The Price of My Faith

I went with my youth group to a country-side church to hold the church services there. Just seeing how happy they were to see so many young people in their church was enough for me to make me happy that I went. Though I was not planning on it, I was happy that I decided to go as soon as I got there.

At noon, before the AY program, I started to talk to one of the ladies from the church. And she shared with me some things that made me realize one more time that I am so blessed.

She became an Adventist two years ago. Once she started to attend the church, she encountered problems in her own home. Her husband, mother and father-in-law started beating her. To make things worse, she became pregnant though she was in her early forties. Many times she was beaten so hard that she had to leave the house. One time she went to an Adventist shelter, but couldn’t live without her two other kids who were at home, so she decided to go back. Another time, she told me that she was heading to the church when her mother-in-law came with a basin full of dirty water and splashed it on her. She used to work , but, since she has a one-year old son, she cannot work anymore. Many times, she didn’t have anything to put on the table, but God provided for her so far.

So, while she was telling me about her hardships, instead of being sorry for herself , I felt happiness that she found the Lord in her voice. “I don’t want to go back in the world” she told me. “I am so happy that I have found the Lord.” How could she, when she has so many problems at home? some would ask.

Yes, some of us have to pay a price for following the Lord. In fact, all those who truly want to follow the Lord have to pay a price. For some the price is smaller, for some bigger. I have a family of friends who lost their four year old son to malaria while serving God as missionaries in Chad (you can listen to their testimony here). Do you think that this made them give up to the mission work? No, it didn’t. They are still there.

Yes, some of us are asked to leave family and friends behind, some of us are asked to leave the comfort, or maybe some other thing we hold dear to our hearts. How much are we willing to give up, just to be able to be close to the Lord?

I believe that God is sending a “wilderness experience” in the life of each one of us to prepare us to follow and serve Him. I am so encouraged by the story of Joseph, and Daniel, and Ruth and Esther. They are people who faced trials, who passed through wilderness where they learnt to follow the Lord. When God is sending us in the wilderness, it is because he wants to prepare us for something great, for the big plans that He has for us.

So, how much are we willing to pay just to be able to be with the Lord?

He Knows My Fears

One of my biggest fears when I came to Bucharest was that I will not be able to find a church with a group of active young people. I hated the thought of going to church, sitting in a chair and listening to the sermon and than going back home, having no friends in church and doing nothing for the Lord. The perspective of not finding my place in the church scared me to death. Why was I so scared? Because I spent several summers in Bucharest in the past years and I have felt like a stranger. I simply found no joy in going to church. Sabbath School was boring and I hated to be a mere spectator.

While looking for an apartment, one of my friends told me about a girl who is also looking for an apartment and some girls to rent it with her. I didn’t know her, but we started talking on the phone and looking for an apartment to rent together. I didn’t know who she was and I simply do now know why I trusted her, but I know now that it was God who allowed my heart to trust.

Not only that we rented together an apartment, but also started to attend the same church. The first Sabbath I went with her to church, her youth group decided to have a rehearsal at noon. They were preparing to go to a country-side church and spend a whole Sabbath there to bring joy to the 30 members of that church.

I didn’t want to stay, but Christina insisted that I stay and sing with them. Though I didn’t know most of the young people, I felt at home. It so “happened” that they didn’t have anybody to play the piano for them, so I found something to do right away. And when I think that this was only my third Sabbath in Bucharest, I realize that the answer to my prayers came faster than I anticipated.

I am so thankful that the Lord showed me one more time that there is nothing I should be afraid of, because He cares about my needs... I am so happy I can gladly go to church and to youth meetings, having a Sabbath School lesson to look forward to, and knowing that I am going to meet friends, people who, like me, are seeking for the Lord. I am so happy that I can do something for the Lord with this youth group.

Yes, I realize that my faith was so small... I am so humbled by God’s love and care for me. He knew my need and had a solution prepared for me long before I was aware of it. What can I say, other than: Lord, I am in awe of You.

When God Is Enough

Valentine's Day is here. I realized that when I saw the decorations in town. While surfing the net, I also came across some articles on the same topic: A Single Girl's (tried and true) Guide to Valentine's Day or How to Survive Valentine's Day If You Are Single. And all I could do was smile. But even though I had a smile on my face, I realized that they reflect a sad reality. There are a lot of lonely people for whom the burden of singleness is too heavy to bear. And this type of articles are meant to help people forget about the emptiness they feel in their hearts. They try to give some shallow solutions to a deep problem. They try to find some short-term solutions and they may work for a while. But they do not solve the real problem.

So, while thinking about singleness and loneliness, my thoughts took me back in time to the day when I first realized that marriage will not make me happy. I also remember the day when I understood for the first time that God has to be enough and everything for me if I want to be happy. That was the beginning of an unforgetful journey with God. A journey with ups and downs. It took time for the truth to sink in. It took time for me to learn to let God control this area of my life. It took time to learn to be content in my singleness. And even though I was slow, I am happy that God had not given up on me.

If today I am happy as a single person, is because God is enough for me. He is everything for me. If I am content, it is because I chose to enjoy life as it is now. I chose to serve and I find joy and fulfillment in my service. I chose to give Him my future. I chose to give Him my dreams and my desires. I chose to give Him the pen to write my love story in His own time. And I know that He is working on it. Marriage is not the ultimate relationship we were created for. A relationship will not make us happy if we were not happy before. Until God is enough, we will never have enough.

Yes, there are days when I feel lonely. There are times when I ask Him: how long? And, yes, I have unanswered questions. But since God is enough, I can live with unanswered questions, I can still be content and happy because I give Him my burden, because I trust Him and because I know that, whatever He does, He does it for my best. You see, I can enjoy life because it is not about me. It is about His plans for me and my salvation. If He promised to lead me, why should I worry? If it is all about me being saved, why would I want a relationship at the price of my salvation? I asked Him to do anything that it takes to mold me and shape me into His likeness, and I believe that this is what He is doing right now.

So, praise God that I can say today: Jesus Christ is more than enough for me. It is all because of Him and His love for me.

The Power of the Gospel

I listened to a sermon while coming to my office this morning. In fact, I am taking an online class about the Holy Spirit (I will tell you more about it later on) and one of the requirements of the class is to listen to a sermon every week and answer some questions about what I listened to. So, I was listening to Dan Vis' message when it struck me. It is not a new message, but it is just what I needed to hear this morning. The Gospel is a source of power, the Gospel is very practical and simple. The Gospel is not just theory or something abstract. It is supposed to be a power source in our life. The reason why so many young people are leaving the church today is that nobody has taught them how to make the Gospel a source of power in their lives, said Dan Vis. And he is so right!

Than, he goes on to talk about the connection between the Gospel and the Holy Spirit, and the power of the will. He reminded me of the first time I finally understood how everything works. I remember that I was in the jungles of Guyana. I had many struggles, I had things I was trying to surrender and give up to, but I failed every time I tried. Than, one evening, our principal's wife had the talk for the evening worship and she shared with us something that I will never forget, something that changed my life forever. That evening I finally understood that I have to understand the true force of the will, that everything depends on the right action of the will. God gave us the power of choice. We cannot chose to do what is right, we cannot change our hearts. But we can choose to give our will to Him. Than, He will work in us to will and to do as He wants (Steps to Christ, 47). From than on, I made a habit of surrendering my life to Him every morning, before I get out of my bed. And life was so much different from that day on...

Then, this morning I understood something else that I am sure will change my life completely. "Our will is to be yielded to Him that we may receive it again purified, refined..." (Thoughts from the Mount Of Blessings, 62). So, when we give our will to God, He transforms it and gives is back to us to exercise it.

I could go on and tell you all the wonderful things that God has been teaching me through FAST Ministries. FAST Ministries is an endtime movement, committed to calling God's people back to the Bible. Their goal is to equip believers everywhere with cutting-edge tools to memorize Scripture, apply it to their life, and pass it on to others. Meeting Dan Vis & team over a decade ago and their friendship over all these years has been a great blessing for me. I just want to encourage you to visit FAST website. It has many great resources. One of the things I like about Dan Vis is that he is really practical. I believe that the Gospel is very simple and practical. And that is the way he presents it.