Words of Almighty God of the Last Days

Judging from the meaning of the word “negativity,” when a person becomes negative, their mood falls into a very low state and they enter a bad frame of mind. Their mood is filled with negative elements, they lack an attitude of actively making progress and striving forward, and they lack positive, active cooperation and seeking; even more so, they demonstrate no willing submission, showing instead an incredibly despondent mood. What does a despondent mood represent? Does it represent the positive aspects of humanity? Does it represent having conscience and reason? Does it represent living with dignity, living within the dignity of humanity? (No.) If it does not represent these positive things, what does it represent? Can it represent a lack of true faith in God, as well as a lack of determination and resolve to pursue the truth and proactively make progress? Can it represent a strong dissatisfaction with one’s current situation and difficulties, trouble understanding things, and an unwillingness to accept the facts of the present? Can it represent a situation in which one’s heart is filled with defiance, a desire to oppose, and a desire to escape and change the current situation? (Yes.) These are the states that people exhibit when they face the current situation with negativity. In short, no matter what, when people are negative and dissatisfied with the current situation and with what God has arranged, this is not equivalent to something as simple as them merely having misunderstandings, a lack of understanding, not realizing, or not being able to experience. Not realizing may be a matter of caliber or time, which is a normal manifestation of humanity. Not being able to experience may also be due to some objective reasons, but these are not considered negative, adverse things. Some people are also unable to experience, but when faced with things they do not understand or see through, or things they are unable to realize or experience, they will pray to God and seek His intentions, wait for God’s enlightenment and illumination, and actively seek and fellowship with others. However, some people are different; they do not have a path of practice in these respects, nor do they have such an attitude. Instead of waiting, seeking, or finding someone to fellowship with, they develop misunderstandings in their hearts, feeling that the events and circumstances they encounter do not align with their desires, preferences, or imaginings, thereby generating defiance, dissatisfaction, resistance, complaints, opposition, clamoring against God, and other such adverse things. Having generated these adverse things, they do not think much of them, nor do they come before God to pray and reflect to gain knowledge of their own state and corruption. They do not read God’s words to seek God’s intentions or use God’s words to resolve problems, much less seek and fellowship with others. Instead, they insist that what they believe is correct and accurate, harboring defiance and dissatisfaction in their hearts, and remain trapped in negative, adverse moods. When trapped in these moods, they might be able to keep them bottled up and withstand them for a day or two, but over a longer period, many things are produced in their minds, including human notions and imaginings, human ethics and morals, human culture, traditions, and knowledge, and so on. They use these things to gauge, calculate, and understand the problems they face, completely ensnared in Satan’s web, thus giving rise to various states of dissatisfaction and defiance. From these corrupt states, various erroneous ideas and viewpoints then emerge, and in their hearts these negative things can no longer be controlled. They then look for opportunities to vent and release these things. When their hearts are filled with negativity, do they say, “I’m filled with negative things inside; I shouldn’t speak recklessly to avoid harming others. If I feel like speaking and can’t hold it in, I’ll speak to a wall, or find someone who doesn’t understand human speech”? Are they kind enough to do this? (No.) What do they do then? They look for opportunities to have an audience to receive their negative views, remarks, and moods, using this to vent their various negative moods such as dissatisfaction, defiance, and resentment from their hearts. They believe that during church life is the best time to vent, and a good occasion to express their negativity, dissatisfaction, and defiance because there are many listeners and their words can influence others to become negative, thereby bringing adverse consequences to the church’s work. Of course, those who release negativity can’t hold back even behind the scenes; they always vent their negative speech. When there are few listeners, they find it unexciting, but when everyone gathers together, they become more energized. Judging from the moods, states, and other qualities of those who release negativity, their aim is not to help people understand the truth, see through what is true, clear up misunderstandings or doubts about God, know themselves, recognize their own corrupt essence, or resolve their issues of rebelliousness and corruption so that they do not rebel against God or resist Him but rather submit to Him. Their aims are essentially twofold: In one respect, they release negativity to vent their own moods; in the other, they aim to draw more people into negativity and into the trap of resisting and clamoring against God along with them. Therefore, the act of releasing negativity should absolutely be curbed within church life.

—The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (17)

All people have some incorrect states within them, like negativity, weakness, despondency, and fragility; or they have base intents; or they are constantly troubled by their pride, selfish desires, and self-interest; or they think that they are of poor caliber, and they experience some negative states. It will be very hard for you to obtain the work of the Holy Spirit if you always live in these states. If it is hard for you to obtain the work of the Holy Spirit, then the active elements within you will be few, and the negative elements will come out and disturb you. People always rely on their own will to repress those negative and adverse states, but no matter how they repress them, they cannot shake them off. The main reason for this is that people cannot thoroughly discern these negative and adverse things; they cannot see their essence clearly. This makes it very hard for them to rebel against the flesh and Satan. Also, people always get stuck in these negative, melancholic, and degenerate states, and they do not pray or look up to God, instead they just muddle through them. As a result, the Holy Spirit does not work in them, and they are consequently unable to understand the truth, they lack a path in everything they do, and they cannot see any matter clearly. There are too many negative and adverse things within you, and they have filled your heart, so you are often negative, melancholic in spirit, and you stray farther and farther from God, and become weaker and weaker. If you cannot gain the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment and work, you will not be able to escape these states, and your negative state will not change, because if the Holy Spirit is not working in you, you cannot find a path. Because of these two reasons, it is very hard for you to cast off your negative state and enter into a normal one. Though when you perform your duty now, you withstand hardship, work hard, put in a lot of effort, and you are able to renounce your family and career, and give up everything, the negative states within you still have not been truly transformed. There are too many entanglements that bind you from pursuing and practicing the truth, such as your notions, imaginings, knowledge, philosophies for worldly dealings, selfish desires, and corrupt dispositions. These adverse things have filled your heart. Although you are young, your thoughts are very complicated. You observe and study My every word and expression, then overthink them endlessly. Why is this? You have been following God for several years, but I have yet to see any progress or change in you. People’s hearts are completely occupied by satanic things. This is clear for all to see. If you do not cut these things out, if you are unable to cast off these negative states, you will be unable to transform yourself into the likeness of a child and come before God in a vibrant, lovely, innocent, simple, truthful, and pure way. Then, it will be difficult for you to obtain the work of the Holy Spirit or the truth.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Freedom and Liberation Can Be Gained Only by Casting Off One’s Corrupt Disposition

Before people accept God’s judgment and chastisement, they will develop many notions and many incorrect thoughts, as well as some negative states. The most common negative state is, “I have expended myself for God and performed my duties; I should be protected and blessed by God in all things. Why have calamities befallen me?” This is the most common state. There is also another kind of state: Upon seeing others living in good conditions and enjoying themselves, while finding oneself living in difficulty and poverty, they complain about God being unrighteous. It could even be that they see others achieving better results in performing their duty, and they become envious and negative. They are also negative if others’ families are harmonious and united, if others have a higher caliber than them, if performing their duty is tiring, or if something does not go as they wish. In short, under any circumstances that do not align with their notions and imaginings, they become negative. If this person has some caliber and can accept the truth, they should be helped. As long as they understand the truth, the issue of their negativity can be easily resolved. If they do not seek the truth and remain negative, always harboring notions about God, then God will set them aside and pay them no mind, for the Holy Spirit does not do futile work. Such people are too self-willed, do not accept the truth, always have notions about God, and always have their own demands; this is highly lacking in sense and makes them somewhat impervious to reason. They can understand the truth but do not accept it. Is this not a bit like knowingly committing offenses? Therefore, God pays them no mind. Some people say: “I am often negative, and God ignores me. This means God doesn’t love me!” Such a statement is absurd. Do you know whom God loves? Do you know how God’s love is manifested? Do you know whom God does not love and whom God disciplines? God’s love has principles; it’s not as humans imagine, constantly enduring people and showing mercy and grace to them, saving everyone no matter who they are, forgiving everyone regardless of the sins they commit, and ultimately bringing everyone into the kingdom of God without exception. Are these not just people’s notions and imaginings? If it were so, there would be no need for God to perform the work of judgment. There are principles to how God behaves toward people who are often negative. When people are constantly negative, there is a problem here. God has said so much, expressed so many truths, and if a person truly believes in God, then after reading God’s words and understanding the truth, the negative things in them will grow ever fewer. If people are always negative, it is certain that they do not accept the truth at all, and so as soon as they encounter something at odds with their own notions, they will become negative. Why do they not seek the truth in God’s words? Why do they not accept the truth? It is surely because they have notions and misunderstandings about God, and furthermore never seek the truth. So will God still pay them any attention when they approach the truth in this way? Are such people not impervious to reason? What is God’s attitude toward those who are impervious to reason? He casts them aside and ignores them. Believe in whatever manner you wish; whether or not you believe is up to you; if you truly believe and pursue the truth, then you shall gain the truth; if you do not pursue the truth, then you shall not obtain it. God treats every person fairly. If you do not have an attitude of acceptance of the truth, if you do not have an attitude of submission, if you do not strive to meet God’s requirements, then you may believe however you wish; also, if you would rather leave, you may do so at once. If you do not wish to do your duty, the house of God will not force you to; you can go wherever you like. God does not urge such people to stay. That is His attitude.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only by Resolving One’s Notions Can One Embark on the Right Track of Belief in God (3)

Some people, upon revealing a little corruption, think, “I have resisted God again. I have believed in God for many years and still haven’t changed. Surely God doesn’t want me anymore!” They then resign themselves to hopelessness and become unwilling to pursue the truth. What do you think of this attitude? They themselves have given up on the truth, and believe that God no longer wants them. Isn’t this a misunderstanding of God? Such negativity is the easiest way to be exploited by Satan. Satan mocks them, saying, “You fool! God wants to save you, but you are still suffering like this! So, just give up! If you give up, God will eliminate you, which is just like Him handing you over to me. I will torment you to death!” Once Satan succeeds, the consequences will be unthinkable. Consequently, no matter what difficulties or negativity a person faces, they must not give up. They should seek the truth for solutions, and they must not passively wait. During the process of life’s growth and the course of human salvation, people may sometimes take the wrong path, deviate, or have times where they exhibit states and behaviors of immaturity in life. They may have times of weakness and negativity, times when they say the wrong things, stumble, or experience failure. All of this is normal in the eyes of God. He does not hold it against them. Some people think their corruption is too deep, and that they can never satisfy God, so they feel sorrowful and despise themselves. Those who have a repentant heart like this are precisely the ones that God saves. On the other hand, those who believe they do not need God’s salvation, who think they are good people and there is nothing wrong with them, usually are not the ones God saves. What is the meaning behind what I’m telling you? Whoever understands, speak up. (To properly handle your own revelations of corruption, focus on practicing the truth, and you will receive God’s salvation. If you consistently misunderstand God, you will easily resign yourself to hopelessness.) You must have faith and say, “Though I am weak now, and I have stumbled and failed. I will grow, and one day I will understand the truth, satisfy God, and achieve salvation.” You must have this resolve. No matter what setbacks, difficulties, failures, or trip-ups you encounter, you must not be negative. You must know what kind of people God saves. Moreover, if you feel that you are not yet qualified to be saved by God, or if there are occasions where you are in states which God loathes or is displeased with, or there are times you behave poorly, and God doesn’t accept you, or God spurns you, it doesn’t matter. Now you know, and it is not too late. As long as you repent, God will give you a chance.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. In Believing in God, What Is Most Important Is to Practice and Experience His Words

If, no matter what problems you encounter, you are negative and weak, you have no testimony at all, and you don’t cooperate in what you should do and what you should cooperate in, this proves that you do not have God in your heart, and you are not a person who loves the truth. Never mind how the work of the Holy Spirit moves people, merely by experiencing God’s work for many years, listening to so many truths, having a little conscience, and relying on self-restraint, people should at least be able to meet the minimum standards and not be rebuked by their consciences. People should not be as numb and weak as they now are, and it is simply unthinkable that they are in this state. Perhaps you have gone through the last few years in a daze, not pursuing the truth whatsoever or making any progress at all. If this isn’t the case, how could you still be so numb and dull? When you are this way, it is entirely due to your own foolishness and ignorance, and you cannot blame anyone else. The truth is not partial to certain people over others. If you don’t accept the truth, and you don’t seek the truth to solve problems, how can you change? Some people feel that their caliber is too low and that they lack the comprehension ability, so they delimit themselves, and they feel that no matter how much they pursue the truth, they will not be able to meet God’s requirements. They think that no matter how hard they try, it’s useless, and that’s all there is to it, so they are always negative, and as a result, even after years of believing in God, they haven’t gained any truth. Without doing the hard work to pursue the truth, you say that your caliber is too poor, you give up on yourself, and you always live in a negative state. As a result, you don’t understand the truth that you should understand or practice the truth within your ability—aren’t you the one hindering yourself? If you always say that your caliber isn’t good enough, isn’t this evading and shirking responsibility? If you can suffer, pay a price, and gain the work of the Holy Spirit, then you will inevitably be able to understand some truths and enter into some realities. If you don’t look to or rely on God, and you give up on yourself without putting in any effort or paying a price, and simply surrender, then you are a good-for-nothing, and lack a shred of conscience and reason. No matter whether your caliber is poor or outstanding, if you have a bit of conscience and reason, you should properly complete what you ought to do and your mission; being a deserter is a terrible thing and a betrayal of God. This is irredeemable. Pursuing the truth requires a firm will, and people who are too negative or weak will accomplish nothing. They will not be able to believe in God until the end, and, if they wish to obtain the truth and achieve a change of disposition, they have less hope still. Only those who are resolved and pursue the truth can obtain it and be perfected by God.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three

Everyone has moments of negativity; they just vary in intensity, duration, and reasons. Some people generally aren’t negative but become so when they face failing or faltering at something; others can become negative over trivial matters, even if it’s just something someone says that wounds their pride. And some become negative over slightly unfavorable circumstances. Do such people understand how to live life? Do they have insight? Do they possess the breadth of mind and magnanimity of a normal person? No. No matter the circumstances, as long as one lives within a corrupt disposition, they will frequently fall into some negative states. Of course, if a person understands the truth and can see through things, their negative states will become increasingly rare and will gradually disappear as their stature grows, ultimately vanishing completely. Those who do not love the truth, who do not accept the truth at all, will have an increasing number of negative emotions, negative states, and negative thoughts and attitudes, which will become more serious the more they pile up, and once these things overwhelm them, they will not be able to recover, which is very dangerous. Therefore, resolving negativity promptly is crucial. To resolve negativity, one must proactively seek the truth; reading and pondering God’s words while maintaining a state of quietude in His presence will lead to gaining enlightenment and illumination, allowing one to understand the truth and see through the essence of negativity, thus resolving the problem of negativity. If you still cling to your own notions and rationale, then you are extremely foolish, and you will die from your foolishness and ignorance. Regardless, resolving negativity should be proactive, not passive. Some people think that when negativity arises, they should just ignore it; when they feel happy again, their negativity will have naturally turned into joy. This is a fantasy; without seeking or accepting the truth, negativity will not automatically remove itself. Even if you forget it and feel nothing in your heart, it does not mean that the root cause of your negativity has been resolved. Once the right circumstances arise, it will flare up again, which is a common occurrence. If one is smart and has reason, they should immediately seek the truth when negativity arises and use the method of accepting the truth to resolve it, thus resolving the issue of negativity from its roots. All who are frequently negative are so because they cannot accept the truth. If you do not accept the truth, negativity will cling to you like a devil, making you perpetually negative, causing you to develop emotions of defiance, dissatisfaction, and grievance toward God, until you find yourself in conflict with God and opposing and clamoring against Him—that’s when you’ve reached the end, and your ugly face will be exposed. People begin to expose you, dissect you, and classify you, and it’s only now, faced with the grim reality, that you start to feel remorse; this is when you collapse and begin to beat your chest in despair—just you wait to accept God’s punishment! Negativity not only weakens people, but it also causes them to complain about God, judge God, deny God, and even directly oppose and clamor against God. Therefore, if the resolution of someone’s negativity is delayed, once they reveal blasphemous words and offend God’s disposition, the consequences are very severe. If you fall into negativity and harbor complaints due to a single event, a phrase, or a thought or viewpoint, this shows that your understanding of the matter is distorted, and you have notions and imaginings about it; your views on this matter certainly do not align with the truth. At this point, you need to seek the truth and face it correctly, striving to swiftly correct these erroneous notions and ideas as early as possible, not allowing yourself to be bound and misguided by these notions into a state of defiance, dissatisfaction, and grievance toward God. Resolving negativity promptly is crucial, and resolving it completely is also very important. Of course, the best way to resolve negativity is to seek the truth, read God’s words more, and come before God to seek His enlightenment. Sometimes, you might temporarily be unable to reverse your thoughts and viewpoints, but at the very least, you should know that you are wrong and that these thoughts of yours are distorted. In this way, the minimum result will be that these erroneous thoughts and viewpoints will not affect your loyalty in doing your duty, will not affect your relationship with God, and will not affect your coming before God to open your heart and pray—at the very least, this is the result that must be achieved. When you are engulfed in negativity and feel defiant and dissatisfied, and you harbor complaints toward God, but don’t want to seek the truth for resolution, thinking your relationship with God is normal when in fact your heart is far from God and you no longer wish to read His words or pray, hasn’t the problem become severe? You say, “No matter how negative I am, my performance of duty hasn’t been hindered and I haven’t abandoned my responsibilities. I am loyal!” Are these words valid? If you are frequently negative, it is not a matter of a corrupt disposition; there are more serious issues, which are that you have notions about God, misunderstand Him, and have created barriers between yourself and God. If you do not seek the truth to resolve this, it is very dangerous. How can one ensure they do their duty loyally to the end and without perfunctoriness if they are often negative? Can negativity just go away or disappear on its own if it’s not resolved? If one does not seek the truth for a solution in a timely manner, negativity will continue to develop and only get worse. The consequences it causes will only become more detrimental. They absolutely will not develop in a positive direction; they will only grow in an adverse one. Therefore, when negativity arises, you must quickly seek the truth to resolve it; only this ensures that you are able to do your duties well. Resolving negativity is crucial, it cannot be delayed!

—The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (17)

People are often in this state. Either they only pursue blessings and a crown, or else—having experienced a few instances of failure—they think they are not up to the task, and that God has also passed a verdict on them. This is wrong. If you can turn things around in time, change your heart and mind, let go of the evil committed by your hands, return before God, confess and repent to God, acknowledge that your actions and the path you walk are wrong, and admit your own failures, then practice according to the path God has indicated to you, without giving up pursuing the truth no matter how tainted you are, then you’re doing the right thing. In the course of experiencing changes in their disposition and being saved, people will necessarily encounter many difficulties. For example, being unable to submit to the situations laid forth by God, their own various thoughts, views, imaginings, corrupt dispositions, knowledge, and gifts, or else their own various problems and faults. You must battle all manner of difficulties. Once you have overcome these myriad difficulties and states, and the battle in your heart has ended, you will possess the truth realities, you will no longer be bound by these things, and you will have been set free and liberated. One problem people often encounter during this process is that, prior to discovering problems in themselves, they think they’re better than everyone else, and will be blessed even if no one else is, just like Paul. When they discover their difficulties, they think themselves nothing, and that it’s all over for them. There are always two extremes. You must overcome both of these extremes, so that you do not veer one way or the other. When you encounter a difficulty, even if you are already aware that the problem is utterly intractable and will be hard to fix, you should face it properly, come before God and ask for His help in fixing it, and by seeking the truth, gnaw away at it bit by bit like ants gnawing on a bone, and turn this state around. You must repent to God. Repenting is proof that you have a heart that accepts the truth and an attitude of submission, which means there is hope that you will gain the truth. And if, in the midst of this, any more difficulties appear, don’t be afraid. Quickly pray to God and lean on Him; God is secretly watching and waiting for you, and as long as you do not depart from the setting, stream, and scope of His management work, there is hope for you—you absolutely must not give up. If all you reveal is a normal corrupt disposition, then as long as you are able to understand it and accept the truth, and practice the truth, a day will come when these problems are solved. You must have faith in this. God is the truth—why do you need to fear this little problem of yours cannot be solved? This can all be solved, so why be negative? God has not given up on you, so why give up on yourself? You should not give up, and you should not be negative. You should face the problem properly. You must know the normal laws for life entry, and be able to see the revelation and manifestation of a corrupt disposition, as well as occasional negativity, weakness, and confusion, as normal things. The process of changing one’s disposition is a long and repetitious one. When you are clear on this point, you will be able to face problems properly. Sometimes, your corrupt disposition reveals itself severely, and it disgusts anyone who sees it, and you hate yourself. Or, sometimes, you are too lax and are disciplined by God. This is no cause for fear. As long as God is disciplining you, as long as He is still caring for and protecting you, still working in you, and is always with you, this proves that God has not given up on you. Even when there are times that you feel God has left you, and that you have been plunged into darkness, do not be afraid: As long as you are still alive and not in hell, you still have a chance. However, if you are like Paul, who stubbornly walked the path of an antichrist, and ultimately testified that for him to live is Christ, it’s all over for you. If you can come to your senses, you still have a chance. What is the chance you have? It is that you can come before God, and can still pray to Him and seek, saying, “Oh God! Please enlighten me so I understand this aspect of the truth, and this aspect of the path of practice.” As long as you are one of God’s followers, you have hope of salvation, and can make it to the very end. Are these words clear enough? Are you still liable to be negative? (No.) When people understand God’s intentions, their path is a broad one. If they do not understand His intentions, it is narrow, there is darkness in their hearts, and they have no path to tread. Those who do not understand the truth are as follows: They are narrow-minded, they always split hairs, and they always complain about and misunderstand God. As a result, the further they walk, the more their path disappears. In fact, people don’t understand God. If God treated people as they imagined, the human race would have long since been destroyed.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. How to Identify the Nature Essence of Paul

People possess a satanic nature; living by a satanic disposition, it is difficult to avoid negative states. Especially when one does not understand the truth, negativity becomes a common occurrence. Everyone has moments of negativity; some more often, some less, some for longer periods, and some for shorter. People’s stature differs, and so do their states of negativity. Those with greater stature only become somewhat negative when faced with trials, while those with lesser stature, still not understanding the truth, are unable to discern when others spread some notions or speak absurdities; they can still be disturbed, influenced, and become negative. Any problem that arises can lead to their negativity, even trivial matters not worth mentioning. How should this issue of frequent negativity be resolved? If people do not know how to seek the truth, do not know how to eat and drink God’s words, or pray to God, then it becomes very problematic; they can only rely on the support and help of the brothers and sisters. If no one is able to help, or if one does not accept help, they might remain so negative that they can’t recover and may even stop believing. Look, it is very dangerous for someone to always have notions and easily become negative. No matter how one fellowships the truth to such people, they don’t accept it, always insisting that their own notions and imaginings are correct; they are extremely troublesome people. However negative you might be, you should understand in your heart that having notions does not mean they align with the truth; it means there is a problem in your comprehension. If you have some reason, you should not spread these notions; this is the least people should uphold. If you have a bit of a God-fearing heart and can admit you are a follower of God, you should seek the truth to resolve your notions, submit to the truth, and avoid causing disruptions and disturbances. If you cannot do this and insist on spreading notions, then you have lost your reason; you are mentally abnormal, possessed by demons, not in control of yourself, and, dominated by demons, you speak out and spread these notions no matter what—there’s no helping it, this is the work of evil spirits. If you have some conscience and reason, you should be able to do this: not spread notions, and not disturb the brothers and sisters. Even if you become negative, you should not do things that harm the brothers and sisters; you should simply perform your duty well, do what you ought to do, and ensure that you are beyond self-reproach—this is the basic standard of being a person. Even if you are sometimes negative, but haven’t done anything to overstep boundaries, God will not fuss over your negativity. As long as you possess conscience and reason, are able to pray to and rely on God, and seek the truth, you will eventually come to understand the truth and turn yourself around. If you face significant events, such as being dismissed and eliminated for not doing real work as a leader, and you feel there is no hope of salvation, and become negative—overly negative to the point that you can’t recover, feeling like you’ve been condemned and cursed, and you develop misunderstandings and complaints against God—what should you do? This is very easy to handle: Find some people who understand the truth to fellowship and seek with, and speak your heart out with these people; more importantly, come before God to pray truthfully about moments of negativity and weakness, as well as some of the things you don’t understand and can’t overcome, one by one—fellowship with God, don’t conceal anything. If there are unspeakable things that you cannot express to others, it is even more imperative that you come before God to pray. Some people ask, “Doesn’t speaking to God lead to condemnation?” Haven’t you already done many things that resist God and earn His condemnation? Why fret over this one additional thing? Do you think that if you don’t speak, God won’t know? God knows everything you think. You should openly fellowship with God, speaking your heart out, presenting your problems and states truthfully to Him. Your weakness, rebelliousness, and even your complaints can all be spoken to God; even if you just want to vent, that’s fine—God will not condemn this. Why doesn’t God condemn this? God knows man’s stature; even if you don’t speak with Him, He still knows your stature. By speaking with God, in one regard, this is your opportunity to lay yourself bare and be open to God. In another regard, it also shows your attitude of submission to God; at the very least, you are letting God see that your heart is not closed to Him, you are just weak, not having enough stature to overcome this matter, that’s all. You don’t intend to resist; your attitude is to submit, it’s just that your stature is too small, and you cannot bear this matter. When you fully open your heart to God and are able to converse with Him sincerely, although what you say may contain weakness and complaints—and, in particular, many negative and adverse things—there is one thing that is correct in this: You acknowledge that you possess a corrupt disposition, you acknowledge that you are a created being, you do not deny God’s identity as the Creator, nor do you deny that the relationship between you and God is that of a created being and the Creator. You entrust to God the things you find most difficult to overcome, the things that make you weakest, and you tell God all your innermost feelings—this shows your attitude. Some people say, “I prayed to God once, and it didn’t resolve my negativity. I still can’t overcome it.” No matter, you just need to earnestly seek the truth. Regardless of how much you understand, God will gradually strengthen you, and you will no longer be as weak as you were at the beginning. No matter how much weakness and negativity you have, or how many complaints and adverse emotions you have, speak with God, don’t treat God as an outsider; whoever you may hide things from, do not hide anything from God, because God is your only reliance and also your only salvation. Only by coming before God can these problems be resolved; relying on people is useless. Thus, when people face negativity and weakness, those who come before God and rely on Him are the smartest. Only foolish and stubborn people, when facing significant and critical events and needing to pour out their hearts to God, increasingly move away from and avoid God, plotting in their own minds. And what is the result of all this plotting? Their negativity and complaints turn into opposition, and opposition turns into conflicting with and clamoring against God; these people become utterly irreconcilable with God, and their relationship with God is completely broken. However, when you face such negativity and weakness, if you can choose to still come before God to seek the truth, and choose to submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements, and you take on a genuinely submissive attitude, then, seeing that you still sincerely want to submit to Him even when you are negative and weak, God will know how to guide you, to lead you out of your negativity and weakness. After having these experiences, you will develop a true faith in God, feeling that no matter what difficulties you face, as long as you seek God and wait for Him, He will arrange a way out for you without you knowing it, allowing you to unconsciously see that situations have changed, making you no longer weak but strong, and increasing your faith in God. When you reflect on these events, you will feel how childish your weakness was at that time. In fact, people are just that childish, and without God’s support, they would never mature from their childishness and ignorance. Only by gradually accepting and submitting to God’s sovereignty in the process of experiencing these things, positively and actively facing these facts, seeking principles, seeking God’s intentions, no longer avoiding or distancing oneself from God, nor being rebellious against God, but becoming more and more submissive, with less and less rebelliousness, becoming closer and closer to God, and more and more able to submit to God—only by experiencing like this does one’s life gradually grow and mature, growing fully into the stature of an adult.

—The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (17)

Do not be a passive follower of God, and do not pursue that which makes you curious. Through being neither cold nor hot you will ruin yourself and delay your life. You must rid yourself of such passivity and inactivity, and become adept at pursuing positive things and overcoming your own weaknesses, so that you may gain the truth and live out the truth. There is nothing fearful about your weaknesses, and your shortcomings are not your biggest problem. Your biggest problem, and your greatest shortcoming, is your being neither hot nor cold and your lack of desire to seek the truth. The biggest problem with all of you is a cowardly mentality whereby you are happy with things as they are, and just passively wait. This is your greatest obstacle, and the greatest enemy to your pursuit of the truth.

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

You must reach a place where, no matter what circumstances you encounter, they cannot change your resolve. Only then will you be someone who truly loves and pursues the truth. If, when something befalls you and you encounter a little difficulty, you retreat, become negative and dejected, and let go of your resolve, this will not do. You must have the strength of one who is ready to put their life on the line, and say, “No matter what happens—even if I die, I will not abandon the truth or my goal to pursue the truth.” Then nothing will be able to stop you. If you really encounter difficulties, and you are driven into a corner, God will act. In addition, you must have this understanding: “No matter what I encounter, they are all lessons that I must learn in my pursuit of the truth—they have been arranged by God. I may be weak, but I am not negative, and I am grateful to God for giving me the opportunity to learn these lessons. I am grateful to God for setting out this situation for me. I cannot let go of my resolve to follow God and gain the truth. Were I to give it up, that would be the same as conceding to Satan, ruining myself, and betraying God.” This is the kind of resolve you must have. Whatever small matters you encounter, they are all little episodes in the development of your life. You must not let them block the direction of your progress. When you meet with difficulties you can seek and wait, but the direction of your progress must not change, is that not right? (It is.) No matter what others say, or how they treat you, and no matter how God treats you, your resolve must not change. If God says, “You do not accept the truth at all, I loathe you,” and you say, “God loathes me, so what meaning does my life have? I may as well die and be done with it!” you would be misunderstanding God. It is true that God loathes you, but you should fight on, you should accept the truth, and you should fulfill your duty. Then you will not be a good-for-nothing and God will not spurn you. Right now, your stature is still too small and you have not yet achieved the standards required for God to test you. What is the only thing that you can do? You must pray: “God, please guide me and enlighten me so that I understand Your intentions, and have the faith and perseverance to walk the path of pursuing the truth, and so that I may fear God and shun evil. Although I am weak and my stature is immature, I beg You to give me strength and protect me so that I can follow You to the end.” You must come before God often to pray. Other people may crave worldly things, indulge their flesh, and follow worldly trends, but you must not accompany them—just focus on performing your own duty. When others are feeling negative and they do not perform their duties, you must not feel constrained, and you should seek the truth to help them. When others indulge in comfort you must not envy them, you must only concern yourself with living before God. When others pursue fame, gain, and status, you should pray for them and help them, quiet your heart before God and not let these things influence you. No matter what happens around you, you should pray to God about all things. You should always seek the truth, restrain yourself, ensure that you are living in the presence of God, and have a normal relationship with God. God scrutinizes people at all times, and the Holy Spirit works within these kinds of people.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only by Often Living Before God Can One Have a Normal Relationship With Him

Some people are currently embroiled in negativity, but they can still do their duty with the attitude of “remaining loyal to God until the end, regardless of my outcome.” I say that this is a change, but you yourselves do not recognize it. In fact, if you examine yourself carefully, you should be able to see that part of your corrupt dispositions have already undergone change. However, you always measure yourself against the highest required standard, and as a result, not only are you unable to reach the highest standard, but you also negate the changes you have already undergone. This is a deviation in people. If you are truly someone who can distinguish between right and wrong, then you might as well examine which aspects of yourself have changed. You will not only see the changes within yourself but also find the path of practice for the future. At that time, you will see that as long as you strive, there is still hope; you are not someone beyond redemption. I’m telling you this now: Those who can correctly approach the problems they have, who can seek the truth to resolve issues, have hope of being saved and can extricate themselves from negativity. You give up on the truth because you believe that you are beyond redemption. So, just what kind of person can be redeemed, and what kind of person cannot be redeemed? This is a truth of which you should, at minimum, possess an understanding. As long as people do not give up on the truth, God will save them to the greatest extent. Do you really not get this? To be confused about such a fundamental truth—aren’t you being too foolish and ignorant? It was said before: “No matter when, pursuing a change in disposition is always right.” Have you forgotten these words? You only remember that God once said that those who can be saved are “very few in number,” and so you think you have no hope. Can you not muster some determination? Perhaps it’s not that you cannot practice the truth, but rather that you have given up the opportunity to practice the truth. If you give up on the truth, can you still change? If you give up on the truth, then what of the significance of your faith in God? When you give up pursuing the truth, negative things naturally take hold of your heart—how could you not be negative like this? If you hold fast to the truth, you will naturally have determination. Therefore, I still tell you: You must view yourself correctly and not give up on the truth.

—God’s Fellowship

Dispositional change isn’t something that happens overnight, or something that can be achieved after several years of experience. Some people often fail and stumble when they begin to change their bad habits, and think: “I’m done. I’m hopeless. Dispositional change is not for me, it’s impossible for me to change. If it’s so hard for me to change even these small flaws or bad habits, then surely it will be even more difficult to change my disposition?” They become negative, feel like they have no hope, and they are unwilling to eat and drink God’s words for a long time. Whenever anyone prunes them, they feel annoyed and negative, they are unwilling to perform their duties, and totally uninterested in the truth. What state is this? This is a serious problem. Have you ever had this kind of experience? Are you afraid that, in the process of your life experience, you’ll always be negative, weak, failing, and stumbling? Regardless of whether you’re afraid or not, it is a fact that dispositional change does not happen overnight. This is because dispositional change begins from the very root of mankind’s corrupt nature, and it is a radical and total transformation. It is like when someone gets cancer and grows a tumor: They must be operated on to remove the tumor, they must endure a lot of suffering, and it is a very complex process. In the process of dispositional change, you may go through many things before understanding a little bit of the truth or achieving an aspect of dispositional change, or you may experience many people, events, things, and different environments, and make many wrong turns, before you finally achieve a little change. This change is precious, no matter how big it is, and it is cherished and commemorated in God’s eyes because you have suffered much and paid a great price for it. God scrutinizes the depths of people’s hearts, knows their thoughts and desires, and their weaknesses, but most of all God knows what they need. To follow the practical God, we must have this resolve: No matter how great the environments we encounter, nor what kind of difficulties we face, and no matter how weak or negative we are, we cannot lose faith in our dispositional change or in the words that God has spoken. God has made a promise to mankind, and this requires people to have resolve, faith, and perseverance to bear it. God does not like cowards; He likes people with resolve. Even if you’ve revealed a lot of corruption, even if you’ve taken the wrong path many times, or committed many transgressions, complained about God, or from within religion resisted God or harbored blasphemy against Him in your heart, and so on—God doesn’t look at all that. God only looks at whether someone pursues the truth and whether they can one day change. In the Bible there is a story about the return of the prodigal son—why did the Lord Jesus use this parable? It was to make people understand that God’s intention to save mankind is sincere, and that He gives people the opportunity to repent and change. Throughout this process, God understands man, knowing well their weaknesses and the degree of their corruption. He knows that people will stumble and fail. Just like a child learning to walk, no matter how physically strong they are, there will always be times where they fall and stumble, and times when they knock into things and trip over. God understands every person in the way that a mother understands her child. He understands each person’s difficulties, their weaknesses, and their needs. Even more than that, God understands what difficulties, weaknesses, and failures people will face in the process of entering into dispositional change. These are the things that God understands best. This means that God scrutinizes the depths of people’s hearts. No matter how weak you are, as long as you don’t renounce God’s name, or leave Him and this way, then you’ll always have the chance to achieve dispositional change. If you have this chance, then you have hope of surviving, and therefore of being saved by God.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Path of Practice Toward Changing One’s Disposition

Related Hymns

Only Fulfilling Your Duty Can Satisfy God

God Likes Those With Resolve

The Resolve Necessary to Pursue the Truth