By Lu Yi, China

One day in July 2024, the sisters I was cooperating with and I were evaluating articles, when Sister Zhen suddenly said she wasn’t feeling well, that she felt dizzy and her chest felt tight. She was swaying in her chair and looked like she might faint at any moment. At first, we thought it was just the muggy weather and poor air circulation in the room. But later, these episodes became more and more frequent. When they were severe, she didn’t even have the strength to speak, and she’d be gasping for breath after taking just a few steps. She couldn’t even take care of herself in daily life, let alone do her duty. I started to worry, “Could she have some major illness?” But then I thought to myself, “We’re all doing text-based duty, which is quite important. Also, Sister Zhen can endure hardship and pay a price in doing her duty, and has achieved some results in it. God will surely protect her and not let her get a major illness. This is probably God testing her. Maybe God will lift her illness once she learns her lesson.” Sister Zhen then went to the hospital for a checkup. The doctor said all her test results were normal, but she had a slow heart rate and poor blood flow to the heart. He prescribed some medication for her heart and circulation and told her to get plenty of rest and look after herself. Seeing how the checkup went, we all assumed Sister Zhen would be fine after some rest and recuperation. I kept thanking God in my heart and became even more convinced that we are different from nonbelievers: We believers have God’s care and protection, and once we learn our lessons, our illnesses will be healed. But unexpectedly, after Sister Zhen returned from the hospital and had been recuperating for a period of time, her illness came back, and the episodes grew more frequent.

One morning, she was resting in her room because she felt unwell, when she somehow fell out of bed. We heard the noise and rushed into the room, to find her lying on the floor, unable to move. Her eyes were shut tight, she was gasping for breath, her hands and feet were ice-cold, her limbs were stiff, and her whole body was trembling uncontrollably. It looked like she couldn’t take another breath and might die at any moment. We were terrified. Our host sister quickly found some fast-acting heart pills and gave them to her, and only then did she slowly start to come around. When I thought back to that moment, my heart still pounded. If we had acted even a little slower, I dread to think what would have happened. Seeing Sister Zhen lying in bed, her hand pressed to her heart and her face contorted in pain, my heart ached. “How could this happen? Didn’t the doctor say she was fine? But it’s obvious she has a serious heart problem. I’ve heard that if your heart disease is severe, you might not be able to catch your breath and could die suddenly. She’s only in her thirties—how did she get so sick?” It was especially hard when I heard her say to me weakly, “I feel really unwell right now, like my heart could stop beating at any moment. If I die, you must tell my mom not to misunderstand God. No matter what God does, it is righteous….” She would say something and then pause, speaking in short, urgent bursts. Seeing her like that terrified me. I’d never seen someone so close to death, and for a moment, I didn’t know what to say to comfort her. Later, out of consideration for her health, the leader notified her family and asked them to take her home to recover.

I couldn’t make sense of Sister Zhen’s illness. “She’s a sincere believer. Her husband forced her out of her home for doing her duty, and she has been doing important duties in the church these past few years, achieving some results. Why would she get so sick? Why didn’t God protect her? Even if this is a trial, it shouldn’t be this severe, right? If she dies, how can she be saved? I can understand that nonbelievers and those who resist God encounter all kinds of misfortune, but Sister Zhen is different. She sincerely believes in God. How could such a terrible misfortune befall her?” My mind was in turmoil, and I couldn’t understand what God’s intention was. This led me to think about myself. I used to think that because it had been over a decade since I left my family and career behind to do my duty, and I had always done important duties and achieved some results, I would surely be saved and enter God’s kingdom as long as I kept pursuing in this way. But Sister Zhen’s situation suddenly made me feel that my own salvation wasn’t guaranteed either. What if one day a great misfortune suddenly befell me, just like Sister Zhen, or I even faced death? If I died, how could I be saved? Wouldn’t all my years of paying a price and expending myself go up in smoke? When I thought of this, I became somewhat despondent. My heart wasn’t in my duty anymore, and I just did as much I managed to get through each day, content with simply getting the work at hand done. It felt like there was a wall between God and me. I couldn’t help but ask myself, “What’s wrong with me? Why is it that ever since Sister Zhen got sick, I just can’t muster any motivation for my duty?”

While seeking, I watched an experiential testimony video called “Does Suffering a Disaster Have to Be a Bad Thing?” Two passages of God’s words quoted in it spoke directly to my state. Almighty God says: “When some people see someone encountering difficulties, they immediately look out for themselves by putting themselves in that person’s shoes. Whenever they see someone encountering some kind of anguish, sickness, tribulation, or calamity, they immediately think of themselves and wonder, ‘If this happened to me, what would I do? It turns out that believers can still encounter these things and suffer these torments. So exactly what kind of God is He? If God is so inconsiderate of that guy’s feelings, will He treat me the same way? This shows that God is unreliable. At any place and any time, He sets up an unexpected environment for people, and can put them in embarrassing situations, and in any circumstances.’ They are afraid that if they do not believe, they will not gain blessings, but that if they continue to believe, they will meet with disaster. In this way, when people pray before God, they merely say, ‘God, I beg You to bless me,’ and dare not say, ‘God, I ask that You try me, discipline me, and do as You will, I am willing to accept it’—they do not dare to pray like this. After experiencing a few setbacks and failures, people’s resolve and courage lessen, and they have a different ‘understanding’ of God’s righteous disposition, His chastisement and judgment, and His sovereignty, and also develop a sense of wariness toward God. In this way, there is a wall, an estrangement, between people and God. Is it okay for people to have these states? (No.) So do these states tend to develop within you? Does it happen that you live in these states? (Yes.) How should such problems be resolved? Is it okay not to seek the truth? If you don’t understand the truth and don’t have faith, it will be difficult for you to follow God to the end, and you will fall down whenever you encounter disasters and calamities, whether natural or man-made” (The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth. What It Means to Pursue the Truth (11)). “Everyone who comes to believe in God is only ready to accept God’s grace, blessings, and promises, and only willing to accept His kindness and mercy. Yet no one is waiting or preparing to accept God’s chastisement and judgment, His trials and refinement, or His deprivation, and not a single person makes preparations to accept God’s judgment and chastisement, His deprivation, or His curses. Is this relationship between people and God normal or abnormal? (Abnormal.) Why do you say that it’s abnormal? Where does it fall short? It falls short in that people do not have the truth. It is because people have too many notions and imaginings, constantly misunderstand God, and do not fix these things by seeking the truth—this makes it most likely for problems to occur. In particular, people only believe in God for the sake of being blessed. They only want to strike a deal with God, and demand things from Him, but do not pursue the truth. This is very dangerous. As soon as they encounter something that is at odds with their notions, they immediately develop notions, grievances, and misunderstandings with respect to God, and can even go so far as to betray Him. Are the consequences of this serious? What path do most people walk in their faith in God? Though you may have listened to so many sermons and feel that you have come to understand quite a few truths, the fact is that you are still walking the path of believing in God only to eat your fill of loaves” (The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth. What It Means to Pursue the Truth (11)). After reading God’s words, I understood that the ultimate reason I was despondent was that there was a problem with my viewpoint on believing in God. I believed in God only because I wanted to get blessings from Him. The moment I saw no hope of being blessed, I would misunderstand and complain about God, and I would lose my faith in Him. When Sister Zhen first got sick, although I was a little worried, I thought that since we were doing important duties and she was a sincere believer, God would surely protect her and heal her. Plus, when the hospital checkup showed all her test results were normal, I became even more certain that God is faithful, and that those who genuinely expend themselves for Him will surely receive His blessings and protection. But when her illness came back and she was even facing death, I began to misunderstand and complain about God, “Why did such a terrible misfortune befall her? Why didn’t God protect her?” I even felt that believers were no different from nonbelievers, and had no guarantee of salvation. I immediately thought of myself, worrying that a misfortune might suddenly befall me as well, just like Sister Zhen. If I got a terminal illness and died, how could I be saved? As soon as I started to worry about my own future and destination, my heart grew distant from God, and I became passive and negative in my duty. I saw that I only wanted to receive blessings and grace from God in my faith in Him. The moment my desires were shattered, I couldn’t help but misunderstand and complain about Him, even sinking into despondency and being perfunctory in my duty. This was opposing God; it was a betrayal of Him! My behavior was no different from those in the religious world who only eat their fill of loaves. When God blessed me, I was full of enthusiasm, willing to forsake and expend, and to pay any price. But the moment my hopes of being blessed vanished, I immediately withered. I saw that I had believed in God for years only for the sake of blessings and grace, and that I was a disbeliever who was only in it to eat my fill of loaves. I began to detest and hate myself. I also felt self-reproachful and guilty for having misunderstood God so badly.

Later, I read another passage of God’s words, and gained some understanding of God’s righteous disposition. Almighty God says: “If your mind is already prepared to accept judgment and chastisement, trials and refinement, and you have also mentally prepared yourself to suffer adversity, and if, no matter how much you expend for God and how much of a sacrifice you make in performing your duty, you really did face the trials of Job, and God deprived you of all your property, even to the point that your life were about to end, what would you do then? How should you treat God’s sovereignty and arrangements? How should you treat your duty? How should you treat what God has entrusted to you? Do you have the correct understanding and the right attitude? Are these questions easy to answer or not? This is a great hurdle placed before you. Since it is a hurdle and a problem, should it not be resolved? (Yes.) How to resolve it? Is it easy to resolve? Supposing that, having believed in God for so many years, read so many of God’s words, listened to so many sermons, and understood so many truths, you are already prepared to let God orchestrate everything, whether that be gaining blessings or suffering adversity. And supposing that, despite your forsaking and expending yourself, and the price you have paid, and a lifetime of energy, all you ultimately get in return is God uttering a curse at you, or depriving you. If, even then, you have no words of complaint, no desires or requirements of your own, but only seek to submit to God and to put yourself at the mercy of His orchestrations, and you feel that being able to have even a little understanding of and a little submission to God’s sovereignty still makes your life worthwhile—if you have such a correct attitude, is it not then easy to resolve some difficulties when they arise? … God treats everyone fairly, and when it comes to any created being, God’s disposition is mercy and love, but also majesty and wrath. In God’s dealings with each person, the mercy, love, majesty, and wrath in His righteous disposition are unchanging. God will never show mercy and love only to some people, and majesty and wrath only to others. God will never do this, because He is a righteous God, and He is fair to everyone. God’s mercy, love, majesty, and wrath exist for any person. He can bestow grace and blessings on people, and can give them protection. At the same time, God can also judge and chastise people, curse them, and take away all that He has given them. God can give to people, but He can also take everything away from them. This is God’s disposition, and this is what He must do with every person. Therefore, if you think, ‘I am precious in God’s eyes, like the apple of His eye. He absolutely cannot bear to chastise and judge me, and He absolutely will not have the heart to take away everything that He has given to me, lest I be upset and distressed,’ is this thinking not mistaken? Is this not a notion about God? (Yes.) So, before you come to understand these truths, do you not think only about enjoying God’s grace, mercy, and love? As a result, you keep forgetting that God also has majesty and wrath. Though your lips say that God is righteous, and you are able to thank and praise God when He shows you mercy and love, whenever God shows majesty and wrath in chastising and judging you, you feel very upset. ‘If only such a God didn’t exist,’ you think. ‘If only it wasn’t God who did this, if only God wasn’t targeting me, if only this wasn’t God’s intention, if only these things were done to others. Because I am a kind-hearted person, and I have done nothing bad, and I have paid a heavy price for believing in God for many years, God should not be so merciless. I should be entitled and qualified to enjoy God’s mercy and love, as well as God’s abundant grace and blessings. God will not judge or chastise me, and neither does He have the heart to do it.’ Is this just wishful and wrong thinking? (Yes.) In what way is it wrong? What’s wrong here is that you don’t regard yourself as a created being, as a member of created humanity. You mistakenly detach yourself from created humanity and regard yourself as belonging to a special group or type of created being, bestowing special status on yourself. Is this not arrogant and self-righteous? Is this not unreasonable? Is this a person who truly submits to God? (No.) Absolutely not” (The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth. What It Means to Pursue the Truth (11)). After reading God’s words, I understood that God is fair and righteous to everyone. He won’t always protect and bless someone, shielding them from all misfortune, just because their duty is important or because they’ve made some special contributions in their duty. But I always thought that misfortunes only happened to nonbelievers or those who were not sincere toward God and didn’t pursue the truth. I believed that since Sister Zhen was doing an important duty in the church and had achieved some results, God should have protected her from serious illness and misfortune. This was purely my own notion and imagining and did not at all conform to the truth. God’s essence is righteous. Whether God blesses people or allows them to suffer misfortune, He is always righteous. God makes no mistakes. What a created being should do is accept and submit. This is the reason we should possess. I thought of a sister who had always been a leader, responsible for several important tasks. Later, she developed severe hypertension and other illnesses that even became life-threatening. Although she felt weak, she focused on seeking the truth to learn her lessons and was able to submit. After this experience, she gained some understanding of her own corrupt disposition and God’s righteous disposition, and even wrote an article about her experiential understanding. God permitted the illnesses to befall her in order to cleanse the corruption and impurities within her; this was God saving her and making her perfect, and it was the wisdom of His work. And then there’s Job. He was a man who feared God and shunned evil. God allowed Satan to tempt him: His possessions were taken away, his children were killed, and his own body was covered in sore boils. His flesh suffered greatly, but he did not abandon God or say a single word that offended Him, and he bore a resounding testimony to God. On the surface, it seems to go against our notions that God would allow Satan to tempt Job and make him suffer so much. But God used these things to get Job to bear a resounding testimony to Him before Satan, and Job’s faith was perfected. No matter what God does, it is good. It is not necessarily a bad thing for people to face misfortune. If people can seek God’s intention and learn lessons, understand the truth, and be cleansed, then the bad thing becomes a good thing. I used to think that everything being safe and going smoothly was a good thing, while disasters and misfortunes were bad things. Now I see that this view of mine was distorted. God’s work in the last days is the work of judgment and purification. He uses all sorts of events that don’t align with our notions to try and refine us, revealing our corrupt dispositions and the impurities in our intentions, so that we can reflect on and know ourselves, seek the truth, practice the truth, and cast off our corrupt dispositions to attain God’s salvation. But I didn’t understand God’s work. In my faith, I only pursued things being safe, going smoothly, and the enjoyment of God’s grace. I didn’t want to face trials or misfortunes. No matter how many years I experienced God’s work in this way, I would never achieve purification or change. Now, I understand that there must be God’s intention behind Sister Zhen’s serious illness, and lessons for her to learn. If I cannot see through this matter, I shouldn’t try to analyze and study it from a human perspective. I should seek the truth and God’s intention, and above all, I must not delay the duty at hand. That is the reason I should have.

Later, I pondered, “Why was I constantly so despondent after Sister Zhen got sick? What was the root cause of this despondency?” While seeking, I read God’s words: “In God’s family, among brothers and sisters, no matter how high your status or standing, or how important your duty, and no matter how great your talent and contributions, or how long you have believed in God, in the eyes of God you are just a created being; no matter how high your status, you are still an ordinary created being. The noble titles and appellations with which you have styled yourself are not objective or realistic; they do not exist. If you always regard them as crowns, or as capital that enables you to belong to a special group or be a special personage, then by doing this you resist and conflict with God’s views, and are incompatible with God. What will be the consequences of this? Will it cause you to resist the duties that a created being should perform? In the eyes of God, you are but a created being, but do not regard yourself as one. Can you truly submit to God with such a mindset? You always think wishfully, ‘God shouldn’t treat me like this, He could never treat me like that.’ Does this not create a conflict with God? When God acts at odds with your notions, your mentality, and your needs, what will you think in your heart? How will you deal with the environments God has set up for you? Will you submit? (No.) You will not submit, and you will certainly resist, oppose, grumble, and complain, puzzling over it again and again in your heart, thinking ‘But God used to protect me and treat me graciously. Why has He changed now? I can’t live anymore!’ So you start being petulant and acting up. If, at home, you behaved petulantly toward your parents, it would be excusable; your parents wouldn’t do anything to you. But it’s not acceptable in God’s house, because what you’re doing is disturbing the church’s work. For you to be so petulant and act up like this in God’s house is to be utterly devoid of conscience and reason. Even God’s chosen people can’t bear to watch you do it, so do you think God will tolerate such behavior? Will He condone you doing this to Him? No, He won’t. Why won’t He? God is not your parent, He is God, He is the Creator, and the Creator would never allow a created being to be petulant and unreasonable or to throw tantrums in front of Him. When God chastises and judges you, tries you, or takes away from you, when He places you in tribulation, He wants to see a created being’s attitude in how they treat the Creator, He wants to see what kind of path a created being chooses, and He will never allow you to be petulant and unreasonable, or to spout preposterous justifications. After understanding these things, shouldn’t people think about how they should deal with everything that the Creator does? First of all, people should assume their proper places as created beings and acknowledge their identity as created beings. Can you acknowledge that you are a created being? If you can acknowledge it, then you should assume your proper place as a created being and submit to the Creator’s arrangements, and even if you suffer a little, you do so without complaint. This is what it means to be someone with reason. If you do not think you are a created being, but reckon that you have titles and a halo over your head, and that you are a person of status, a great leader, conductor, editor, or director in God’s family, and that you are someone who has made worthy contributions to the work of God’s family—if that is what you think, then you are a most unreasonable and brazenly shameless person. Are you people with status, standing, and worth? (We are not.) Then what are you? (I am a created being.) That’s right, you are just an ordinary created being. Among people, you can flaunt your qualifications, play the seniority card, boast about your contributions, or show off your heroic exploits. But before God, these things are utterly worthless and disgusting to Him. If you cannot reflect on yourself and still boast, show off, and flaunt your seniority, things will go awry. God will regard you as utterly unreasonable and arrogant to the extreme. He will be repulsed and disgusted by you, and sideline you, and you will be in trouble then” (The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth. What It Means to Pursue the Truth (11)). “The reason of antichrists is unsound. However the truth is fellowshipped, and however clearly it is fellowshipped, they still do not understand God’s intentions or just what believing in God is for, and what the correct path is that people should take. Because of their wicked disposition, because of their wicked nature, and because of the nature essence of such people, deep down they cannot distinguish just what is the truth and what are positive things, just what is right and what is wrong. They hold on firmly to their own ambitions and desires, regarding them as the truth, as the only goals in life, and as the most just undertaking. They do not know the truth that if a person’s disposition does not change then they will forever be an enemy of God, and do not know that what blessings God gives a person and how God treats a person is not based on their caliber, gifts, talents or capital, but on how much truth they practice and how much truth they gain, and whether they are a person who fears God and shuns evil. These are truths that antichrists will never understand. Antichrists will never see this, and this is where they are most foolish. From beginning to end, what is the attitude of antichrists toward their duty? They believe doing one’s duty is a transaction, that whoever expends the most in their duty, makes the biggest contribution to God’s house and endures the most years in God’s house will have a higher chance of being blessed and getting a crown in the end. This is the logic of antichrists” (The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Nine (Part Seven)). After reading God’s words, I realized that antichrists make gaining blessings the goal of their pursuit. They don’t pursue the truth in their faith; they only want to obtain blessings. They think that as long as they do important duties in God’s house and make some contributions, they are entitled to obtain great blessings from God. I realized that the perspective behind my pursuit was the same as that of an antichrist. I believed that as long as I was doing an important duty, could endure hardship, pay a price, achieve some results in my duty, and prepare enough good deeds, then the greater my contributions, the more God would bless me, and I would be able to be saved. When Sister Zhen got sick this time, and I saw her condition worsen to the point of being life-threatening, I misunderstood God, and complained about God for not protecting her. I worried that I, too, might suddenly fall gravely ill or meet with some misfortune like Sister Zhen did, ultimately losing all hope of salvation. This made me incredibly despondent, and I lost all motivation for doing my duty. These manifestations of mine were contending with God, and opposing His sovereignty and arrangements. I was truly lacking in reason! We are just ordinary created beings, and no matter what duty we do in the church, we are all treated equally in God’s eyes. But I thought too highly of myself and didn’t stand in my proper place. Because I always felt that I was doing an important duty, I used this as capital to demand grace and blessings from God, demanding that He protect me from disasters and misfortunes. I truly had no reason at all! I believed in God and did my duty not for the sake of pursuing the truth to achieve a change in my life disposition, but to obtain rewards and blessings. Wasn’t I cut from the same cloth as Paul in the Age of Grace? Paul’s belief in God lacked sincerity; his work and expenditure were filled with his own extravagant desires. He often exalted himself and showed off his achievements before others, boasting about how much work he had done and how many fruits he had borne for the Lord. He used these as capital to demand rewards and a crown from God, even uttering shameless words such as, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness” (2 Timothy 4:7–8). He offended God’s disposition and was punished by God. The path I was walking was the path of Paul. If I didn’t quickly turn things around and rectify my intentions in doing my duty, instead continuing to pursue blessings, I would be eliminated by God just like Paul, and lose my chance to be saved.

Later, I read more of God’s words, and gained a clearer understanding of the kind of person God approves of and favors. Almighty God says: “To perform your duty in a way that is up to standard, it does not matter how many years you have believed in God, how many duties you have performed, nor how many contributions you have made to God’s house, much less does it matter how experienced you are in your duty. The main thing God looks at is the path a person takes. In other words, He looks at one’s attitude toward the truth and the principles, direction, origin, and starting point behind one’s actions. God focuses on these things; they are what determine the path you walk” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. What Is the Up-to-Standard Performance of One’s Duty?). “Man thinks that all those who make a contribution to God should receive a reward, and that the greater the contribution, the more it is only natural and right that they should be pleasing to God. The essence of man’s viewpoint is transactional, and he does not actively seek to perform his duty as a created being. For God, the more that people pursue true love for God and complete submission to God, which also means seeking to perform their duty as a created being, the more they are able to gain God’s approval. God’s viewpoint is to demand that man recover his original duty and status. Man is a created being, and so man should not overstep himself by making any demands of God, and should do nothing more than perform his duty as a created being. The destinations of Paul and Peter were measured according to whether they could fulfill their duty as created beings, and not according to the size of their contribution; their destinations were determined according to that which they pursued from the beginning, not according to how much work they did, or other people’s estimation of them. And so, seeking to actively perform one’s duty as a created being is the path to success; pursuing the path of the true love for God is the most correct path; pursuing changes in one’s old disposition, and pursuing the pure love for God, is the path to success. Such a path to success is the path of the recovery of the original duty as well as the original appearance of a created being. It is the path of recovery, and it is also the aim of all of God’s work from beginning to end” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Success or Failure Depends on the Path One Walks). The words of God could not be clearer. In God’s house, there are no high, low, noble, or base duties. Whether or not a person can be saved doesn’t depend on what duty they do or whether they have made contributions or achievements. What is important is whether they pursue the truth and whether they achieve a change in their life disposition. This is very crucial. I remembered those antichrists who had been revealed in the church. Many of them had been leaders and workers who had forsaken and expended a lot in their duties in the past. However, they were walking the wrong path. They didn’t seek the truth principles in their duty and acted recklessly, seriously disrupting and hindering the work of God’s house. They refused to repent no matter how they were fellowshipped with and were ultimately revealed and eliminated. On the other hand, there are some who do unremarkable duties in the church, but they focus on pursuing the truth and on their life entry. They seek the truth principles in doing their duty, and they get better at doing their duty the more they do it. Such people have hope of being saved. From this, I saw that God does not determine a person’s outcome and destination based on the duty they do or the magnitude of their contribution. What God values is whether a person can gain the truth and whether their life disposition changes. This is what is most important. I should view people and things according to God’s words, follow the path of Peter, pursue the truth to achieve a change in my life disposition, and do my duty well. This is what I ought to pursue.

Later, I pondered, “When a trial befalls me, what attitude should I have in order to align with God’s intentions?” I then read a passage of God’s words: “Submitting to God’s orchestrations and arrangements is the most basic lesson faced by each and every follower of God. It is also the most profound lesson. To whatever degree you are able to submit to God, that is how great your stature is, and how great your faith is—these things are interrelated. … Peter went through so many trials and refinements. He set aside all of his personal demands, plans, and desires, and didn’t demand that God do anything. He didn’t have his own thoughts, then, and he handed himself over fully. He thought: ‘God can do whatever He wants to do. He can put me through trials, He can chasten me, He can judge or chastise me. He can give rise to situations to prune me, He can temper me, He can put me in the lion’s den or the wolves’ lair. Whatever God does, it is correct, and I will submit to anything. Everything God does is the truth. I won’t have any complaints or any choices.’ Is this not absolute submission? Sometimes people think: ‘Everything God does is the truth, so why haven’t I discovered any truth in this thing that God did? It seems that even God does things that don’t align with the truth sometimes. God is also wrong at times. But no matter what, God is God, so I’ll submit!’ Is this kind of submission absolute? (No.) This is selective submission; it is not true submission. … When they believe in God, people should stick to the place of a created being. No matter what the time, regardless of whether God is hidden from you or has appeared to you, irrespective of whether you can feel God’s love or not, you must know what your responsibilities, obligations, and duties are—you must understand these truths about practice. If you still cling to your notions, saying, ‘If I can clearly see that this matter is in line with the truth and in line with my thoughts, then I will submit; if it is not clear to me and I cannot confirm that these are the actions of God, then I will first wait a while, and will submit once I’m sure this was done by God,’ then is this someone who submits to God? It is not. This is a conditional submission, not absolute, full submission. God’s work does not accord with human notions and imaginings; the incarnation does not accord with human notions and imaginings, and judgment and chastisement especially do not. The majority of people really struggle to accept and submit to it. If you can’t submit to God’s work, then can you fulfill the duty of a created being? That’s just not possible. What is the duty of a created being? (To stand in the position of a created being, accept God’s commission and submit to God’s arrangements.) That’s right, that’s the root of it. Then isn’t it easy to address this issue? To stand in a created being’s place and submit to the Creator, your God—this is what every created being should most uphold” (The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Submission to God Is a Basic Lesson for Gaining the Truth). God’s words pointed out the path of practice: No matter what misfortune or trial befalls us, we should accept it from God and submit to His sovereignty and arrangements. When Peter experienced trials, no matter what environment God set up or what suffering and refinement he endured, he never considered his own interests and focused solely on how to satisfy and love God. He even gave his life for God. Peter’s practice was remembered by God, and he gained God’s approval. In contrast, when I saw Sister Zhen fall so gravely ill, my heart was filled with complaints about and resistance toward God. I was afraid that I too would face misfortune, and I grew even more afraid of death. I had no faith in God; still less did I show any submission. I thought of the movie My Belated Testimony. When the protagonist, Zhou Xiangming, was arrested and brutally tortured by the police for the first time, he denied that he was a believer out of fear of death. Afterward, he reflected on and came to know himself through God’s words, feeling remorse and self-reproach, and hating himself for being so weak as to deny God before the devil. In the ten years that followed, he focused on equipping himself with the truth. He came to understand the meaning of God’s trials and His requirements for man. He also saw through life and death and was willing to submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements, entrusting his life to God. He just hoped for a chance one day to bear testimony to God. God heard his prayers, and later he was arrested again by the great red dragon. This time, he was no longer timid or afraid, nor was he constrained by death. Instead, he exposed the wicked essence of the great red dragon before the police, ultimately shaming Satan. The moment he walked out of prison, he had a blissful smile on his face. I believe he must have thought that being able to risk his life to submit to God once was the most valuable and meaningful thing he had ever done in his life. Although I haven’t yet faced a trial from God, I should learn from Brother Zhou. While fulfilling my duty, I should focus on equipping myself with the truth and preparing my stature. If one day a trial from God does come to me, I hope I can be like Brother Zhou, entrusting my all to God, submitting to His orchestrations and arrangements, bearing testimony to God, and comforting His heart.

Some time later, we received a letter from Sister Zhen. She talked about her experiences after returning home and the gains she had made from this experience of illness. She said her condition had improved somewhat, she was now doing some duties to the extent she was able to, and that regardless of whether her illness would be cured in the future, she was willing to rely on God to experience it and submit to His orchestrations and arrangements. Seeing that my sister was able to accept it in a positive manner and learn her lessons when she was experiencing sickness, I truly felt that no matter what happens, God’s good intentions are behind it. God was using this illness to perfect Sister Zhen and also to allow me to learn lessons from it. Thank God!