By Yixin, China

Chen Xiao had a warm and harmonious little family, and her husband doted on her. She also got along very well with her parents-in-law and neighbors, and her relatives and neighbors envied her greatly. In the spring of 2008, Chen Xiao was fortunate enough to accept Almighty God’s work of the last days. By reading God’s words, Chen Xiao understood that humans are created by God, that the sunshine, air, and rain they enjoy are all provided by God, and that she had to do her duty as a created being to propagate God’s gospel, bringing more people before God to accept His salvation. Chen Xiao happily joined the ranks of those preaching the gospel. However, this good situation didn’t last long, as the CCP sought to eliminate God’s church, fabricating various rumors to slander and defame The Church of Almighty God, and launching wanton arrests of those who believed in Almighty God. Her husband, who was working away from home, after falling for the rumors, often advised Chen Xiao over the phone to give up her faith, and her family began to beleaguer and pressure her as well.

One afternoon in the winter of 2010, not long after Chen Xiao came home from preaching the gospel, her older brother arrived, pointing at Chen Xiao and asking, “Are you still believing in God and going around preaching the gospel? Don’t think I’m an idiot! The state doesn’t allow this belief in God, and if you really do end up arrested, we won’t be able to show our face in public again!” As he spoke, he took out his phone to call their parents. Before long, they’d all arrived. Chen Xiao realized her brother had brought in their parents to stop her from believing in God, so she called out to God in her heart to keep her heart from being disturbed. Her mother pleaded with her, “Honey, your faith makes me worry all day. I’m afraid that one day you’ll be arrested by the police, and that our whole family will suffer because of it. You should listen to your mother, just drop this faith of yours.” Seeing her mother pleading with her so persistently, Chen Xiao thought, “It wasn’t easy for her to raise me, and now I’m making her worried and scared. Isn’t this unfilial of me?” Chen Xiao couldn’t bear to look at her mother’s face anymore and turned her head away. At this moment, her father, smoking, said solemnly, “Listen kid! Just do as we say, as they say, ‘Ignore your elders at your peril.’ How are good people supposed to survive in this world of ours? We have no relatives in power, so if you really do end up getting arrested, not only will you suffer, but you’ll also get fined, and if things go badly, you could lose everything. During the Cultural Revolution, your great uncle was arrested by the government for being part of a ‘religious society’ and given a long sentence. He almost died in prison. A wise man knows when to retreat and shouldn’t throw eggs against rocks! Kid, just listen to me and give up this faith. Let’s just live quietly so that the whole family won’t be dragged into this.” Chen Xiao couldn’t bear to let her elderly parents worry so much, and worried about what she’d do if she really did end up getting arrested by the police and her family was implicated. On one side were her elderly parents, and on the other was believing in the true God and following the right path. Chen Xiao was caught in a dilemma. Then, her brother said firmly, “The CCP government is atheistic. You won’t have any peace so long as you believe in God. Not only will you suffer, but our whole family will also be implicated. Do you have to be so stubborn? Just listen to our parents and drop this faith.” At this moment, Chen Xiao found herself in a state of confusion and was unsure of how to proceed. She could only silently pray in her heart, “God, I feel weak in the face of my family’s obstruction. Please enlighten and guide me.” After praying, Chen Xiao recalled a passage of God’s words: “In every step of work that God does on people, externally it appears to be interactions between people, as if born of human arrangements or from human disturbance. But behind the scenes, every step of work, and everything that happens, is a wager made by Satan before God, and requires people to stand firm in their testimony to God” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God). Chen Xiao understood from God’s words that, while it seemed that her family was obstructing her, in reality, this was Satan wanting to use her family’s disturbing her to make her abandon and betray God, thereby making her lose her opportunity for salvation. Satan is truly insidious and malicious! Furthermore, everyone’s fate is in God’s hands, and the things one should experience and the pain they should suffer in life have all been predetermined by God. Whether she would be arrested or whether her family would be implicated had also been decided by God. She had to entrust everything to God and submit to His orchestrations and arrangements. Chen Xiao silently thanked God for His guidance and made a resolution: No matter how much her family obstructed her, she would never yield to them, refusing to allow Satan’s schemes to succeed. She firmly said to her family, “I believe in God and walk the right path. I don’t do illegal things or participate in politics. I preach the gospel to bring more people before God for salvation. This is a good thing! You don’t dare to believe in God because you’re afraid of being arrested, so I won’t force you, but I won’t let you interfere with my faith. I am determined to believe in God to the very end.” Her husband, hearing this, looked helpless and kept smoking with his head down. Seeing Chen Xiao’s firm resolve, her parents left angrily. Her brother then said harshly to Chen Xiao’s husband, “If she doesn’t listen and sticks to this faith of hers, break her legs!” After saying this, he stormed off in anger. After hearing her brother’s words, Chen Xiao felt afraid and confused, “But you’re my brother! My faith in God is a good thing, how can you be so heartless toward me?” As she thought about how believing in God means enduring misunderstanding and rejection from relatives, she wondered how she was to walk the road ahead. Chen Xiao couldn’t help feeling a bit weak and hurriedly called out to God in her heart, “God, please grant me faith and strength, and lead me along the way ahead.”

Afterward, Chen Xiao recalled a passage of God’s words: “There is not one person among you who is protected by the law—you are, instead, sanctioned by the law. Even more problematic is that people do not understand you: Be it your relatives, your parents, your friends, or your colleagues, none of them understand you. When you are abandoned by God, it is impossible for you to continue living on earth, but even so, people cannot bear to be away from God, which is the significance of God’s conquest of people, and is the glory of God” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Is the Work of God As Simple As Man Imagines?). Chen Xiao pondered God’s words and understood that the CCP denies God and opposes God, that by believing in God in an atheistic country ruled by the CCP, a person will suffer persecution and arrests from the CCP, as well as misunderstanding or even rejection from one’s family, and that all of these things are unavoidable. In the last days, God has come to express the truth to save humanity, and the CCP madly opposes and condemns Christ, arresting and persecuting Christians and using all sorts of despicable means to obstruct people from believing in God and following Him, and far and wide, they put up banners and posters, fabricating rumors and defaming and discrediting The Church of Almighty God, fabricating all kinds of lies to slander and condemn God’s work. Even the family members of Christians are suppressed and persecuted, with one person’s faith implicating the whole family. This is done in order to incite dissatisfaction and hatred toward Christians from their families. Many who don’t understand the truth have been blinded by the CCP, becoming its accomplices. Chen Xiao thought about her own family being misled and intimidated by these baseless rumors. Out of their fear of being implicated, they stood by the CCP and persecuted and obstructed her faith in God, throwing a once harmonious family into turmoil. The mastermind behind all this was the CCP, this satanic regime! Chen Xiao saw clearly that the CCP was the incarnation of Satan, a demon that devours people! She hated this demon from the bottom of her heart, and made a resolution to break free of its bonds and constraints to follow God forever.

One day in the winter of 2011, after breakfast, Chen Xiao went out to preach the gospel. Meanwhile, as her husband went out drinking with friends, a friend provoked Chen Xiao’s husband, saying, “The state doesn’t allow people to believe in God. Chen Xiao believes in God and goes all over the place preaching the gospel, and if you don’t keep her in check and she ends up getting arrested, it could spell trouble for you!” At noon, Chen Xiao returned home and when she saw her husband rummaging through things, she felt her heart in her throat. Her husband found a piece of paper under the board used for tailoring on which God’s words were written, and while tearing it up, he roared, “How many times have I told you? The state doesn’t allow belief in God, yet you still believe! Why won’t you listen?” Saying this, he punched Chen Xiao in the chest several times. Chen Xiao staggered back a few steps from the blows, then regained her composure and angrily said, “I do no harm by believing in God, why won’t you just let me believe in God?” When Chen Xiao said this, her husband began to kick her hard in the leg, and as he did this he said, “When I go out, my friends laugh at me for not being able to control my own wife. I’m losing face! I’ll show them who’s in control!” Their son hurried over to intervene, but the husband kept kicking her, and Chen Xiao stumbled and nearly fell. To escape being beaten by her husband, Chen Xiao ran out the door. Her husband quickly followed, picking up a brick from the roadside and throwing it at Chen Xiao, hitting her on the heel. She ran for her life, and when she looked back, she saw her husband chasing her with a thick stick about several feet long. Chen Xiao panicked and, not far from her escape, was struck down by her husband with the stick. Her husband raised the stick again and beat Chen Xiao in a frenzy, cursing her while he hit her, “I’ll beat you to death if you don’t drop this faith of yours!” He didn’t stop until the stick broke into two. Chen Xiao kept calling out to God in her heart and then a neighbor came out and pulled her husband away. Chen Xiao was beaten so badly that her whole body was in unbearable pain. She struggled to get up and limped to her older sister’s house. When her sister saw Chen Xiao’s arms and legs covered in bruises, she felt heartbroken and said with tears in her eyes, “All you’re doing is believing in your God, and yet he is so cruel! How could he beat you like this?”

That night, Chen Xiao lay in bed, tossing and turning in pain and unable to sleep. She thought of how her family used to be harmonious, and her husband had never argued with her. But just because of her faith in God, her husband had resorted to beating her and cursing at her. Chen Xiao felt weak inside, and kept calling out to God, “God, facing persecution and rejection from my family and the CCP’s arrests, I feel so weak. How am I to move forward?” After praying, Chen Xiao recalled a passage of God’s words she had read during a gathering: “Perhaps you all remember these words: ‘For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.’ You have all heard these words before, yet none of you understood their true meaning. Today, you are profoundly aware of their true significance. These words shall be fulfilled by God during the last days, and they shall be fulfilled in those who have been brutally persecuted by the great red dragon in the land where it lies coiled. The great red dragon persecutes God and is the enemy of God, and so, in this land, people are subjected to humiliation and persecution because of their belief in God, and these words are fulfilled in you, this group of people, as a result” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Is the Work of God As Simple As Man Imagines?). Pondering over God’s words, Chen Xiao understood that now that God has come in the last days to work and save people in the country where the opposition and persecution against God is most severe, those who believe in God must experience this persecution and tribulation, and they must endure these hardships. God uses such situations to impart truth to people, allowing them to see the evil, despicable, insidious, and vicious nature of the great red dragon amidst persecution and tribulation, and to recognize its demonic face as an enemy of God. This enables people to reject it, forsake it, and stand firm in their testimony for God, humiliating Satan. Only those who can ultimately stand firm in their testimony after experiencing persecution and tribulation are qualified to receive eternal blessings. She also thought about how the supreme God came to work and save humanity in an atheistic country, enduring being ridiculed, insulted, slandered, rejected, persecuted, and hunted by those of the secular world. He has had nowhere to lay His head, yet He has never given up on saving humanity. Chen Xiao thought to herself, “What is my little suffering compared to that?” Upon thinking this, Chen Xiao felt that her faith was too small. She realized that her being negative and weak because of this little suffering, and even misunderstanding and complaining against God, meant she truly lacked conscience and reason! She also recognized that suffering to gain salvation in her faith was valuable and meaningful, and she kept thanking and praising God in her heart! As she felt a greater sense of liberation in her heart, the pain in her body also lessened significantly, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.

The next morning, Chen Xiao returned home. Her husband pointed at her and said, “If you just say you’ll give up your faith, I’ll treat you like a princess and provide for you, and you won’t have to do any work. If you just drop your faith, you can do whatever you want!” On hearing this, Chen Xiao thought to herself, “Ever since we married, I’ve been working tirelessly, staying up late and working hard to make clothing for others to support the household. I’ve exhausted myself to the point that I’m riddled with ailments, and I’ve spent my days pouring my heart and soul into this family. Now just because of my faith, you’ve disregarded our marital bond and beaten me mercilessly. Are you even human?” Chen Xiao realized that her husband wouldn’t stop until he’d forced her to betray God. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She recalled a passage of God’s words she had read before: “Why does a husband love his wife? Why does a wife love her husband? Why are children dutiful to their parents? Why do parents dote on their children? What sorts of intentions do people actually harbor? Is their intent not to satisfy their own plans and selfish desires? … There is no relationship between a believing husband and a nonbelieving wife, and there is no relationship between believing children and nonbelieving parents; these two types of people are completely incompatible. Prior to entering into rest, one has physical relatives, but once one has entered into rest, one will no longer have any physical relatives to speak of” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together). She also recalled that the Lord Jesus said: “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love his own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18–19). Chen Xiao pondered on God’s words. She thought back on how she had worked herself to the bone to earn money and support her family, taking care of both the elderly and children. Only when her husband benefited did he show her care. After she found God, her husband’s true colors showed because he came to fear that the CCP arresting his wife would implicate him and threaten his interests. He disregarded their marital bond entirely to protect his own interests, doing whatever he could to obstruct her faith in God, even resorting to violence. It was then that Chen Xiao realized her husband had no true affection for her at all. Believers and nonbelievers are truly incompatible. Her husband’s essence was that of a devil who hates and opposes God. He was an enemy of God. Thinking of this, Chen Xiao understood how she had to practice. Seeing that the time for a gathering was approaching, she wisely said to her husband, “Since you’ve been so cruel to me, I clearly see what kind of person you really are. I am determined to believe in God! My whole body is still in pain from the beating you gave me, and I need to go get an injection and some medicine.” After saying this, Chen Xiao went to the gathering.

In the summer of 2017, Chen Xiao went to a gathering after breakfast, as usual. After the gathering, just as she reached her doorstep, she saw her mother-in-law and mother sitting outside. Chen Xiao saw their pale faces, still streaked with tears, but she didn’t know what had happened. When she saw Chen Xiao, her mother-in-law hurriedly said to her, “This morning, two police cars arrived with a group of officers, and they said someone reported that you believe in God and they wanted to take you to the police station for ‘re-education.’ I told them you were traveling, but they didn’t believe me and kept asking about your whereabouts. They also said that when you return, we’ve got to call them right away, and if we don’t, we’ll be considered to be harboring a criminal.” Her mother wiped her tears and said tremulously, “You returned just as the police had left, that was really close! You should hurry and go hide at your sister’s place!” Hearing that the police had come to arrest her, Chen Xiao felt very nervous and her heart raced. Without thinking much, she rushed inside to grab the books of God’s words and some clothes, and quickly rode away on her electric bike. Upon hearing that the police had come to arrest Chen Xiao, her husband went with a cousin to Chen Xiao’s sister’s house. Her cousin advised her, “The government is currently arresting believers all over the place, and the police said that believing in God is illegal in China, and as long as there is someone in the family who believes in God, the children won’t get admitted into university or be allowed to join the military, and the elderly will have their welfare revoked. If you continue in this faith of yours, you’ll drag the elders and children down with you. You need to consider the whole family.” Her husband said, “When all’s said and done, the arm can’t twist the thigh, and if you continue to believe in your God, our family won’t be able to carry on living!” Chen Xiao felt somewhat weak upon hearing her husband’s words, and she thought, “Our child is about to take the university entrance exam, and if my belief in God stops our child from going to university, and my family ends up getting implicated, then my family is sure to blame me.” Chen Xiao felt a wave of distress, so she urgently prayed to God, “God! Today I face this situation by Your permission, and I know that the CCP is also in Your hands. Please enlighten and guide me to understand Your intention.” After praying, Chen Xiao recalled a couple of passages of God’s words she had read before: “From the moment you come crying into this world, you begin to fulfill your responsibilities. For the sake of God’s plan and His ordination, you play your role and start your life’s journey. Whatever your background may be, and whatever the journey ahead of you may be, in any case, no one can escape the orchestrations and arrangements of Heaven, and no one can control their own fate, for only He who is sovereign over all things is capable of such work” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God Is the Source of Man’s Life). “What occupation one pursues, what one does for a living, and how much wealth one amasses in life are not decided by one’s parents, one’s talents, one’s efforts or one’s ambitions, but are predetermined by the Creator” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique III). Chen Xiao came to understand from God’s words that a person’s fate is predestined by Heaven. She thought, “I am just a small created being, unable to control my own fate. Moreover, isn’t the fate of my child also in God’s hands? Whether my child can go to university isn’t determined by any government or person. Whether I’ll be arrested by the police isn’t determined by the police either.” Having understood this, Chen Xiao knew how to practice. As for whether their child could go to university and whether she would be arrested and imprisoned, she was willing to entrust all these things to God and submit to His sovereignty and arrangements.

Chen Xiao’s husband saw her firm resolve and that she was determined to continue in her faith. He said to her, “You’ve attracted the attention of the police and need to hide. You can’t keep sticking your neck out anymore. Why don’t you come with me to work in Xinjiang to hide for the time being?” Chen Xiao realized that her husband wanted to take her to the great desert, where she wouldn’t be able to read God’s words or attend gatherings with her brothers and sisters. His purpose was still to hinder her faith in God. Chen Xiao kept praying in her heart, asking God to give her the faith to overcome Satan’s schemes. After praying, she firmly said, “I’m not in good health and can’t work there. I’m not going!” Seeing that he couldn’t persuade her, her husband angrily said, “Just look at you, you’ve got the whole police station riled up, and our child is also going to be affected when it comes to university admission. I can’t afford to lose face over this. I want a divorce!” Hearing her husband say this, Chen Xiao felt a fierce struggle inside her. She thought, “If my husband really does divorce me, who will take care of our child? How will I get by?” Thinking of these things, Chen Xiao felt deeply tormented. In her pain, Chen Xiao remembered a hymn of God’s words she used to sing:

You Should Forsake All for the Truth

1  You must suffer hardship for the truth, you must sacrifice yourself for the truth, you must endure humiliation for the truth, and to gain more of the truth you must undergo more suffering. This is what you should do. You must not throw away the truth for the sake of the enjoyment of a harmonious family life, and you must not lose a lifetime of dignity and integrity for the sake of momentary enjoyment.

2  You should pursue all that is beautiful and good, and you should pursue a path in life that is more meaningful. If you lead such a vulgar life, and do not pursue any objectives, do you not waste your life? What can you gain from such a life? You should forsake all enjoyments of the flesh for the sake of one truth, and should not throw away all truths for the sake of a little enjoyment. People like this have no integrity or dignity; there is no meaning to their existence!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Experiences of Peter: His Knowledge of Chastisement and Judgment

Chen Xiao understood that one must give up momentary enjoyments of the flesh to attain the truth, and fulfill their duty and become a created being that is up to standard to testify to God, and that only then does life have meaning. She saw that her believing in God and doing her duty was the right path, and that if she gave up her faith in God to indulge in physical pleasures and enjoy family harmony, then she didn’t deserve to live before God and would lose her chance at salvation. So Chen Xiao said to her husband, “If you want to divorce, go ahead. Even if we get divorced, I’ll still believe in God and follow Him forever!” Her husband was speechless and stormed out of her sister’s house. Later on, her husband and family saw that no matter how they tried to hinder her, Chen Xiao wouldn’t yield, so they stopped caring about her faith. From then on, Chen Xiao was able to attend gatherings and do her duty freely.