Tonight’s testimony comes to us from a young teenager who is only 13 years old. Both of her parents are ministers, and she has been raised in the church for most of her life. Like so many young people, she decided to try to go her own way in the world when she became a teenager. However, the Word of God says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Prov. 22:6). The Spirit of God would not allow her to leave Him. She learned a powerful lesson about living for God and now shares her story with others. Let’s hear her testimony as she tells her story of salvation.
A Changed and Holy Lifestyle: From Brokenness to God’s Love
by
A R
Emptiness without God. Have you ever felt like something inside was missing, even though everything on the outside was going well? That was me. I felt like I was living my best life, doing well in school, had a lot of friends that I thought were there for me, and I had a boyfriend. Everything that feels right for a teenage girl, usually… but I still felt empty and broken. I thought I had everything figured out, but inside, I was empty. I went to church, but only because my parents required it. I found myself trying to be happy, but deep inside, I was depressed, longing for something that I thought I didn’t deserve. That something that I longed for was the love of God. Even though God sacrificed His only begotten Son so that I could see Him in peace, I was still looking elsewhere because I felt that God was too disappointed in me to accept me.
I attended church, took down notes of the sermons, but I never applied them to my life. I was just there, and I would go home, doing things that I felt were right but weren’t right in the sight of God. I was also doing things that I knew were wrong, and that sent me into a state of depression that I felt I couldn’t get up from. I would try to keep on smiling and act okay around friends, but I wasn’t okay. I was lost, hurt, and broken, and every time I was alone, the pain would come back to me. Psalms 16:11 (KJV) says, “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” This scripture shows that fullness of joy only comes in God’s Presence. I didn’t realize it then, but what I was really longing for was God’s love, the only love that could fill my emptiness. And that’s where my story of change begins.
God’s Unconditional Love. One of the biggest lies that I told myself was that God was too disappointed with me to accept me back. I thought that because of the mistakes I had made and the sinful things I had done, I pushed Him away, and He would never accept me back as His child. But now I realize that was all a lie from the enemy, because God’s love is not based on what we do, it is based on who He is. The Bible story of the prodigal son is a great picture of His love. The son walked away and hit rock bottom, and he thought he could never return home. But the Bible says in Luke 15:20 KJV: “When he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” I have since learned that no matter what you feel like you have done, God will always be there to accept you back with loving arms. In the Bible, Romans 5:8 KJV says: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” No matter what you’ve done or how far you feel like you have fallen, God still loves you. He’s just waiting for you to come to Him with open arms.
The Power of Repentance. When I finally realized that God’s love for me never changed, and that He wasn’t too disappointed in me to accept me back, I was faced with a decision to make. Was I going to keep living this same broken lifestyle, or run to God with open arms? That is what the Bible calls repentance. Repentance is when you leave sin behind and completely turn to God—when you surrender all to Him. Repentance isn’t just saying, “Lord, I’m sorry.” You must mean it from the heart.
The Bible says in 1 John 1:9 (KJV), “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I had to confess my sins to God, and He forgave me. He took away all the hurt, the pain, the loneliness, and the depression, and changed me at the age of 13. I’m no longer the same, for I am changed by the Power of God.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV) says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” If he did it for me, He can do it for you. God bless you.
Perhaps after hearing this testimony, you will also want to be saved. You may feel conviction for your life of sin and desire to be set free. Perhaps you want to live for God in the same way that she continues to live for Him today. You can! God loves you so much that He sent his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for you so that your soul can be saved.
The method for salvation that God put in place is a very simple one. You simply repent of your sins, invite Jesus to save you, and commit to living for Him. He is well able to save your soul and keep you if you want to be kept. Next, ask God for the power of the Holy Ghost, with the evidence of speaking in tongues. You need this power to live the life that He requires.
Repeat the words that I will provide, or similar ones, and you are saved. Remember, I can provide the words, but you must give the sincerity. Say, “Father, forgive me of all my sins. Save my soul. If you save me, I will live for You forever.”
Once you make your commitment to God and you mean it with all your heart, your soul will be immediately translated from the Kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. Jesus will come into your heart and let you know that you are saved.
Next, ask God for the infilling of the Holy Ghost. The Bible says in Luke 11:13 that He will give the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks for it.
13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
Ask for the infilling of the Holy Ghost in this way: “Father, fill me with the Holy Ghost.” You will know that you are filled with the Spirit because you will speak in new tongues. You will receive a prayer language that empowers your spirit to communicate with God and empowers you to live a holy life.
Mark 16:17 says:
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
Acts 1:8 also tells us that we will receive the power that we need to live the life that God requires when we receive the Holy Ghost.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Persist in prayer until you receive the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in tongues and the power to live holy.
Once you are saved, you are a new creature in Christ Jesus, and you need to become a part of a body of believers, a church, which will help you in your new walk with the Lord. Read from the Holy Bible every day and expect the Lord to speak to you from His Word. I invite you who are in the US to look for one of the 30+ Full Gospel Holy Temple Churches near you. They are listed on our website, https://www.FGHT.org.
I also invite you to join my church’s YouTube community. We livestream our services on Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sunday mornings and evenings, and would love for you to join us. We love you and are praying that God will bless you abundantly. You may also contact me with questions, prayer requests, or to simply discuss the Lord through the comments section of any of the 240+ posts on my blog, www.strollingthrougharosegardencalledlife.blog. May God bless you all.
