Friday, May 4, 2018

The Secret to Saving a Marriage (Part 2) —Almighty God Saved My Marriage


The Secret to Saving a Marriage (Part 2) —Almighty God Saved My Marriage
                                                                              Li Quan
However, when I shared the gospel with my wife, she would not accept it. Then, I asked the brothers and sisters from the church to come and share the gospel with my wife, but she still wasn’t willing to listen and she didn’t want to have them as guests. In light of these circumstances, I could only entrust my eager hopes for my wife to God.
One day, I read this passage of God’s word: “Your practice and revelations in real life are the testimony of God, they are man’s living out and the testimony of God, and this is truly enjoying God’s love; when you have experienced to this point, the due effect will have been achieved. You are possessed of actual living out and your every action is looked upon with admiration by others. Your appearance is unremarkable, but you live out a life of the utmost piety, … admired by others—and these are the people who have testimony, and are the manifestation of God” (“Those Who Love God Will Forever Live Within His Light” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “Everything that happens to people is when God needs them to stand firm in their testimony to Him. Nothing major has happened to you at the moment, and you do not bear great testimony, but every detail of your daily life relates to the testimony to God. If you can win the admiration of your brothers and sisters, your family members, and everyone around you; if, one day, the unbelievers come, and admire all that you do, and see that all that God does is wonderful, then you will have borne testimony” (“Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s word had shown me the road I needed to take, and that was that one must use God’s word to change one’s old disposition and change one’s own depraved lifestyle. The only way for me to witness God and for me to bring my wife benefit and edification was that I let her see these changes in me and see the work God has done upon me. I thought back to the time before I had faith in God when I lived a life based on Satan’s rules. I had been preoccupied with hedonism and acting arrogant to make my wife wait on me. I was so out of touch I wasn’t being how a person should be. It was all the demonic image of Satan who had harmed my wife and children so much. Now, my wife harbored resentment against me and had this set idea that I needed to make allowances for her. What’s more, I had faith in God now and I had to conduct myself based on God’s word and live like a genuine person. I should live out the reality of the truth to testify God.
Hereafter, I began putting God’s word into practice and no longer put myself first. I also endeavored to never focus solely on my own enjoyment, much less use chauvinism to oppress my wife by ordering her to do this and do that. When I saw my wife wake up early in the morning to go to the market to buy stock for the shop, I too got up early to read God’s word for spiritual devotion, and then help my wife with the household chores. I would make breakfast, tidy up, and sometimes even do laundry until I had to go to work to arrange the work schedules of my employees at the site. Regarding social obligations at work, I no longer used mankind’s methods to maintain them. Instead, I prayed before God and relied on His wisdom to keep away from temptation and break those bad habits. When I did these things I felt an incredible sense of peace of mind. At the same time, since I was putting truth into practice, I began seeing God’s blessings. Even though I wasn’t participating in social events, all of my work projects easily made money. When I sorted out our earnings, I gave the money to my wife and told her, “Use it however you need to. In the past, I had always wasted my money on carousing and I was really on the wrong path. I brought you so much hardship. Now, I want you to manage the money!” Upon hearing this, my wife said to me in a teasing tone, “Oh? So now you are able to do some things around the house and treat your home like a home. Has your conscience awakened?” When I heard these words, I was silently grateful for the salvation God had given me. Furthermore, I started doing all I could to help my children with their studies and became active in their parent-teacher conferences. After meals, I would discuss with my wife and children my own experience of having faith in God and witness to them about how God had guided me and changed me. Gradually, my family became much closer.
After some time had passed, brothers and sisters from the church came to my home to fellowship and my wife sat beside us listening. My wife proactively asked the brothers and sisters about life’s problems that don’t have solutions, and they responded to her with God’s word and found a path for her to take. I heard my wife say to the brothers and sisters, “Your fellowshiping has solved the actual difficulties I was facing, I’m so thankful for you all! When you have time, please come back and visit us. Even if Li Quan isn’t here, you are welcome to come over.” I felt incredibly happy when I heard my wife say that. This really is an example of God’s mysterious work for my wife to undergo a change like this!
One day, I came home and saw my wife earnestly reading the word of God. I quickly went over to her and excitedly asked, “When did you start reading God’s word? Do you understand it?” She responded, a little embarrassed, “I have actually been sneaking peeks at it for a while now, as well as listening to hymns. After I saw the changes you underwent after believing in Him and I saw how wholesome and dignified were the brothers and sisters who came to our home, unlike your former hedonistic friends, that’s when I felt that this was the true way. Slowly, I began to enjoy reading God’s word, listening to hymns, and even watching gospel videos. Now, I read them every day….” When I heard my wife say these words, I really began to feel that only God can change and save people and I gave incessant praises to God in my heart. God had rescued me from depression and suffering and He cleansed and changed me with His word. God allowed me to somewhat live like a true person should and through me, my wife saw how mighty God is, and thereby she received salvation. God’s work really is wonderful, and He is so wise and worthy of our love! I have received God’s great salvation and I truly thank and praise Him!
Afterward, my children began to walk the path of having faith in God. We often read God’s word together as a family, and we love fellowshiping about our experiences and knowledge of God’s word. The whole family feels joy in the warm embrace of God’s love. After my wife accepted God’s work of the last days, her temperament became much more cheerful and her overall mental outlook got better and better. My older brother and his wife both noted how much my wife had changed after believing in God. She had become so lively and talkative; it was like she was a completely different person. My niece even looked at me, surprised, and said, “Uncle, your complexion is so nice now and your wrinkles are gone. You’ve also filled out quite a bit; you seem so much younger!” Our relatives and neighbors all saw how nice our family had become and looked at us with admiration. This was especially true while I helped my wife run our business and the ladies around her would say, “Look how happy they are together as husband and wife. They seem to get a treasure!” I felt so good inside when I heard people say things like that. I was fully aware that this was the work of Almighty God’s salvation and that His greatness saved my marriage. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for God’s salvation of me and my family!

And now, when I look back on the time when my marriage was on the brink, I have no words to describe it. I had tried everything, but nothing worked, but through God’s work it is restored. It is through Almighty God’s guidance that my wife and I walk the same path together and I have achieved what I long desired for my family: a peaceful, happy family and life. The experience has truly shown me that only by coming before God, accepting His word and putting it into practice will one receive His blessings and protection and then any pain or difficulty that someone endures will be resolved! Almighty God’s work in the last days is the true path to happiness! Hereafter, I will follow God even more closely and walk the correct path to repay the grace of God’s salvation!

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