During a Spiritual Battle, I Relied on God to Overcome My Family’s Interference
By Haoran, Portugal “Haoran, have you really started to believe in Eastern Lightning?” asked my mother worriedly. “See? Mom is crying. Is it that your belief in Almighty God is more important than mom?” my brother’s tone was filled with reproach. “O God, no matter what difficulties and obstacles I may encounter, I wish to rely on You and follow You to the very end!” I prayed in a firm tone. Whenever I think back to scene after scene of the past, deep emotions well up within me. If not for God’s guidance, I wouldn’t have been able to follow God to this day. My Family Obstruct Me From Accepting the True Way One day in 2018, I was fortunate enough to hear the kingdom gospel of Almighty God. Through a period of seeking and investigating, I saw that the words expressed by Almighty God were so rich that they had revealed many truths, such as what it is to believe in God, the inside story of the Bible, the mystery of incarnation, the mystery of mankind’s future end and destination, and so on. The more I read God’s words, the more I felt they are exactly what the Spirit says to the churches, and I believed from the depths of my heart that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus and then began to attend gatherings. Not long after, however, my family found out that I had accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days, and a battle without weapons thus began … One night I was studying when my mother and brother suddenly broke into my room. “Have you made contact with Eastern Lightning?” asked my mother anxiously. Hearing this, I became very nervous and thus called to God to guide me by giving me wise responses to what my mother said. In earnest, I said, “The Lord Jesus has returned as Almighty God. You too should investigate it.” Holding my hand, my mother said anxiously, “Haoran, I’ve heard about Eastern Lightning from the pastor. It is a church that is being cracked down on by the CCP government in China. The pastor doesn’t allow us to have contact with them.” My brother also said to me with a look of concern, “Haoran, you should see what it says on the internet about Eastern Lightning …” As he said this, my brother held his cellphone in front of my face for me to see the online rumors that condemned Eastern Lightning. “Could it be that The Church of Almighty God is really like what it says on the internet?” I thought. “But through interacting with the brothers and sisters and reading Almighty God’s words during the meetings, I’ve really gained a lot, and The Church of Almighty God is nothing like what the online rumors describe….” But I didn’t know how to handle my mother and brother, so I immediately prayed to God: “O Almighty God, I’ve been certain through reading Your words that You are the returned Lord Jesus. I ask only that You help me and bestow on me the words I should say.” After the prayer, my heart calmed down a little. I then said to them, “All the rumors on the internet were fabricated by the CCP, an atheistic political party which doesn’t believe in God’s existence and is in enmity of God, so how can we believe their words? When it comes to studying the true way, we shouldn’t listen to those rumors, but should practically study the way to see whether it is expressed by God and whether it has the truth. This is because the Lord Jesus said: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’ (John 14:6). Only by practicing according to the Lord’s words can we receive Him. But now we just blindly believe the rumors fabricated by the atheistic CCP government and the pastor without investigating—is this in line with the Lord’s will? The Jewish chief priests, scribes and Pharisees back then stubbornly held on to their own notions, believing that a man who was not called Messiah could not possibly be God, thus arrogantly refusing to accept the truth spoken by the Lord Jesus. They wantonly condemned the Lord Jesus’ work, created many false rumors about Him, and in the end colluded with the Roman government to crucify Him, becoming eternal sinners against God. Let’s look at the pastors and elders nowadays. When faced with the Lord’s return, not only do they not seek, but on the contrary they collude with the CCP government to resist God’s work in the last days, spread the CCP’s rumors in the church to deceive the believers, and forbid the brothers and sisters to listen to the word of Almighty God and accept the true way, firmly controlling the believers in their own hands. Are they any different from the Pharisees who defied God in the time of Jesus? There is a passage of God’s words I’d like to share with you.” As I took out my laptop and was about to read, my mother immediately stopped me and said, looking worried: “Haoran, have you really started to believe in Eastern Lightning? …” Before I had the chance to answer, my brother snatched away my laptop and cellphone. I was stunned and didn’t know what to say. My mother kept trying to persuade me and then began to cry. “See? Mom is crying,” said my brother. “Is it that your belief in Almighty God is more important than mom?” At these words and the sight of my mother’s tears, I felt really bad, so I called out to God in my heart: “O God, my mother and brother are obstructing me from accepting the true way, which is really painful for me, but I know You are the returned Lord Jesus and I don’t want to betray You. Please give me faith so that I can stand witness.” I lowered my head and kept praying to God in my…