My first official blog post under Hope is going to be my testimony.
I think it’s only right for you to know me on a personal level before you read my life advice.
People see a testimony in many different ways, so I looked up the true definition of a testimony in order to write this. Testimony is defined broadly as a public recounting of a religious experience. I’m really excited about this because I have the opportunity to talk about God and all that He has done for me.
So, my testimony is: God is faithful.
When I was about 4 years old, I “accepted Jesus into my heart.” I remember this experience pretty vividly. My sister and I were jumping on her bed upstairs, and she mentioned Jesus, explaining Romans 10:9-10 to me (in children’s terms): “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
I believed with a child-like faith and confessed—I was saved.
Not long after I got baptized in water (pictured below), kept going to church, learning, and growing.
Just because I was saved did not mean I didn’t sin or make mistakes—because I did—but God was faithful to forgive me of my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
God’s faithfulness was prominent here because He gave me His salvation when I was younger and then proceeded to be faithful and forgive my every sin: past, present, and future.
Growing up, I tried to earn my salvation many times. I would keep track of my Bible reading, thinking that I’m not a good enough Christian unless I read a certain amount. I held myself to a very high standard, not that it’s bad, but that is not how we are saved. Although I still struggle with this at times, God is faithful to remind me that we are saved by grace and not by works. I can’t read myself to heaven, or do enough good deeds, I can only trust my Father.
Moving forward...any time I went through anything—good or bad—God has been faithful to be with me, by my side.
The summer right before my sophomore year of high school my pastor challenged us to read our Bibles for 15 minutes a day. This changed my life. I grew so much in my relationship with God, and it became a truly deep relationship. Jesus became my best friend, my everything.
A little bit after that, I went through one of the hardest times of my life. I struggled with such sadness, my intrusive thoughts were seemingly uncontrollable, and I didn’t know what to do. Barely making it through the day at school, I brought my Bible to every class. I would sit and cry; it was one of the darkest times I can ever remember.
During that period, there was a worship Wednesday night, and my senior pastor stood on stage and said, “God has a word for one of you today: ‘Do not fret, for I am with you,’” and he began to read Psalm 91. This was a reoccurring theme that God was bringing to me—the theme that He would rescue me.
During that time, I was weak and at my lowest, but He was faithful to be with me, for when I am weak, He is strong.
Those aren’t the only times God has been faithful in my life; there are countless times He has been faithful to answer my prayers, deliver me from my anxious thoughts, use me, speak through me, be by my side, surround me with His presence, and so much more.
Overall, my point is that life can be very hard, as you know, but God is always faithful and He is always good, even when our circumstances are not. He is faithful to keep His promises, to be with us, to love us, and to bring us peace. He is faithful to remain in His nature.
God has always been faithful to me, so my testimony is just that:
He is faithful. He will continue to be faithful, to you and to me.
Grace and peace,
Evelyn
Saved by grace through faith is way too epic