I share with you here my concise testimony which I shared in church last year. I have previously shared my encounter in detail here.
Psalm 23:1-3 (NIV)
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
As I shared in my previous testimony, the Lord may be saying to some of you "the time for restoration and healing is now". May the Lord make you lie down on green pastures and lead you to quiet waters.
“An upgrading project”… that’s how I would describe my experience with the New Life Encounter (Men) last year. Just like an upgrading project, I have come to realize in the days following NLE, that God has begun a work of significant restoration through NLE. Having been through the beatings of life… I’ve experienced God’s healing, restoration and renewal. He is also slowly working in my life to make things better than before…
Hello, my name is James. I am from OneLife and am currently also serving in the cell ministry there. I thank God for the opportunity to be able to stand here to share with you about NLE (Men). Frankly speaking, when I was approached more than a month ago to share my testimony for NLE, I was very hesitant. I still remember and am very grateful for the work God did in me through NLE. But being the introverted me, I thought that “this is not for me, leave it to others”. And yet, a part of me battled with that thought and gradually, I became convicted of the need to testify to what God has done in my life, and to bless others as God has blessed me. So, I told God that I am going forth in faith, believing that He will use it for His glory.
I came to RiverLife in August 2005. At that time, I was going through some struggles in my work and personal life, everything seemed to be falling apart. I was deeply wounded by people and circumstances and badly needed respite. In addition to that, I was also burning out at work.
I had backslided for some 15 years. For years, I had rejected friends’ invitation to church, for fear of being looked down upon as a backslider. But this time round, my friend told me that RiverLife was having a service to launch her new building and so I thought I would just come by to visit.
During that service, I was ministered to and rededicated my life to Christ, and God began healing my hurts. It’s interesting how God brought me back during that service (which happens to also be RiverLife’s anniversary). So now every year, I am reminded of my own coming back to God as the church celebrates her anniversary.
Over the course of time, I began to be ministered by God through the weekly sermons, and it began to help nurse my past disappointments, emotional hurts and unforgiveness. But one day, I realised how I had not really gotten over some of my unforgiveness. God impressed upon my heart how I was overwhelmed by unforgiveness and bitterness towards the people who had hurt me, and this was affecting both my personal and spiritual life. And I thought, “It is by no fault of mine that I am this way!”
But my problems in trusting people persisted. Everytime I got emotionally hurt again, I would spiral downwards. It was as if I had hit a glass ceiling and could go no further… I was getting real sick and tired of always yearning to connect with people but yet battling my tendency to withdraw from them for fear of disappointment and hurt again. I was getting very frustrated and desperately needed a breakthrough! And so, I decided I would give NLE a try.
I can recall the day of departure to NLE at Harbourfront, I was waiting around with the other brothers-in-Christ. I remember “beating myself up” emotionally, asking myself “why did I subject myself to this, coming to this retreat all alone?” The introverted side of me was causing me to feel real vulnerable amidst all the unfamiliar faces. I remember asking how I was to survive the next 2 days. I uttered a short prayer to God to watch over me the next 2 days, and help me keep the focus of dealing with my issues.
I had always thought that I had forgiven people for how they hurt me. But on the contrary, I came to realize during NLE how the hurt was still pretty raw and painful. The sessions not only helped to surface my unforgiveness towards others but even towards myself for the things I had done to grieve God. Some of these things have been repressed for so long I had totally forgotten about them. Most importantly, I have come to learn and understand from the heart, how we have been commanded to forgive, how Christ Himself set an example of releasing forgiveness through His work on the cross, how we are all WIP (Works in Progress), and how God not only loves us but wants to be reconciled with us, and to empower us.
Immediately after NLE, I went back to journal about my experience and encounter with God. It was a good time of reflection as I came to full realization and appreciation of the work that God had begun in me. So, I have much to share and can really go on and on about my 2 days experience. But the main thing is that I am really here to encourage those who need a touch from the Lord- take a step of faith and come forth to let Him start His work of significant restoration in you. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven”. And I believe that God is saying to some of you here that it is time for you to release and commit your struggles to Him…allow Him to breakthrough for you.
Are there any areas of unforgiveness and bitterness in your life now? Are there areas which you find difficult to let go? God is willing to work with you and heal you if you yield yourself to Him… Thank you.James Lim Soon Leong
OneLife
RiverLife Church
No comments:
Post a Comment