Hong Wei, Beijing
August 15, 2012
On July 21, 2012, a very heavy rain began to fall. That day I just happened to have a duty to perform, so after our meeting was finished and I saw that the rain had lightened up a bit, I rushed home on my bike. Only when I got onto the highway did I discover that water was rushing down from the mountain like a waterfall, and the road was so covered in splashing rainwater that the surface couldn’t be seen very clearly anymore. This sight made me feel somewhat frightened, so in my heart I called out persistently, “God! I implore You to add to my faith and courage. Right now is a time that You want me to stand testimony. If You allow me to be swept away by the water, then this has Your good intentions in it, too. I am willing to submit to Your orchestration and arrangements.” After I prayed like this, I became calmer; I no longer felt that afraid, and faced the storm head-on continuously the whole way home. Who could have known that an even greater danger lay waiting for me? On the road to my home was a very steep slope. Due to the newly laid asphalt and the rainwater running over the slope, as I went downhill the bike’s front two breaks wouldn’t work. At the bottom of this hill was an auxiliary road to National Route 108, and on the other side of it was a stand of trees. Beyond that was the main current of the river; if I was unable to reduce my speed, then I would have no choice but to crash into those trees, and it was even possible that I would fall into the river. The consequences of that…. I thought to myself, Now I’m done for! Just as I was thinking this, some force from somewhere suddenly knocked me from my bike. The bike’s inertia swept me along with it, and did not stop moving until I got to the intersection at the bottom of the hill. Just then two cars happened to drive past, side by side, right in front of me. It was so close! Luckily, right in the middle of this crisis, God had saved me.
After I got home, the rain started falling even harder, and in the blink of an eye the water had risen to the seventh of our house’s front steps. By then, power lines had fallen down, too, smashing our neighbor’s solar panels. The whole time growing up, I had never seen such a flood. By the time I had changed out of my sopping wet clothes and had returned to the courtyard to have a look, the water had risen to the thirteenth step and was just about to pour into the courtyard. I quickly closed the front gate and began to gather up the mp4 player I use to listen to the hymns and sermons, as well as my collection of books of God’s utterances. My mother, who is also a believer, gathered up her books, too, and we were getting ready to head up the mountain at any moment. Just then we suddenly thought, We can take our own books with us, but many of the church’s books are still here in the house; how can we carry them? Hurriedly, we knelt down before God and prayed: “God! We can take our own books with us, but there are still too many of the church’s books stockpiled here for us to carry. We do not want the church’s property to get damaged. God, please look after them and protect them. We have no way of doing so anymore. However, we are willing to rely on You, and submit to Your orchestration.” After praying, I saw yet another act of God. Originally, the floodwaters were rushing down toward us with powerfully destructive force, but as they passed our home, they suddenly slowed down and the current lessened; it even slowed to just a trickle. Because of this, the church’s books were not damaged one bit. That night the neighbors in front of us and behind us all fled because the water had entered their courtyards, but under God’s watchful eye, we remained protected, and enjoyed a peaceful night.
In the midst of this experience, I witnessed wonderful acts of God with my own eyes. Given that my life was spared due to God’s protection, I cannot in good conscience neglect to repay the debt of love I owe to Him. I must further spread the gospel and bear testimony to Him so that more people can come before Almighty God as soon as possible. Our rebellion has provoked God’s anger, causing all manner of disasters to befall us over and over; these are God’s reminders and warnings to us. Let us treasure this final opportunity given by God to fulfill our duties, and satisfy God and console His heart. At the same time, in the process of fulfilling our duties, let us, to an even greater degree, attain knowledge of God and witness God’s acts.
From The Battle Between Justice and Evil
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