By Cai Na, China

My husband and I grew up in the same village and we believed in the Lord Jesus along with our parents since we were little. After we got married, I opened a medical clinic, and he worked as a TV reporter. We had two adorable children and a peaceful, happy family life. In late 2008, my mother-in-law and I accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days. My husband didn’t—he was busy with his career. But he supported my faith. By gathering and reading Almighty God’s words, I learned that our Savior came among us nearly twenty years ago, expressing truths to save mankind. God’s work is about to come to an end, and this is our only chance to be saved. This is a priceless, fleeting opportunity. I’d regret it forever if I missed it. So to practice my faith and take on a duty, I closed the clinic and started spreading the gospel with other brothers and sisters.

In 2010, to suppress and eradicate religious beliefs, the Chinese Communist Party used TV, radio, newspapers and other media to slander and discredit The Church of Almighty God. They arrested and persecuted Christians. Afraid I’d implicate him, my husband started standing in the way of my faith. One day he said to me, “The Party won’t allow religion and says believers abandon their families. Just give up your faith. If you’re arrested for it, our family will be torn apart. Isn’t it all the same if we just go to church like before?” I told him, “All these years as a believer, have you seen me abandoning our family? These are all lies fabricated by the Party to oppress The Church of Almighty God. How can you believe their lies? God has returned and is doing new work. People who just keep going to those old churches won’t gain the truth or life, even if they follow until the end. I’m certain that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned and I’m following God’s footsteps. I won’t give up the true way.” Seeing how resolute I was, he warned me, “Whatever the case, you can’t keep your faith and you can’t go to gatherings!” After that, all I could do was get up early and hide in the kitchen to read God’s words and share the gospel with family and friends behind his back.

One evening in 2012, after a gathering, I saw my husband sitting at the entrance to the downstairs storeroom. When he saw me come in, he pinned me to the ground with a barrage of kicks and punches. With all my strength, I wrested myself free and ran upstairs, but he caught up with me, smacked me across the face, and said viciously, “You’re forbidden to attend more gatherings!” I was seeing stars, and bleeding from the corners of my mouth. This was the first time he’d hit me in over ten years of marriage. I never imagined he’d beat me so fiercely just because of my faith. I felt kind of weak and afraid at the time. I thought, should I stop gathering and doing a duty for a while, in case he beats me again? I knew I wasn’t in the right state, so I quickly prayed to God, asking Him for faith and strength. Then I remembered these words of God: “You should not be afraid of this and that; no matter how many difficulties and dangers you might face, you are capable of remaining steady before Me, unobstructed by any hindrance, so that My will may be carried out unimpeded. This is your duty…. Be not afraid; with My support, who could ever block this road? Remember this! Do not forget! All that occurs is by My good intention, and everything is under My observation. Can you follow My word in all that you say and do? When the trials of fire come upon you, will you kneel down and call out? Or will you cower, incapable of moving forward?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 10). Yes, absolutely everything is in God’s hands. Without God’s permission, my husband couldn’t do anything to me. God had allowed that to happen to me that day. If I dared not do my duty for fear of being hit or yelled at, wouldn’t that be losing testimony? I had to stand firm in my witness no matter how my husband oppressed me. I kept going to gatherings and doing my duty as always.

In late 2012, the Communist Party’s oppression of The Church of Almighty God became even more crazed. They were conducting large-scale crackdowns and arrests of God’s chosen people. One day, I was arrested along with a few others while in a gathering. They held me for ten days on a charge of disrupting social order. When I went home after being released, my husband was furious: “Do you have any idea? My bosses and colleagues all asked about you being arrested for your belief. I can’t hold my head up there. It’s so humiliating!” I said to him, “Having faith is right and natural. Gathering and sharing the gospel is an honorable thing to do. It’s the Party that’s evil, insisting on arresting and persecuting Christians. The true way has been persecuted for eons. Those on this path are persecuted by Satan’s forces. Haven’t saints of many ages been arrested for sharing the gospel and bearing witness to God?” He responded in a rage, “Let’s make something clear. If you promise to stop believing, we’ll have a nice life. If you keep your faith, we’re getting a divorce! I won’t stand in the way of your freedom to choose!” Threatening me with divorce to get me to give up my faith was angering and chilling. I’d never thought he’d throw away over ten years of marriage because of the Communist Party’s oppression. If we did get a divorce, that would certainly hurt our children. I didn’t want to divorce, but even more, I didn’t want to betray God and lose my chance to follow Him and be saved. I didn’t know how to get through this situation. I said a prayer, asking for God to guide me. This passage of His words came to mind: “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 interference. 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. Take when Job was tried, for example: Behind the scenes, Satan was making a bet with God, and what happened to Job was the deeds of men and the interference of men. Behind every step of work that God does in you is Satan’s wager with God—behind it all is a battle” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God). Considering God’s words, I saw that although it appeared to be my husband’s oppression, behind that, Satan was using him to hold me back, to force me to betray God and lose my chance at salvation. I couldn’t let Satan’s scheme prevail. My husband only stood in my way because he believed the CCP’s rumors. If I exposed their lies to him and he gained discernment, maybe he would stop oppressing me. So I told him, “The Party’s blasphemy and smearing of The Church of Almighty God are just rumors they fabricate. After all these years as a reporter, don’t you know best the real story of the Party’s fake news? Aren’t you always saying the Party can’t be believed? Which of the Almighty God believers we know have abandoned their families? I’ve been in the faith for years, and aren’t I taking good care of our parents and our children?” He had no way to refute what I said, so he just said heatedly, “I can see you won’t budge. Fine, go believe in your God!” Then he slammed the door and left.

After that, to my surprise, he went to court to file for divorce. The judge told us to go to mediation. He took away my payroll card and my bank cards, and was always staying home from work to keep an eye on me so I had no way to go out to gatherings or do my duty. One day our hometown village chief called and said the police had notified the village committee to make sure I didn’t follow my faith or spread the gospel and to have my husband keep a close eye on me. Otherwise, if I was arrested, they’d be implicated. Hearing this, my husband came down on me even harder. Once, my mother-in-law and I were quietly fellowshiping on God’s words in the bedroom, but my husband overheard, then dashed in and yelled, “You still believe! You only think of yourself, and give no thought for me or our children. If you’re arrested, we’ll be implicated!” Saying this, he hit me. The kids were so scared they hid in their bedrooms, not daring to come out, and my mother-in-law wept with sadness. I was so indignant right then. Just because of my faith, the Communist Party was intimidating my family into standing in my way, which was frightening for my 80-year-old mother-in-law and my children. A perfectly happy family had been reduced to this. I felt so sad and desolate. My husband kept using my faith to pick fights all the time. I couldn’t gather or do my duty. I could only read God’s words when he wasn’t at home. I really missed those days when I could gather with brothers and sisters and do a duty, but now my home had become a cage. I’d been tolerating my husband’s coldness and reprimands every day for two months. I felt so miserable and depressed. I didn’t know when it was going to end. When my misery reached a certain point, I prayed, “Almighty God, I’m in so much pain and misery. I don’t know how to get through this situation. Please enlighten me, so I can understand Your will.” I read God’s words after my prayer. Almighty God says, “For thousands of years this has been the land of filth. It is unbearably dirty, misery abounds, ghosts run rampant everywhere, tricking and deceiving, making groundless accusations, being ruthless and vicious, trampling this ghost town and leaving it littered with dead bodies; the stench of decay covers the land and pervades the air, and it is heavily guarded. Who can see the world beyond the skies? The devil tightly trusses all of man’s body, it veils both his eyes, and seals his lips firmly shut. The king of devils has rampaged for several thousand years, right up until today, when it still keeps a close watch on the ghost town, as if it were an impenetrable palace of demons; this pack of watchdogs, meanwhile, stare with glaring eyes, deeply fearful that God will catch them unawares and wipe them all out, leaving them without a place of peace and happiness. How could the people of a ghost town such as this ever have seen God? Have they ever enjoyed the dearness and loveliness of God? What appreciation have they of the matters of the human world? Who of them can understand God’s eager will? Small wonder, then, that God incarnate remains completely hidden: In a dark society such as this, where the demons are merciless and inhumane, how could the king of devils, who kills people without batting an eye, tolerate the existence of a God who is lovely, kind, and also holy? How could it applaud and cheer the arrival of God? These lackeys! They repay kindness with hate, they began treating God as an enemy long ago, they abuse God, they are savage in the extreme, they have not the slightest regard for God, they plunder and pillage, they have lost all conscience, they go against all conscience, and they tempt the innocent into senselessness. Forefathers of the ancient? Beloved leaders? They all oppose God! Their meddling has left all beneath heaven in a state of darkness and chaos! Religious freedom? The legitimate rights and interests of citizens? They are all tricks for covering up sin!” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Work and Entry (8)). God’s words showed me that the Communist Party is an embodiment of Satan, a demon come to earth. It tells the outside world it allows freedom of religion, but behind that, it madly opposes God and brutalizes His chosen people. In the last days, God incarnate is expressing truths to save mankind. The Party is afraid that if people read Almighty God’s words, they’ll understand the truth and see its demonic face, then reject and forsake it. Then its wild ambition to control the people forever would be shattered. That’s why it’s so angry and is madly pursuing Christians, arresting and persecuting God’s chosen en masse. It’s fabricating all sorts of lies to frame and slander The Church of Almighty God, misleading lots of people who don’t know the truth, so they don’t dare accept the true way. Lots of Christians’ family members believe their lies and then persecute God’s chosen people along with it. In the end, for going against God, they’ll go to hell too. The more I thought, the more I saw the Communist Party really is a demon that hates God and ravages people. It’s God’s bitter enemy and I came to hate it from the bottom of my heart. I also swore to forsake and reject it, and to follow God till the very end.

I read something else in God’s words. “The great red dragon persecutes God and is the enemy of God, and so, in this land, those who believe in God are thus subjected to humiliation and oppression…. Because it is embarked upon in a land that opposes God, all of God’s work faces tremendous obstacles, and accomplishing many of His words takes time; thus, people are refined as a result of God’s words, which is also part of suffering. It is tremendously difficult for God to carry out His work in the land of the great red dragon—but it is through this difficulty that God does one stage of His work, making manifest His wisdom and His wondrous deeds, and using this opportunity to make this group of people complete” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Is the Work of God As Simple As Man Imagines?). I learned from God’s words that since the Party works against God and is His enemy, those of us in China who believe are bound to suffer great oppression and hardship. This has been ordained by God. God uses these difficult environments to perfect our faith, and also so that we have discernment of the great red dragon, and we can hate and spurn it, and no longer be misled or hurt by it. But I didn’t know God’s will. I’d been negative, complaining about fleshly suffering, and I didn’t seek the truth or learn a lesson. I was so rebellious. God is so supreme but endures such pain and humiliation just to save corrupt mankind. He has become flesh and come among us to speak and work, constantly enduring the evil Communist Party’s pursuit and persecution and the religious world’s condemnation. But God has never given up on saving mankind. He has kept expressing truths, watering and nurturing us. God has endured all this humiliation and pain for the sake of our salvation. And now that I was suffering a bit to follow God and pursue salvation, I lacked true faith and obedience for God in my heart. My stature was so small. At this point I was filled with regret and guilt, and I resolved that no matter how my husband treated me, I wouldn’t keep succumbing to fleshly weaknesses, but I would rely on God to stand firm, and never fold or give way to Satan. After that, even though my husband was still oppressing me and standing in my way, I prayed and leaned on God, and I wasn’t in so much pain thanks to the guidance of God’s words.

Once, when my husband found out I’d shared the gospel with an old classmate, he came home and scolded me, “The Party says your preaching is destroying people’s families. I’m warning you, you’d better not keep evangelizing to your classmates and friends, or I won’t be able to show my face.” He also said some things blaspheming God. I was indignant when I saw his fierce look of hatred for God. We share the gospel so that people can have faith and accept God’s salvation, but the Party turns things upside down. They fabricate all sorts of lies, saying we’re ripping people’s families apart. It’s evil and shameless! For years, the Communist Party has been working against God, arresting believers, causing the arrest and imprisonment of so many Christians. Lots of Christians are on the run to avoid arrest and can’t go back home. So many families have been ripped apart, parents and children separated. The Party is the culprit in all these Christian families’ destruction! Seeing my husband taken in by the Party’s lies, unable to tell right from wrong, so hateful toward God and people of faith, reminded me of God’s words: “Anyone who does not believe in God incarnate is demonic and, moreover, will be destroyed. … Who is Satan, who are demons, and who are God’s enemies if not resisters who do not believe in God?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together). “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?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together). God’s words showed me the God-defying nature and essence of my husband. I had faith and shared the gospel, so he used every means to oppress me, to stop me, and said things blaspheming God. On the surface it looked like it was targeted at me, but in fact, what he hated was the truth, and God. I hadn’t seen my husband’s essence before. Throughout our marriage, he’d been caring and attentive toward me, and he’d gone along with me in everything, so I thought he was good to me. I’d never imagined once he saw my faith was oppressed by the Party and it would impact his reputation and future, he’d become a totally different person—starting to beat me, using every means to keep me from my faith, and blaspheming God. It was the manifestation of a demon. At first I entertained illusions that he was just misled by Communist Party lies, and if he gained discernment of those, maybe he wouldn’t be so oppressive. Now I knew I’d been wrong. My husband was a reporter, so he well knew the inside story of the Party fabricating fake news, but he still believed their lies and persecuted my faith. In essence, he was a demon who hated God. I also clearly saw that he’d been good to me before entirely to use me to bear his children and care for the young and old in the family. It wasn’t real love at all. It reminded me of God’s words: “Believers and unbelievers are not compatible; rather, they are opposed to one another” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together). I was a believer—I followed God, pursued the truth, and was on the right path. My husband followed the Communist Party and was on a path against God. We weren’t taking the same path. We lived together without any rapport—that’s inherently painful. Once that became clear, I let go of all my illusions about him. At the time my ability to read God’s words was limited and I couldn’t attend gatherings, much less do a duty. I was utterly miserable. Over those few days, I was urgently praying to God, asking Him to provide a way out.

Then one evening, my husband said, “I went to a fortune-teller today to ask about my career, and when things will turn in my favor.” Without thinking, I said, “Some believer you are—you buy into that evil garbage?” I was shocked when his countenance immediately changed and he punched me in the stomach. He yelled in hysterics, “If you insist on keeping your faith, get out of this house!” At that moment, it hurt so much it felt like my organs had been knocked out of place. I lay on the floor, clutching my stomach in pain. I was thinking that in that house, my husband was oppressing me day in and day out. I couldn’t read God’s words, attend gatherings or do a duty. If that went on, there’s no way I could pursue the truth, and I’d end up ruined. Now he was getting violent with me and threatening to kick me out. I couldn’t continue to bear that pain, that torment. I decided to leave him, to free myself from that prison of a home, to break away from that hellish life. That night, I lay in bed weeping in sorrow. Looking at the home we’d painstakingly built up, thinking of our marriage of over ten years that was about to collapse, such a wonderful family destroyed by the Communist Party, I felt overcome by weakness, especially at the thought of how our children would fare—our oldest daughter could take care of herself, but the youngest was just 4 years old and she had health problems. I’d been pouring my heart into caring for her for years. She’d never been apart from me. My mother-in-law was getting old, too. Who would take care of the kids if we divorced? This thought was heart-wrenching for me. I said a prayer, asking God to enlighten me and help me understand His will. I thought of some of God’s words after praying. Almighty God says, “God created this world and brought man, a living being unto which He bestowed life, into it. Next, man came to have parents and kin, and was no longer alone. Ever since man first laid eyes on this material world, he was destined to exist within the ordination of God. The breath of life from God supports each and every living being throughout growth into adulthood. During this process, no one feels that man is growing up under the care of God; rather, they believe that man is doing so under the loving care of his parents, and that it is his own life instinct that directs his growing up. This is because man knows not who bestowed his life, or from whence it came, much less the way in which the instinct of life creates miracles. He knows only that food is the basis on which his life continues, that perseverance is the source of his existence, and that the beliefs in his mind are the capital upon which his survival depends. Of God’s grace and provision, man is utterly oblivious, and thus does he fritter away the life bestowed upon him by God…. Not a single one of this humanity that God cares for day and night takes it upon themselves to worship Him. God only continues to work on man, for whom He holds out no expectations, as He has planned. He does so in the hope that one day, man will awaken from his dream and suddenly realize the value and meaning of life, the price God paid for all that He has given him, and the eager solicitude with which God waits for man to turn back to Him” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God Is the Source of Man’s Life). “Why do you not entrust them into My hands? Do you not have sufficient faith in Me? Or is it that you are afraid I will make inappropriate arrangements for you? Why do you always worry about the family of your flesh? You always pine for your loved ones! Do I have a certain place in your heart?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 59). God’s words showed me that He is the source of human life, and He is the One who rules over our fates. Whether my children grow up safe and sound isn’t under our control as parents, but it’s all determined by God. My youngest daughter’s health, what she faces in life, and what sort of fate she has is all predetermined by God. Whatever God arranges will be best, most fitting. But my faith in God was lacking. I always thought my children needed me by their sides, caring for them to grow up healthy. I wasn’t putting them in God’s hands. I was arrogant and ignorant. As a mother, if I’m by my daughter’s side, all I can do is keep her warm and well-fed, but I can’t control her fate. Now I needed to submit to God’s rule and arrangements and give her over to God, let go of all my concerns, follow God, share the gospel, and do my duty. Understanding God’s will was so freeing for me.

My husband and I handled divorce proceedings the next day. When the official learned it was because I was a believer, he advised me, “Since it’s about religion, once you sign, your husband, children, and house will all be gone. You’d better be sure.” Hearing this, I did feel some reluctance. Even though I’d seen my husband’s anti-God essence and I was ready to put my kids in God’s hands, the thought that my signature would mean my home, children, and everything would be gone, made me hesitate. Realizing I wasn’t in the right state, I said a silent prayer, then thought of this from God’s words: “You are a created being—you should of course worship God and pursue a life of meaning. If you do not worship God but live within your filthy flesh, then are you not just a beast in human attire? Since you are a human being, you should expend yourself for God and endure all suffering! You should gladly and assuredly accept the little suffering you are subjected to today and live a meaningful life, like Job and Peter. … You are people who pursue the right path, those who seek improvement. You are people who rise up in the nation of the great red dragon, those whom God calls righteous. Is that not the most meaningful life?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Practice (2)). God’s words were immediately enlightening. It’s true—I’m a created being, and worshiping God is my bounden duty. Giving up everything to follow God, pursuing the truth and life is the right path in life. That’s the most valuable and most meaningful life. God has appeared and is working in the last days to save mankind, which is a priceless opportunity. Having the good fortune to accept God’s salvation and gain the sustenance of His words is God’s grace and mercy. God’s work is about to come to an end now. I should put everything aside, expend myself for God, and do my duty. Otherwise, I’ll miss my chance at salvation, which would be a lifelong regret. But my husband went along with the Communist Party, doing everything to obstruct and oppress me, treating me like an enemy. He’d beat me at the very mention of the word “God.” While in that house, I couldn’t read God’s words, or go out to attend gatherings or do a duty. Getting a divorce was the only way for me to believe in and follow God. Wouldn’t I be an empty shell, living that way? I’d just end up in hell, being punished along with Satan. Faced with the facts, it was crystal clear that my husband and home weren’t my pillar. They were tools, shackles used by Satan to hurt me and to ruin me. Only God is my pillar, and only God is the sustenance for my life. Following God and doing the duty of a created being is the only way to be saved by God and have a good fate and destination. I thought of Peter, who broke free of his parents’ constraints to have faith, and gain the truth and life. He gave up everything to follow the Lord Jesus. I needed to follow Peter’s example, to break free of the shackles of my demonic husband and wholeheartedly follow Almighty God. And so, I signed the divorce papers without hesitation.

When I got home, my eldest daughter said, “Mom, believing in God is the right thing to do, but seeing Dad treat you that way, I didn’t want you to suffer like that. I support your divorce.” Hearing her say that was so encouraging for me. When my friends learned about the divorce, nearly twenty of them showed up together, insisting that I give up my faith. I said to them firmly and with conviction, “Belief in God is the right path. I’ve taken great care of parents and children, but he believed the Party’s lies and stood in the way of my faith. He beat me and yelled at me, and forced me into this divorce. I’ve been living without any integrity or dignity. I have no other choice. It’s the Communist Party that destroyed our family!” They had nothing to say in response.

After that, I left home and joined those who were doing their duty. I began spreading the gospel with brothers and sisters, reading God’s words every day, fellowshiping on the truth, and enjoying the sustenance of God’s words. I felt calm and at peace. After being persecuted by the Communist Party, and oppressed by my husband, I fully saw the Party’s wicked face of hating God and devastating people. It really is the embodiment of Satan, and God’s bitter enemy. I despised and rejected it from the bottom of my heart. I also gained discernment of my husband’s true anti-God essence and broke free of the cage of that home. That was all God’s salvation.