By Sher, Nepal

I was born into a rural family in Nepal. Both my parents were farmers, and because their family conditions weren’t good, they didn’t get the chance to study, so they worked hard to cultivate me. They often told me, “You must be diligent and study hard.” They knew that if I didn’t study well, I wouldn’t be able to find a decent job in the future, and that I’d end up living a difficult life just like them. Whenever I saw my parents working so hard, I felt I should work even harder, so that in the future I could find a good job, earn lots of money, and build a big house for my family, allowing them to live a happy life. Initially, I studied at an ordinary public school. It didn’t have good teaching facilities, and the students’ grades were generally poor. Seeing my friends studying at an English-medium school, I really wanted to go there too. My parents also thought that although the tuition for the English-medium school was very expensive, if I could study at a good school, it would be easier for me to find a good job in the future. Later, as I wished, I got into a public English-medium school. At first, my grades weren’t very good, so I redoubled my efforts. I got up early every day to review what I’d learned the day before, I set goals for myself, made study plans, and asked the teachers about things I didn’t understand. Through constant effort, my grades improved significantly.

At school, the teachers often taught us that only by acquiring knowledge could we have a better and brighter future, and find a job that would earn others’ respect. I wanted to become a doctor to gain prestige and achieve success, and also to earn money to allow my family to live a happy life, so I studied even harder. Every day, I attended classes on time, and I never missed a single one. I listened attentively in class, and after getting back home, I went over my notes again and again, and also read other books and materials. I was busy studying every day and had almost no time to hang out with friends. I felt that I shouldn’t waste even a single minute. My grades got better and better, and even surpassed those of my friends. I was very happy, believing that as long as I worked hard, I could get everything I wanted: become a doctor, attain status and prestige, and obtain great wealth. So I planned to take the entrance exam for medical school. However, due to the pandemic, I couldn’t go to school to prepare for the entrance exam. I could only prepare online at home. My grades in the online tests weren’t good, and I worried that if things carried on like this, I wouldn’t be able to get good grades, and then I wouldn’t be able to get a scholarship. Because of my family’s financial situation, we absolutely couldn’t afford such high tuition fees. A few months later, I took the entrance exam. Although I passed, my score wasn’t high enough for me to receive a scholarship. I was heartbroken, feeling that my year of hard work had been wasted. But I didn’t give up and started preparing for next year’s entrance exam. However, due to another outbreak of the pandemic, I could only prepare online at home again. I thought that this time, no matter what, I had to get the scholarship. So I worked even harder than the first year, studying from 6 in the morning until 12 at night. Sometimes my head felt heavy due to lack of sleep, but I didn’t rest. However, seeing that my grades in multiple online tests were consistently poor, I gradually started to feel anxious, thinking, “If I don’t achieve my goal, what will my friends and neighbors think of me? If I can’t become a doctor, my future will be bleak. I’ve always dreamed of standing out, building a big house, and enabling my family to live a happy life, yet all these dreams would be shattered.” These negative thoughts made me increasingly anxious, causing my mental state to gradually deteriorate, and eventually, I developed mild depression. When I was feeling down, I couldn’t sleep all night and had no appetite. Sometimes I would even spend the whole night crying. During those three months, I was in agony due to depression, but I didn’t know how to escape it. I had watched lots of motivational videos on YouTube, but my condition didn’t improve at all.

Three months later, I found hymns praising the Lord and videos about prayer on YouTube. After listening to those hymns and prayers, my heart gradually calmed down. I started praying every morning and evening. After praying, some of the negative thoughts in my mind would gradually disappear, and my mood became brighter. For about two months, I read the Bible and listened to hymns every day. I read the words of the Lord Jesus: “Come to Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke on you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30). These words gave me great comfort. I felt the Lord Jesus was right beside me, helping me break free of pain; the pressure on my heart lessened a lot, and I came to believe in the Lord. Three months passed in the blink of an eye, and I took the entrance exam for the second time. My grades still weren’t high enough for me to qualify for the scholarship, but this time, I didn’t feel as much pain as before. A few days later, I learned that a friend was preparing for the IELTS exam and planning to study in Australia. I realized that becoming a doctor wasn’t my only option, and that I could also go to Australia to study and create a better life. So I started preparing for the IELTS exam.

As I was preparing for the exam, I read a passage on Facebook: “From the moment you come crying into this world, you begin to fulfill your responsibilities. For the sake of God’s plan and His ordination, you play your role and start your life’s journey. Whatever your background may be, and whatever the journey ahead of you may be, in any case, no one can escape the orchestrations and arrangements of Heaven, and no one can control their own fate, for only He who is sovereign over all things is capable of such work” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God Is the Source of Man’s Life). These words felt so right. Everything about us is in God’s hands. Our destiny is also under God’s sovereignty and arrangements; we cannot control our own destiny. I thought about my own experiences: I didn’t know God’s sovereignty, and I thought that I could get rich through my own efforts and live a happy life. But no matter how hard I tried and planned, I ultimately failed, and I even developed depression. After reading this passage, I understood that the family I was born into, the environment I grew up in, and what my future would be like—had all been arranged by God, and that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t change my destiny. After a while, a sister invited me to attend an online gathering. However, the next day, I had to take the IELTS exam and I was a bit worried about how I’d do. If my exam score wasn’t good, I wouldn’t be able to realize my dream of going to Australia, and my future would be bleak. This could be my last chance, and if I failed, I would become the biggest failure among my friends, and my parents and friends would surely think I was terrible too. Just as I was thinking this, I saw that the topic of the gathering’s sermon was “I’m Living a Sad Life—What Should I Do?” I was immediately drawn to it. A brother shared a few passages: “Because people do not know God’s orchestrations and God’s sovereignty, they always face fate defiantly and with a rebellious attitude, and they always want to cast off God’s authority and sovereignty and the things fate has in store, hoping in vain to change their current circumstances and alter their fate. But they can never succeed and are thwarted at every turn. This struggle, which takes place deep in their souls, causes them pain, and this pain carves itself into their bones, and it simultaneously makes them fritter their lives away. What is the cause of this pain? Is it because of God’s sovereignty, or because a person was born unlucky? Obviously, neither is true. At bottom, it is caused by the paths people take, the ways they choose to live their lives” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique III). “Satan uses fame and gain to control man’s thoughts, making people think of nothing but these two things. They struggle for fame and gain, suffer hardships for fame and gain, endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens for fame and gain, sacrifice everything they have for fame and gain, and they will make any judgment or decision for the sake of fame and gain. In this way, Satan places invisible shackles upon people, and, wearing these shackles, they have neither the strength nor the courage to break free. They unknowingly bear these shackles and trudge ever onward with great difficulty. For the sake of this fame and gain, mankind strays from God and betrays Him, and becomes increasingly wicked. In this way, one generation after another is destroyed in the midst of Satan’s fame and gain” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique VI). After the brother finished reading, he fellowshipped, “For thousands of years, Satan has been using atheism, materialism, and evolutionism to mislead and corrupt people, causing them to deny God’s existence and to deny that God created the heavens, earth, and all things, and as a result, people distance themselves from God and no longer worship Him. Not only that, but Satan also uses fame and gain to corrupt people, saying things like, ‘Stand out above the rest, and bring honor to your ancestors,’ and ‘A person’s destiny is in their own hands.’ Influenced and indoctrinated by these ideas and views, we come to believe that only by possessing money, fame, and gain can we win others’ respect and live a happy life. Therefore, many people strive and struggle every day to live a life of wealth. They work overtime and end up developing illnesses at a young age. Some people, in order to succeed in their careers, resort to all kinds of tricks and schemes, using and deceiving others, ruthlessly trampling on them to get ahead. Even if they succeed, they have no peace in their hearts and still live in suffering. There are also many who put in a lot of effort but remain unable to stand out. As a result, they feel pessimistic and hopeless, even developing a weariness for the world, and some choose to end their lives by suicide. All of this is caused by people being afflicted by Satan.” The brother’s fellowship left a deep impression on me, and I recalled the hardships I had experienced. Because I saw my parents working hard since I was young, I wanted to become a doctor through diligent study to gain status and prestige, thereby enabling my family to live a happy life. For this, I put in a lot of effort. Especially after I transferred to an English-medium school, I studied even harder. I stopped hanging out with friends, and I even thought about what to study while doing chores. I often studied late into the night too. To stand out among my classmates, I studied 12 to 15 hours a day. But in the end, I still failed. I also developed depression and was forced to halt my plans for medical school. Whenever I thought about falling far behind my friends, my heart ached, and it felt as if a boulder was resting on my chest. I felt my future was completely dark, and I often couldn’t sleep all night, worrying about what would become of me. I started to think, “Why has my life fallen into such difficulty? What exactly was I striving so hard for? I’ve longed for a happy life, so why does my life keep getting worse and worse?” But now I understood. The root of my suffering was Satan’s corruption. I had completely become a slave to money, fame, and gain. Without the exposure of God’s words, I wouldn’t have known that Satan uses money, fame, gain, and status to corrupt people. Status, fame, and gain are the invisible shackles Satan puts on people, making it very hard for them to break free. To gain reputation and status, I gave myself completely to Satan and endured endless hardships. That I could understand these truths and have this awakening—was God’s love and salvation!

Then, the brother sent another question: “So how can we escape this suffering?” He then sent a few more passages: “Regardless of differences in ability, intelligence, and willpower, people are all equal before fate, which does not distinguish between the great and the small, the high and the low, the exalted and the mean. What occupation one pursues, what one does for a living, and how much wealth one amasses in life are not decided by one’s parents, one’s talents, one’s efforts or one’s ambitions, but are predetermined by the Creator” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique III). “When people do not know what fate is all about or understand God’s sovereignty, they are just struggling and stumbling through the fog based on their own will, and that journey is too arduous, and it causes too much heartache. So when people realize that God is sovereign over human fate, the clever ones choose to know and accept God’s sovereignty, and bid farewell to the painful days of ‘trying to build a good life with their own two hands,’ rather than continuing to struggle against fate and pursue their so-called life goals in their own way. When a person is without God, when they cannot see Him, when they cannot truly and clearly know God’s sovereignty, every day is meaningless, worthless, and indescribably painful. No matter where a person is, and what their job is, their means of survival and the goals that they pursue bring them nothing but endless heartache, and pain that is difficult to get over, such that they cannot bear to look back on their past. Only by accepting the Creator’s sovereignty, submitting to His orchestrations and arrangements, and pursuing the attainment of true human life, can a person gradually break free from all heartache and pain, and gradually rid themselves of all the emptiness of human life” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique III). “Man, after all, is man, and the status and life of God cannot be replaced by any man. What mankind needs is not just a fair society in which everyone is well-fed, equal, and free; what mankind needs is the salvation of God and His provision of life to man” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Appendix 2: God Holds Sovereignty Over the Fate of All Mankind). After reading out these passages, the brother fellowshipped, “God is sovereign over the destiny of mankind. Before the ages, God predetermined what kind of family we would be born into, what occupation we would pursue, and how much wealth we would possess. As created beings, we should not struggle against destiny, and we should submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements, and accept everything the Creator has prepared for us. Only then can our hearts know peace and joy, and only then can we live without worry and at ease.” After the brother finished fellowshipping, I thought about how I had put in so much hard work and effort to achieve my goal of becoming a doctor. But this ultimately ended in failure, and I didn’t understand why all this had happened to me. Was it because I was born unlucky, or had I just not worked hard enough? Now I understood that the reason I suffered so much was because I didn’t know God’s sovereignty. God is sovereign over human fate, and things like the kind of family I would be born into, the occupation I’d pursue, how much wealth I’ll possess in my life, and at what age I’ll die have all been predestined by God. If I wanted to escape anxiety and suffering, I had to accept God’s sovereignty and submit to the situations He arranged. Like with the upcoming IELTS exam, I was willing to accept and submit, whatever the outcome. After the gathering ended, I prayed to God, “Oh God, thank You so much for letting me attend this gathering. Only today did I realize that all of people’s pain and hardships are caused by Satan. Satan used status, fame, and gain to mislead and corrupt me, making me ignorant of Your sovereignty. Because of this, I wanted to grasp destiny in my own hands and thus lived in darkness. Thank You for enlightening me and allowing me to see through Satan’s schemes. Whatever the result of tomorrow’s exam, I will gladly accept it.” The next day, when I took the exam, my heart was very calm. After completing the exam without issue, I went home. Later, I found out that I had passed the exam, and I was so happy. In the days that followed, while I prepared to go to Australia, I also attended gatherings of The Church of Almighty God. During that time, I read many of Almighty God’s words. I came to understand the three stages of God’s work to save humanity, the mystery of God’s names, the mystery of the incarnation, the inside story of the Bible, God’s judgment work in the last days, and more. From my heart, I accepted that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned.

After some time, I began preaching the gospel to my parents and siblings, and they all accepted God’s new work. Seeing the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, and frequent disasters occurring everywhere, I realized that God’s work is nearing its end. But many people still haven’t accepted God’s salvation, and I realized that preaching the gospel now is incredibly important. If I went to Australia, I’d have limited time to do my duty. But this opportunity to go to Australia had been so hard to come by, and if I didn’t go, all my previous efforts would be wasted. What would my future be like then? I didn’t want to miss out on this good opportunity. My family, neighbors, and friends all knew I was about to go to Australia, so if I didn’t go, what would they think of me? More importantly, I wanted to earn more money and live a life of wealth, and if I didn’t go study, I wouldn’t be able to fulfill my wish. On one side were my studies, and on the other was my duty. I felt so conflicted about what choice to make. One day, I saw a movie on The Church of Almighty God’s website called A Mother’s Love. There were a few passages of God’s words in it that particularly touched me. Almighty God says: “Human knowledge not only contains basic sentences and simple doctrines, but also some thoughts and views, as well as human absurdity, prejudices, and satanic poisons. Some knowledge can even mislead and corrupt people—it is the poison and tumor of Satan, and once someone has accepted this knowledge and understands it, Satan’s poison will grow into a tumor in their heart. This tumor will spread to their whole body, inevitably resulting in death if they are not healed by God’s words and cured by the truth. So, the more knowledge people gain, the more they grasp, then the less likely they are to believe in God’s existence. Instead, they will actually deny and resist Him, as knowledge is something they can see and touch, and is mostly related to things in their lives. People can study and gain a lot of knowledge in school, but they are blind to the source of knowledge and its connection with the spiritual realm. Most of the knowledge that people learn and grasp goes against the truth of God’s words, with philosophical materialism and evolution in particular belonging to the heresies and fallacies of atheism. It is undoubtedly a load of fallacies which resist God. … At any rate, these intellectual things will give people the wrong idea and cause them to stray from God. It doesn’t matter if you believe it or not, or whether you can accept it today—the day will come when you will admit this fact. Do you truly understand how knowledge can lead people to destruction, to hell?” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Path of Practice Toward Changing One’s Disposition). “What on earth is this knowledge—can you tell Me? Is it not the rules and philosophies for living that Satan instills in man, such as ‘Love the Party, love the country, and love your religion’ and ‘A wise man submits to circumstances’? Is it not life’s ‘lofty ideals’ instilled into man by Satan, such as the ideas of great people, the integrity of the famous or the brave spirit of heroic figures, or the chivalry and kindness of the protagonists and swordsmen in martial arts novels? These ideas influence one generation after another, and the people of each generation are brought to accept these ideas. They constantly struggle in the pursuit of ‘lofty ideals’ that they will even sacrifice their lives for. This is the means and approach by which Satan uses knowledge to corrupt people. So after Satan leads people upon this path, are they able to submit to and worship God? And are they able to accept God’s words and pursue the truth? Absolutely not—because they have been led astray by Satan” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique VI). After reading these passages of God’s words, I understood how Satan uses knowledge to corrupt people. Just like in this movie, the protagonist’s mother couldn’t find a good job because she didn’t have a higher education, and she didn’t have any opportunities for promotion in her company. So, she hoped for her child to get into a good university, so her child could find a good job, get promoted to a higher position, and achieve fame and gain. Satan uses knowledge to corrupt people, making them think that only with knowledge and degrees can they have a good future, and that knowledge means a person can have it all. They don’t believe God created everything, and they don’t believe in God’s sovereignty. Such thoughts are hostile toward God. Satan also uses knowledge and science to instill all kinds of satanic poisons in people, and the more knowledge people gain, the more corrupt and arrogant they become. The more educated people are, the more they pursue status and renown, and long for a life of luxury. They fight with each other for fame and gain, even resorting to any means necessary. If these desires aren’t fulfilled, they become dejected, and some even suffer to the point of choosing suicide. The more people pursue knowledge, the further they get from God. I was among those poisoned by Satan. Since I was young, I wanted to change my destiny through my own efforts, and through studying knowledge. I worked very hard for this and suffered greatly. I eventually developed depression, and my life became even worse. Now I understood that Satan used knowledge to lure me onto a path of no return. If I had continued down this path, I would surely have become more and more deeply corrupted by Satan, finally going to hell with it. A person’s destiny is in God’s hands, yet I always wanted to change my destiny through knowledge. Was I not going counter to God’s ordination? Thinking about it, could knowledge really change my destiny? Could I really gain money and reputation through knowledge? Could this give my parents and family a happy life? Some people are very knowledgeable and have high academic qualifications, but they fail to find their ideal job or make much money. Meanwhile, others who aren’t educated or don’t have much knowledge end up having great wealth. From this, we can see that a person’s fate has long since been predestined by God. It has nothing to do with how much knowledge they have.

I pondered these questions while watching the movie. I then read more of God’s words: “When people truly know God, understand the truth, and gain the truth, their worldview and outlook on life undergo real change, following which, a real change also occurs in their life disposition. When people have the correct life goals, are able to pursue the truth, and conduct themselves according to the truth, when they submit absolutely to God and live by His words, when they feel grounded and brightened in the depths of their hearts, and their hearts are free of darkness, and when they can live entirely free and liberated in God’s presence, only then do they obtain a true human life, and only then have they become those who possess the truth and humanity. In addition, all the truths that you have understood and gained have come from God’s words and from God Himself. Only when you gain the approval of God Most High—the Creator, and He says that you are a created being that is up to standard, and that you live out a human likeness, will your life be most meaningful” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. How to Know Man’s Nature). “Just focus on working hard at pursuing the truth, and you will be able to resolve all your problems. When you can resolve your own problems, you will have made progress and you will have grown. When people experience until the day that their outlook on life, and the meaning and basis of their existence, have entirely changed, when they have been altered to their very bones and have become someone else, is this not incredible? This is a great change, an earth-shattering change. Only when you become disinterested in the fame, gain, status, money, pleasure, power and glory of the world, and can easily forgo them, will you have the likeness of a human being. Those who will ultimately be made complete by God are a group such as this; they live for the truth, live for God, and live for that which is just. This is the likeness of a true human being” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three). Before, I thought that only by gaining knowledge and earning more money could I have a good future, but in reality, these things are all empty. Knowledge cannot change my destiny. Even if I gained knowledge and earned money, this couldn’t bring peace to my heart. After reading God’s words, I realized that knowledge cannot change my destiny, and that only by pursuing the truth and living by God’s words can one receive God’s approval and have a good destiny. Believing in God and pursuing the truth is the only way to live a life of value and meaning. In this world, many people compete with each other to make money and gain more material enjoyment, doing all kinds of bad things. These people use and deceive others to attain success in their careers, but they struggle and feel uneasy inside. Living like that is so painful! Only by believing in God, eating and drinking His words, letting go of these satanic philosophies, and living by God’s words, can a person avoid Satan’s torment and live a meaningful life. God’s words opened my heart. I realized that people can live without wealth, reputation, or status, but without God’s protection and guidance, it’s hard to survive. Now, I eat and drink God’s words and do my duty every day, and though I haven’t gained the renown or status valued by the world, by reading God’s words, I am gradually living out normal humanity, coming to know my corruption and satanic nature, and practicing to view everything with the truth. This is a truly meaningful life! If I were to go and study in Australia, even if I gained wealth, reputation, and success, I wouldn’t gain the truth and life. Then, wouldn’t I have lived my life in vain? I had to change my outlook on life. I would no longer pursue worldly riches, status, or prestige, and instead, I would strive to fulfill my duty and pursue the truth. Only by living this way does life have value and meaning.

One day during a gathering, the brothers and sisters read a passage of God’s words that really touched my heart. Almighty God says: “Are you aware of the burden on your shoulders, your commission, and your responsibility? Where is your sense of historic mission? How will you serve properly as a master in the next age? Do you have a strong sense of being a master? How would you explain the master of all things? Is it really the master of all living creatures and of all physical things in the world? What plans do you have for the progress of the next phase of the work? How many people are waiting for you to shepherd them? Is your task a heavy one? They are poor, pitiable, blind, and at a loss, wailing in the darkness—where is the way? How they yearn for the light, like a shooting star, to suddenly descend and dispel the forces of darkness that have oppressed man for so many years. They anxiously hope, and pine, day and night, for it—who can know the full extent of this? Even on a day when the light flashes past, these deeply suffering people remain imprisoned in a dark dungeon without hope of release; when will they weep no longer? Terrible is the misfortune of these fragile spirits who have never been granted rest, and long have they been kept bound in this state by merciless bonds and frozen history. And who has heard the sound of their wailing? Who has looked upon their miserable state? Has it ever occurred to you how grieved and anxious God’s heart is? How can He bear to see innocent mankind, whom He created with His own hands, suffering such torment? Human beings, after all, are the victims who have been poisoned. And although man has survived to this day, who would have known that mankind has long been poisoned by the evil one? Have you forgotten that you are one of the victims? Are you not willing to strive, out of your love for God, to save all these survivors? Are you not willing to devote all of your energy to repaying God, who loves mankind like His own flesh and blood? When all is said and done, how would you interpret being used by God to live your extraordinary life? Do you really have the resolve and confidence to live the meaningful life of a pious, God-serving person?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. How Should You Attend to Your Future Mission?). After reading this passage of God’s words, I felt ashamed. There are still many people in my country, Nepal, who haven’t received God’s salvation. They live under Satan’s power in extreme suffering, unable to see any hope. In the last days, God became flesh to save humanity, and God hopes that people can hear His voice and return to the Creator’s side to receive the Creator’s salvation. God graced me by bringing me from the darkness into the light, enabling me to hear His voice, and so I had a responsibility to preach God’s gospel to more people. If I went to study in Australia, the academic pressure there would be high, and whether I’d be able to attend gatherings and do my duty was questionable. Should I miss this chance to gain the truth and be saved just to pursue a worldly future? Moreover, the great catastrophes have already begun, and world wars could break out at any moment, yet many people still don’t know about God’s new work. If I only worried about my own future, I would be utterly lacking in conscience! Thinking of this, I decided to give up the opportunity to study in Australia, and to pursue the truth and do my duty properly instead.

I have now been doing my duty in God’s house for two years, and in the course of my duty, I’ve come to understand many truths I didn’t grasp before. Every day, I eat and drink God’s words and do my duty, and I live a very fulfilling life. I’ve experienced that being able to fulfill the duty of a created being is the only way to live a meaningful life. Thanks be to Almighty God!