God’s Goodwill in Accident

By Jingxin, Japan

Eastern Lightning|God's Goodwill in Accident|The Church of Almighty God

One day, while I was making dumplings in the kitchen of our factory, a plastic basket suddenly fell out of the sky, hitting me on the head. My head buzzed and then was filled with a fierce pain. This sudden scene shocked the colleagues around me and they asked me to hurriedly step aside for a break. Later, my headache grew increasingly serious before I had to ask for leave to go home for some rest. I had thought that two days were enough for me to recover from the pain. Unexpectedly, my headache even intensified on the second day. Then I went to the hospital for an examination and was told that it was actually brain concussion. In the next few days, I had scarcely fallen asleep when I dreamed. So I began to feel a bit afraid: Haven’t the nerves been injured? Immediately, fear occupied my heart, and then I quickly prayed to God.

I remembered God’s word says, “If you believe in the dominion of God, then you must believe that the things that happen every day, be they good or bad, don’t happen accidentally. It is not that someone doesn’t get on with you or opposes you on purpose; it is actually all arranged and orchestrated by God.” Pondering over God’s word, my heart gradually woke up. Right! All matters and things are under the sovereignty of God. Since God permits this event to come upon me, then what is actually God’s will? Thinking back on what had happened recently, I seemed to understand something. And old memories passed through my mind …

I originally had a permanent job in a company. By the time I was twenty-five the company suddenly closed down. All my family could only scrape along on my husband’s meager salary. However, troubles never come singly. My mother suddenly suffered from breast cancer and only the cost of the operation was tens of thousands of yuan. As my mother was in urgent need of money, I could do nothing to help. My grieved and guilt feeling was undescribed. Helplessly, my family had to borrow money for the treatment of my mother’s illness and later we had to scrimp and save to pay back the debt. Because of my poor family, my relatives, friends and classmates didn’t associate with me, which made me feel very sad and helpless. From that point on, I repeatedly told myself: One can have anything except illness, and one can be without anything but money; money isn’t everything, but without it, you can do nothing. In the subsequent two years, each day I expected that my child could grow up soon, by which time I could go out to make money.

After my child went to the kindergarten, I set about finding some ways to make money. I saw my neighbor built a new house only in a few years by doing business of selling fruits, so I also started a business selling fruits. I worked from dawn to dusk every day, toiling for two or three months, but the money I made could only cover our living costs. Afterward, I found there were tricks in doing business: Only by giving customers short weight could I make money. Having known the secret in it, I felt I was not meant to be a businesswoman, and so I gave it up. Later, as I took care of my child, I made money stitching the carpet for others. But I only made less than one thousand yuan after more than half a year of work. After that, my husband and I went to work in my elder brother’s brickfield. However, we had hardly worked there for several months when my husband created some conflict with others. He had to return to our hometown and after one more year of work, I also went back. Having tried several ways, I still made no money. At that time, I was particularly frustrated, and felt that I was incapable, thinking: Others are able to make money, why can’t I? Since then, I had been thinking the way of making money every day.

In 2005, I saw that many people in my hometown going to Japan made lots of money, and I admired them very much in my heart. Despite knowing that living in a foreign country, being a stranger, and not understanding foreign language would surely make me suffer a lot, yet at the thought of the feeling without money, I underhandedly set my determination: No matter how arduous and tiring it is, I will go. As expected, I arrived in Japan. My first job was doing farm work for a Japanese family. I worked hard soaking with sweat in the scorching sun every day, but they only gave me less money because I was a foreigner. I wanted to reason with them, but as I couldn’t speak Japanese, I was unable to do so. I had no choice but to quit this job. Then I went to a laundry and after a period of time, I still didn’t make much money.

In 2012, someone introduced me to a factory for making dumplings, saying that it was quick to make money there but needed working overtime often, and that the boss would use workers as machines. I thought: As long as I can make much money, nothing else is a problem. On my first day at work, when I saw that the rate at which workers took the dumpling wrappers and stuffing was so fast, simply as if they were scrambling for something, I immediately grew nervous in my heart, thinking that making money really was not easy. But I thought: As long as I see and practice more and pay more price, I can master how to make dumplings earlier. However, the fact was not so simple: Japanese are very particular about food. Dumplings are not only required to taste delicious but also needed to have nice shapes, and even their form and fold is regulated. So it was very difficult to learn; besides, the stuffing for dumplings was too hard that I needed to exert much strength to make it. Only in a few days, the backs of my hands began to swell up. In this way, I worked overtime every day, bearing the double suffering in spirit and flesh. After back to the dormitory, I lay on the bed and even didn’t want to move anymore. But I could only have a short rest and then hurriedly prepared the lunch for the next day. Every day I worked ceaselessly like a spinning top.

In April, 2016, because of overwork, I suffered from cervical spondylosis. I had a stiff neck, and felt dizzy and sick; I also had an upset stomach. Only at that time did I feel what a happy thing it was to have a good healthy body. Even so, I still couldn’t stop my pace of making money because I believed that as long as I was alive, I should make money. Thus, I continued making money while relieving my physical discomfort by sticking balms, having a massage, or going to the hospital for an ultrasound treatment of cervical spondylosis. Once it hurt a lot, I would stop for a short period of rest. Later on, I found some people around me strove to be the group leader in order to get more salary and benefits. They fought against and excluded each other, manifested outward devotion but opposed in secret, and acted one way to people’s faces and another behind their backs. I heard my group leader’s fellow townsman took his place, after which they would have an argument as soon as they met. Seeing people fought with each other for personal interests, I felt especially depressed. In deep and quiet night, I would often sigh: Living in this world, why do we have to bear so much pain? Why do we live in such a tiring way?

Just when I was exhausted, miserable and helpless, God’s love came upon me. My colleague preached to me Almighty God’s kingdom gospel, and read to me a passage of God’s word, “Man walked through the ages with God, yet man knows not that God rules the fate of all things and living beings or how God orchestrates and directs all things. This is something that has eluded man since time immemorial to the present day. As for the reason why, it is not because the ways of God are too elusive, or because the plan of God has yet to be realized, but because the heart and spirit of man are too distant from God. Therefore, even as man follows God, he unknowingly remains in the service of Satan. None actively seek out the footsteps or appearance of God, and none wish to exist in the care and keeping of God. Rather, they are willing to rely on the corrosion of Satan and the evil one in order to adapt to this world and to the rules of life the wicked mankind follows. At this point, the heart and spirit of man are sacrificed to Satan and become its sustenance. Moreover, the human heart and spirit become a place in which Satan can reside and a fitting playground for it. … God loses the man of His original creation, and man loses the root of his beginning. This is the sorrow of this mankind.”

My colleague fellowshiped, “Our ancestors Adam and Eve originally lived happily and joyfully under the care and protection of God. After they were tempted and corrupted by Satan, mankind fell into Satan’s hand. Satan corrupts us with various satanic poisons and philosophies such as ‘Every man for himself, and the devil take the hindmost,’ ‘A man dies for money and a bird dies for food,’ ‘Money isn’t everything, but without it, you can do nothing,’ and so on. Under the influence of these heretical fallacies, we all live and survive for money and become more and more selfish, crafty, and mercenary. People struggle and fight against each other for personal interests, living more and more painfully. Man was created by God; God doesn’t bear to see us living in Satan’s fooling. In the last days, God has become flesh and expressed words to save us. Only through coming before God and reading God’s words can we see through Satan’s tricks, break away from the dark influence of Satan, and ultimately live under the care and protection of God.”

Through God’s words and the sister’s fellowship, I came to know the root cause of mankind’s pain. It turned out that we are corrupted by Satan and have been living by satanic poisons and philosophies, which leads us to live in so much pain. Thinking of my colleagues who harmed and suppressed each other for profit, I suddenly felt we mankind have been so corrupted by Satan that we completely have lost the human likeness. Meanwhile, seeing that God expresses words to save us from Satan’s affliction, I felt very thrilled, thinking: I can’t miss this opportunity of a lifetime. So, I accepted the kingdom gospel of Almighty God.

Through a period of having meetings, I came to understand some truth, knowing that the Creator rules over and provides for mankind. Then I consciously entrusted my work things to God, and gradually I was not that fretful in my heart. And I also performed the duty within my capacity in the church. But because I didn’t understand enough truths, I still lived in the bondage of money. Especially when I thought I was growing older, what would happen to me if I didn’t make more money? Therefore, my heart was still occupied by money.

In July, 2017, I switched to the job of making cakes. Every day, I got up at five in the morning and didn’t arrive home until it was seven or eight in the evening. During the holidays, I had to work for twelve or thirteen hours a day. And after a full day of work, I was dog-tired and ached all over. Later, brothers and sisters wanted me to water new believers, but I didn’t pay any heed to God’s commission because I devoted all my time and energy to making money. At the end of the year, our factory often asked us employees to work overtime. As time passed, I couldn’t even attend meetings. Sometimes, I got up very early and even had no time to pray. Gradually, my heart became more and more distant from God and my spirit sank lower and lower. I felt I had lost a normal relationship with God. During my free time at work, I prayed to God in my heart, “O God! Working hours have controlled me. In order to make money, I feel I’m getting farther and farther from You, and even can’t attend meetings and make prayers regularly. I know this doesn’t fit Your will. But I’m unable to get rid of it. God! What should I do? Please help and guide me.” In the following days, I often prayed to God in my heart until the basket falling out of the sky hit me on the head.

Recalling all these scenes, I realized it was God who listened to my prayers and then arranged for this environment to save me from the snare of Satan. I couldn’t help but be full of gratitude to God, so I prayed to God, “O God! Encountering this matter is Your reminder and warning to me. Thanks for Your love. If it were not for encountering this illness, I would still work hard to make money, stray farther and farther from You, and be taken captive by Satan in the end. God! I’m no longer willing to be fooled and corrupted by Satan, but willing to return before You.” The next day after I woke up, I had a clear mind and found I didn’t have any dream last night. I was so excited that tears of excitement kept streaming down: “O God! Thank You. Though I stayed away from You time after time and even didn’t treat Your commission seriously, yet You don’t remember my transgressions but repeatedly recover me from Satan’s hand. I really didn’t know to treasure Your salvation. From now onward, I’m willing to read Your word more and give my true heart to You.”

In subsequent days, I began to thirstily read God’s word, of which a passage says, “‘Money makes the mare go’ is the philosophy of Satan and it prevails among every human society. You could say that it is a trend because it has been imparted to everyone and is now affixed in their heart. People went from not accepting this saying to growing used to it so that when they came into contact with real life, they gradually gave tacit approval to it, acknowledged its existence and finally, they gave it their own seal of approval. Is this right? (Yes.) … So after Satan uses this trend to corrupt people, how is it manifested in them? Don’t you feel that you couldn’t survive one day in this world without any money, that even one day would just be impossible? (Yes.)People’s status is based on how much money they have as is their respectability. The backs of the poor are bent in shame, while the rich enjoy their high status. They stand tall and proud, speaking loudly and living arrogantly. What does this saying and trend bring to people? Don’t many people see getting money as being worth any cost? Don’t many people sacrifice their dignity and integrity in the pursuit of more money? Don’t many more people lose the opportunity to perform their duty and follow God for the sake of money? Isn’t this a loss for people? (Yes.)Isn’t Satan sinister to use this method and this saying to corrupt man to such a degree? Isn’t this a malicious trick?”

From the revelation of God’s word, I understood: Satan harmed and corrupted me with these poisons such as “Money makes the mare go,” “Money isn’t everything, but without it, you can do nothing,” and “Money is first.” As a result, I began to worship money, believing that without money I couldn’t survive in this world, and that without money I would be looked down on by others. This was why I tried every possible means to make money and spent all my time and energy on it. In order to make money, no matter how much I suffered, I was willing to endure. At last, I was physically and mentally exhausted, couldn’t perform my duty, and even almost fell into Satan’s trap to leave God again. I considered that some people fought with others and did anything to harm others for money, totally losing conscience and reason, integrity and dignity and without any humanity. Satan just uses these despicable means to afflict us and corrupt us. I once saw on television that a trainee worked more than three hundred hours a month for the sake of making money, resulting in sudden death from overwork. Another example was a Doctor: In order to buy a big house, he worked overtime to make money and ended up suffering from a cancer. These cases allowed me to see that the purpose of Satan tempting us to pursue money is to make us keep away from God and walk toward destruction, which is the sinister motive of Satan. After knowing this, I felt much released, no longer worrying about my future. Instead, I was willing to commit the rest of my life to God’s hand.

One day, I read God’s word, which says, “If one views life as an opportunity to experience the Creator’s sovereignty and come to know His authority, if one sees one’s life as a rare chance to perform one’s duty as a created human being and to fulfill one’s mission, then one will necessarily have the correct outlook on life, will live a life blessed and guided by the Creator, will walk in the light of the Creator, know the Creator’s sovereignty, come under His dominion, become a witness to His miraculous deeds and to His authority.” Thinking back, I was dominated by the wrong opinion “Each man is the architect of his own fate,” and always wanted to build a beautiful homeland by my own hand and effort. When I had this goal, I had put God in the back of my mind long ago, so I lived a very tiring life. Moreover, the more frustrations I met, the more struggles I would make; the more I struggled, the more miserable I would be. Now I realized that it was not because my fate was bad, not because God’s arrangement for me was not good, but because my wrong opinion governed me to rebel against God and fate and walk on the wrong path. I saw that I didn’t know God’s sovereignty but only relied on my own ambition and desire to totteringly walk my way, so that every step I walked was heartbreaking and painful. Only if I come before God and obey His sovereignty and arrangement, can I gain release and freedom.

Thank God! But for the guidance of God’s word, I still wouldn’t extricate myself from the vortex of money and in the end, I would be swallowed by Satan. Then, I made up my mind: After recovering from my illness, I will find an easy job to maintain my life. At the same time I will pursue the truth, perform my duty of a creature, and live out a true human life. Thank God! All the glory be to Almighty God!