Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
[1 Peter 4:12-14 NIV]
Melissa writes:
Well it has been a year since I met my savior, the one who helps me get through life! Jesus.
My life before I met Jesus sucked, it really did. I used to go out every Saturday night, get drunk, drive in random cars, all the while my mom was thinking I was at a friend’s house asleep in bed.
I used to always get in fights with friends, and life wasn’t good at all. I started hanging with people a year ahead of me; those were the people I’d get drunk with. I just wasn’t complete and didn’t know where I was heading in life.
Then october last year my friend had her baptism, and I went and watched. I felt something in that church - I felt the love, hope and faith that there was through all the people.
That night was the start of my journey.
Although of course the journey was not easy. It took three more weeks to get back into the church. It took seven weeks to give my life to God and like ten weeks to start actually making friends.
My school friends didn’t understand my choice and my decision. They hated me going to church. After a while they ditched me.
I felt like everything was dropping from beneath me. I was wondering why God was doing this.
I got home one day and was crying. My youth leader texted me and said, “Look in the Bible I gave you, it has all the answers.”
So I sat there on my bed and opened it up to 1 Peter 4:12-19, which is a scripture about suffering for being a new Christian. And I mean it was all about how God gives us trials to see how we handle situations and how we get through them.
A week after I found that scripture, everything went better. I found new friends, who believed in what I was doing, and everything was great.
I believe that that night on my bed, when I found that scripture, God was speaking to me. He doesn’t have to speak through words of mouth, but he spoke to me through scripture, and I’m forever grateful for that.
My life a year after has changed so much, I can’t believe it. My family and friends have noticed.
I know pretty much everyone at church. I’m in the band, and I do kids camps for unfortunate children. I do kids transport to school, and I don’t get drunk on Saturday nights.
I go to the best youth group in the world, and I’ve got the best leaders and mentors, who are pretty much my family - I couldn’t live without them.
I’m planning on getting baptized myself in March next year. And, well, for my relationship with God, well, I’m still learning. But I’ve learned so much already! I love him. He’s my world. He died for me, and I’m so pleased about how my life is.
I still have hard times, but there are many more good times than bad.
Story posted on Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 and is filed under Praise, Bible, Drugs & Alcohol, Your Stories, Verses, Conversions, Struggles. | 3 Comments »
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Reading these verses makes me see how worthless I am before God and makes me realize that it’s just by God’s grace and mercy that I can come before him even in prayer.
I am one of three men in Raleigh, NC, who are true life miracles of God’s undying love for us all.