only to enjoy His grace but didn’t do my duty, I would be lacking in conscience. I knelt down and prayed to God, asking Him to give me faith and strength. After praying, my heart became calm. I took out a hymn book and started looking through it, and I read a familiar lyric: “God is my support, what is there to fear? I pledge my life to fight with Satan till the end” (Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs, The Kingdom). Pondering the lyrics, I felt my heart fill with strength: “God is my support, my shield—so what do I have to fear? No matter how my mother-in-law frantically tries to stop me, she is in God’s hands, and I have to learn to rely on God.” So in the afternoon, I went out to preach the gospel again. Later, because my mother-in-law’s persecution became too intense, I had to move out and rent a place to live, taking care of my two children’s schooling as I did my duties. During the 2013 National Day holiday, my husband came home on vacation, and I preached the gospel to him. He didn’t believe, but he didn’t say much either. However, the next day, after he met with my mother-in-law, he came back like a different person. He angrily said, “When I went home today, they said you go out every day to preach the gospel, and they said that I can’t even control my wife. Your faith in Almighty God is opposed by the government, and if you get arrested and imprisoned, the whole family will be implicated! You must drop this faith of yours!” I said, “The Almighty God I believe in is the one true God who created the heavens and earth and all things, the Redeemer of mankind. The government’s opposition proves how wicked it is!” When my husband saw I wasn’t listening to his advice, he slapped me several times on the head, and he smashed my MP5 player into pieces. Seeing the broken player, my heart felt like it was shattering. Without my MP5 player, how could I continue to read God’s words? I cried out, “Why do you oppose such a good thing as my belief in God? I haven’t neglected the children or delayed my housework. Why won’t you let me believe?” My husband shouted at me, “The government opposes it, so you can’t believe!” After cursing me, he started hitting and kicking me. My two daughters came and hugged me, but my husband angrily pulled them away, and he knocked me to the ground and dragged me around while beating me. Those days, whenever the subject of faith came up, my husband would beat me viciously without hesitation. I lived in constant fear, afraid that if I wasn’t careful, he would hit me again. I was in great pain and felt really weak, and I felt that life was too difficult, being beaten and humiliated every day, and that maybe if I didn’t believe in God, I wouldn’t have to suffer this pain. But then I thought about how, before I found God, I was lost and without support, and that after I found God, whenever something troubling happened, I prayed to God, and God guided me, made a way for me, and I enjoyed the peace, joy, grace, and blessings from God, as well as the abundant provision of God’s words. I couldn’t live without God. But if I continued to believe in God, my husband would keep beating me. I felt anguish and pain, wishing so much that God would take away this situation, and for my husband to go to work soon and not come back during future holidays.

On the fourth day, my husband again said viciously, “In a couple of days, when I go to work, don’t go out to practice your faith anymore. Just stay home and take care of the children. If you keep on believing, I’ll divorce you and drag you into the street to beat you—either that or I’ll send you to the police station!” I didn’t say anything, and my husband kept pressing me, “Well? Are you going to drop this faith of yours or not?” I was afraid that if my husband really divorced me, I wouldn’t see my daughters again. My youngest daughter was only 3 years old and had never been apart from me. My mother-in-law favored boys over girls and wouldn’t help me take care of the children, so if we divorced, who would take care of my daughters? But if I didn’t believe in God, wouldn’t I be betraying God and surrendering to Satan? I had eaten and drunk so many of God’s words, understood some truths, and I had enjoyed so much of God’s love. If I left God, wouldn’t I be lacking in conscience? But if I continued to believe in God, what if my husband really divorced me? What would happen to my daughters? I didn’t dare to think about it any further. In my pain and weakness, I could only keep praying to God in my heart, asking God to give me faith and strength. After praying, I thought of God’s words: “You should pursue all things beautiful and good, and you should obtain the reality of all positive things. You should be responsible toward your life, and you must not take it lightly. People come to the earth and it is rare to encounter Me, and it is also rare to have the opportunity to seek and to gain the truth. Why would you not prize this beautiful time as the right path to pursue in this life?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Words for the Young and the Old). In the last days, God has become flesh to work and save people. This is an opportunity of astounding rarity, and our last chance, and if we lose it, there won’t be another. Without gaining the truth, we cannot be saved and will ultimately fall into disaster and be punished. Following God is walking the right path in life, and I had to rely on God and walk forward without hesitation. Although my daughter is my child, I cannot control her fate, and I had to entrust her to God’s hands and let God orchestrate and arrange her life. My husband was threatening divorce to make me give up my faith, but I couldn’t fall for his tricks, and no matter what, I couldn’t give up my faith. I told my husband, “If you want to divorce, then go ahead. I will not deny God or leave God.” When my husband saw I intended to hold on to my faith, he phoned my dad to come over. My dad said to my husband, “We’ve all urged her not to believe, but she just won’t listen to anyone. She’s completely embarrassed me. This time, you come back and get a grip on her, and if she still doesn’t listen, break her legs and see how she runs around then!” Hearing this, I thought, “Are these people really my family? They are treating me like this just because of my faith.” I said to them, “I believe in God. I haven’t stolen, robbed, or done anything else illegal. I just preach the gospel so that people can come before God and accept God’s salvation. This is the most just thing. How has this become something shameful? I have raised my two children well and haven’t made you worry. Why do you believe the CCP’s baseless rumors and devilish words? Stop trying to stand in my way. Even if we divorce, I will still believe in God.” My dad angrily said, “If you don’t drop this faith of yours, then from now on, I no longer have you as a daughter!”

After my dad left, my husband said, “You don’t listen to anyone, and insist on believing in your God. I’m going to break your legs today, and I don’t believe I can’t handle you!” After saying this, he shouted at our two daughters to go back to bed, threatening that if they came out to stop him, he’d beat them too. My daughters were scared and went back to their room. My husband grabbed me and dragged me into another room, locking the door. Then he punched me on my right cheek, and my mouth immediately started bleeding. Then he kicked me to the ground, and he kept pounding me with his fists. I was hit so hard that I was seeing stars and feeling dizzy. I sat on the cold floor, crying in pain and sadness. I was furious, thinking, “I only believe in God and haven’t done anything wrong, yet he beats me like this. He is really a devil who hates God!” After a series of punches and kicks, my husband saw that I had no intention of denying God, and then he grabbed a broken phone and started hitting me on the head, arms, and legs. While hitting me, he kept interrogating me, “Where do you have your meetings? Who was the woman that came to find you yesterday? Where does she live? Spit it out! I’ll have the police arrest you both! Are you going to drop this faith of yours or not?” I saw that my husband had become like a mad demon, and I hated him deeply in my heart. No matter how much he hit and interrogated me, I didn’t say a word. My husband kept hitting me, but I had no place to hide, so I could only curl up and protect my head. I desperately prayed to God in my heart, “God, my husband is beating me and not letting me believe in You. I am so weak. My body hurts so much that I can hardly bear it, but I don’t want to betray You just to care for my flesh. God, please give me the resolve to endure suffering, and keep me standing firm in my testimony for You in this situation, and don’t let me compromise with Satan.” After praying, I thought of God’s words: “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” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 41). God’s words gave me strength. No matter how my husband grilled me, I refused to compromise. My husband was so angry that he gritted his teeth, and then he took an electric mosquito swatter and hit me with it. He broke a perfectly good one into three pieces when hitting me. Then, he grabbed a small hammer to hit me. I was so scared that I trembled all over and retreated to the corner. I kept crying out to God in my heart. My husband was already red with rage, and without a trace of restraint, he struck my head with the hammer. Instinctively, I raised my hands to protect my head. The backs of both of my hands were already injured, so as a result, after one blow, a large purple bruise immediately formed on the back of my right hand. While hitting me, he bellowed at me, “Tell me! Do you still believe in God now? Today, if you still believe, I’ll do as your father says and break your legs!” Each blow was so painful that I could hardly bear it. I didn’t know how many times he hit my body and legs with the hammer. I was in so much pain that I felt like I was on the verge of dying, and that I was on my final breath. I thought to myself, “If he keeps hitting me like this, will I be beaten to death tonight? What if I’m beaten to death or crippled?” I was in great pain, so I urgently prayed to God, “God, I feel like I can’t take this anymore. Please give me strength and faith. Even if my husband kills me, I will not betray You.” After praying, I felt my breathing become a little smoother. I knew this was God’s protection, and I was very grateful to Him. I thought of what God said: “Of everything that occurs in the universe, there is nothing in which I do not have the final say. Is there anything that is not in My hands?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God’s Words to the Entire Universe, Chapter 1). My life is in God’s hands, my breath is given by God, and my life and death are controlled by God. Whether I would be killed by my husband that day was also up to God. If God didn’t permit it, I wouldn’t die, even if I were on my last breath. I had to put my life on the line to stand firm in my testimony for God. So I stood up and said to my husband, “Even if you kill me, I will still believe in God. I was born to believe in God and do my duty!” Unexpectedly, when I put my life on the line to follow God, my husband threw the hammer to the ground with a loud crash and stopped hitting me. He said in resignation, “I give up on you. You are really tougher than nails. You’ve made me so angry that I want to jump off a building!” After saying that, he went to bed in a fit of anger. I sat on the cold floor for quite a while, my whole body aching unbearably, but I was thankful that I didn’t compromise with Satan. My heart was filled with gratitude toward God, and I thanked God for keeping me from saying anything that denied Him. Later, my husband saw that I was determined to believe in God and that he couldn’t do anything about it, so he stopped bringing up divorce. When the holiday ended, he went to work elsewhere.

Before I knew it, the 2014 National Day holiday had rolled around, and my husband came back during his vacation. On the evening of October 4, I returned from a gathering, and seeing that I still believed in God, he said angrily, “Our company leaders said that the national regulations state that if an employee’s family is found to believe in Almighty God, they will be fired. If my company leaders find out that you believe in God, I’ll lose my job. You realize that if I lose my job, we’ll all starve, right? You’ve got to drop this faith of yours!” We argued for a bit, and then he gritted his teeth and shoved me to the ground. Then he casually grabbed a small stool, and he slammed it as hard as he could against my shin three times. The pain made tears pour from my eyes. My husband kept cursing me all the while, saying that if he hadn’t been so afraid of breaking the law, he would have killed me. I saw how heartless my husband was, and that he wanted to kill me to keep me from believing in God. He was just like a reincarnation of the devil; in what way did he have any humanity? I was in great pain, and could only silently pray to God in my heart, asking Him to protect my heart and give me strength and faith. On the morning of the 6th, while I was cooking, I felt distressed and softly hummed a hymn of God’s words, and my husband heard me and came to beat me again. I ran outside, and he chased me with a thick wooden stick. Because of the pain in my legs, I couldn’t run fast, so I got hit on my back with the stick. Just as I was running, an elderly lady passed by on the road outside the door, and only then did he stop chasing and hitting me. I stood by the road, and at that moment, I truly wanted to just leave. I thought to myself, “I have no freedom to believe in God at all in this family, and I have to suffer their persecution and beatings. When will this ever end?” I just hoped that one day I’d have the chance to go and do my duty elsewhere, and never return home again. But then I thought that if I left this family now, my husband and mother-in-law might cause trouble at the houses of the brothers and sisters living around me and bring them problems. Anyway, my husband was about to go away for work, and once he left, I wouldn’t have to endure beatings and humiliation anymore, and I could do my duty. In the evening, as I washed my feet, I saw that my ankle had turned an eggplant purple and that the whole area had swollen up like a loaf of bread. My right leg was much more swollen than my left. At night, while lying in bed, I was in so much pain that I couldn’t sleep at all. It took half a month for my legs to finally recover.

I also thought about why my husband kept beating me, and I realized there was a lesson I needed to learn. In one respect, this helped me see through to my husband’s essence, and in another, it could perfect my faith in God and my resolve to suffer. Since our marriage was a marriage of mutual love, my affections for him were too great. It was only through his repeated beatings that I was fully awakened, and I saw that he was in league with the CCP demons. His essence was one of hating God, and he belonged to Satan, the devil. Before I found God, my husband seemed to treat me well, but now that I’d found God and it was affecting his interests and future, he would beat me again and again. I realized that his former kindness to me had all been fake, and it was only because I’d been able to give him children and take care of all his family. Now that I’d found God and it was affecting his interests, he hated me and treated me as an enemy. In what way was there any true love or affection in this? Later, I read God’s words, and my heart became even brighter. Almighty God says: “Why does a husband love his wife? Why does a wife love her husband? Why are children dutiful to their parents? Why do parents dote on their children? What sorts of intentions do people actually harbor? Is their intent not to satisfy their own plans and selfish desires? … Do you love your husband in order to fulfill your duty as a created being? Do you love your wife in order to fulfill your duty as a created being? Are you dutiful to your nonbelieving parents in order to fulfill your duty as a created being? Is the human view on believing in God right or wrong? Why do you believe in God? What do you wish to gain? How do you love God? Those who cannot fulfill their duties as created beings, and who cannot make an all-out effort, will become objects of destruction. There are physical relationships that exist between the people of today, as well as associations by blood, but in the future, these will all be shattered. Believers and nonbelievers are not compatible; rather, they are opposed to one another. Those in rest will believe that there is a God and will submit to God, whereas those who are rebellious against God will all have been destroyed. Families will no longer exist upon earth; how could there be parents or children or spousal relationships? The very incompatibility of belief and unbelief will have utterly severed such physical relationships!” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together). After reading God’s words, I understood that believers and nonbelievers are two kinds of people. My nonbelieving family and I weren’t the same kind of people, and we weren’t on the same path. I’d chosen to believe in God and follow Him, but my family had chosen to follow Satan and act as the CCP’s accomplices, intentionally resisting God and going against Him. They were all of Satan, the devil. My husband, in particular, feared that my faith would be found out by his superiors, and that he’d lose his job, so he disregarded all our years of marital affection and almost beat me to death. I remember my husband once said to me, “I’m just using you to take care of the kids.” If he weren’t using me to take care of the children, he would have kicked me out long ago. My mother-in-law feared that my faith would implicate them, so she treated me as an enemy, whether by provoking my husband to beat me, or by threatening to report me and my brothers and sisters to the police. Even my father urged my husband to beat me. What kind of family were these people? It was clear that these devils were showing their true colors. I saw through to their essence—they were devils who hated God, and they were enemies of God. No matter how my family persecuted or obstructed me, I would believe in and follow God, and I resolved to follow God to the end.

One morning in the summer of 2015, two police officers suddenly broke into my home and took me to the county public security bureau. They spent a day using all kinds of tricks to interrogate me, pressuring me to betray the identities of leaders, workers, and brothers and sisters. But I didn’t sell them out. So the police charged me with “disturbing public order,” and detained me for fifteen days. When I entered the detention center, the police said, “Your mother-in-law reported you to the police several times. We tried to arrest you many times but we couldn’t find you. We thought you’d gone out to work. We didn’t actually expect to catch you this time.” After hearing the police say this, my heart sank. My mother-in-law was truly heartless! After my time at the detention center, on the third day back home, the head of the county public security bureau came to my house with five or six officers to threaten me, saying they would arrest me again if I continued to believe in God. Before leaving, the head of the police arranged for my father-in-law and mother-in-law to monitor me, so that I wouldn’t be able to get into contact with brothers and sisters. Because of the police surveillance, I couldn’t meet with my brothers and sisters or live a church life. I deeply missed the days when I could gather with my brothers and sisters and do my duties, and I truly hated the great red dragon in my heart. Six months passed, and the police still hadn’t let up. They’d occasionally ask my mother-in-law for information about my faith, and she’d often come to warn and harass me. It was impossible for me to believe in God or do my duties at home. In April 2017, a leader sent a letter inviting me to a gathering. Considering the risk of me being arrested at any moment for my faith at home, she asked if I’d be willing to leave home and do my duties. When I heard this, I was both happy and worried. I was happy because if I left home, I could fully devote myself to my duties and grow in life more quickly, but I worried about what would happen to my children if I left. However, I still wanted to go out and do my duties, so at that moment, I agreed. When I went home to pack, I thought of my little daughter, who was only six years old, and about how she’d never been apart from me. I thought, “My mother-in-law has bad humanity and a violent temper. What if I leave my daughter with her and she hits her? What if she misguides her as she raises her?” These thoughts troubled me, and I couldn’t sleep at night. Later, I thought of a passage of God’s words: “Abraham offered up Isaac—what have you offered up? Job offered up everything—what have you offered up? So many people have sacrificed themselves, laying down their lives and shedding blood, in order to seek the true way. Have you paid that price? By comparison, you are not at all qualified to enjoy such great grace. Does it wrong you to say today that you are the descendants of Moab? Do not regard yourselves too highly. You have nothing to brag about. Such great salvation, such great grace is given to you freely. You have not offered anything up, yet you enjoy grace freely. Do you not feel ashamed?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Significance of Saving the Descendants of Moab). My heart felt a pang of discomfort, and I felt deeply ashamed. Abraham offered Isaac, and Job offered everything. Throughout history, prophets and saints have lost their heads and shed their blood to testify to God and preach the gospel, giving their own lives. But as for me? I only accepted God’s work while it was about to finish, and having believed in God for so many years, I hadn’t expended myself much for God. I’d received such a great salvation from God without even lifting a finger. Now I would just be temporarily leaving home to do my duty, yet I was so unwilling to part with my child. In what way did I have a heart that loved and satisfied God? The kingdom gospel has spread to all nations and lands, and countless brothers and sisters have given up everything to do their duties in spreading the kingdom gospel, but here I was constrained, and unable to do my duties. Upon realizing this, my heart was filled with guilt and self-blame. I also thought of how I had no freedom to believe in God at home, and about how I was constantly in danger of being arrested by the police, and that going out to do my duties was a form of protection for me. I couldn’t believe in God or attend gatherings at home, and my mother-in-law and husband treated me like an enemy. I could only spend my life serving them like a beast of burden, and in the end, I’d ruin my chance to pursue the truth and be saved. As a created being, I had to choose to follow God and fulfill my duties. God has paid such a great price to save me, and I could no longer disappoint God’s painstaking efforts.

I also read these words of God: “A person cannot choose the people, events, or things they are edified and influenced by as they grow up. One cannot choose what knowledge or skills one acquires, what habits one forms. One has no say in who one’s parents and relatives are, what kind of environment one grows up in; one’s relationships with the people, events, and things in one’s surroundings, and how they influence one’s development, are all beyond one’s control. Who decides these things, then? Who arranges them? Since people have no choice in the matter, since they cannot decide these things for themselves, and since they obviously do not take shape naturally, it goes without saying that the formation of all these people, events, and things rests in the hands of the Creator. Of course, just as the Creator arranges the particular circumstances of every person’s birth, He also arranges the specific circumstances under which one grows up. If a person’s birth brings changes to the people, events, and things around them, then that person’s growth and development will necessarily affect them as well. For example, some people are born into poor families, but grow up surrounded by wealth; others are born into affluent families but cause their families’ fortunes to decline, such that they grow up in poor environments. No one’s birth is governed by a fixed rule, and no one grows up under an inevitable, fixed set of circumstances. These are not things that a person can imagine or control; they are the products of one’s fate, and are determined by one’s fate. Of course, at their root, these things are determined by the fate that the Creator predestines for each person; they are determined by the Creator’s sovereignty over that person’s fate and His plans for it” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique III). Pondering God’s words, I realized that the fate of my child was in God’s hands, and that God had already ordained how much suffering and happiness she would have in her life. I gave birth to her, took care of her for many years, and she’d enjoyed her mother’s love. Now I had to leave home to do my duties as a created being, and I couldn’t continue to take care of her. The kinds of situations she would grow up in in the future, or whether she’d turn out bad were all within God’s sovereignty and related to her nature essence. I couldn’t guarantee that she wouldn’t turn out bad just because I was by her side. I also thought about how my older daughter had believed in God with me since she was little, but that she’d lost faith and started following worldly trends before finishing middle school. I talked to her about believing in God every day, but it was useless. Parents can only educate and guide, but they can’t play a decisive role, and I had to entrust my children into God’s hands. Later on, I left home to do my duties. Looking back upon the persecution and beatings I suffered from my family at home, although I suffered some physical pain, I gained some understanding of God’s almightiness and sovereignty, and when I was beaten to within an inch of my life by my husband, it was God’s words that gave me faith and strength, allowing me to survive. If I hadn’t experienced the persecution of my family, I wouldn’t have seen through to their essence, and I’d still be serving them like a beast of burden, and wasting the precious days of my whole life.

Ever since I left home to do my duties, I’m no longer verbally abused or beaten by my family, and when we brothers and sisters cooperate and do our duties together, if anyone reveals corruption, we point it out to each other, and we fellowship on the truth to help resolve it. We do our duties and experience God’s words every day. Without realizing it, I have grown in life, and my heart has become filled with peace and joy. Thank God for bringing me out of this hell on earth I once called home and for enabling me to do my duties in the church. I will never regret the choice I made!