By Liu Yunying, China

In May 2014, the Chinese Communist Party fabricated the Zhaoyuan Case in Shandong to frame and slander The Church of Almighty God, and then immediately launched a nationwide “Hundred-Day Crackdown” to arrest The Church of Almighty God members. Many brothers and sisters were arrested. In just two months, from September to November, more than 30 brothers and sisters in my county were arrested one after another. At the time, I was responsible for the work of several churches, and every day, under the watchful eyes of the police, I arranged for brothers and sisters in danger to relocate and for books about faith in God to be transferred. I was in danger of being arrested at any moment. One night, a brother who was arrested and released told me that when the police interrogated him, they mentioned my personal information, and even showed him my photo and asked if he knew me. The brother said that I was a primary target of arrest and advised me to leave immediately. I thought, “So many brothers and sisters have been arrested, and there is still a lot of aftermath work that needs to be handled. Besides, some brothers and sisters feel weak due to the great red dragon’s arrests and persecution, and they need support and help. I’ll leave in a few more days.” But my brother urged me insistently, “You’d best leave tonight. Don’t stay here. There are cameras everywhere on the road, and the police will find you as soon as they check the surveillance records.” Once I heard that, terror suddenly took hold of me, and I started to panic. So, I quickly made arrangements for the remaining church work and fled to a neighboring county.

An elderly brother and sister took the risk to receive me. Because there were cameras outside, I couldn’t go out, and so I had to stay in their house. Their son worked at a school, and the government had issued a circular saying that all teaching staff and their family members could not hold religious beliefs, or else they would be expelled from their positions. Because of this, their son was afraid his future would be affected and opposed his parents’ belief in God. The sister was afraid that her son would see me at the house and report me to the police, so she had to arrange for me to live in the attic. Every time my sister’s son came back, I was very nervous. Once, her son went upstairs to get something. I was afraid of being found by him, so I hid behind the door and didn’t dare move. It just so happened that at that moment, oil smoke from the kitchen was coming up the chimney and I couldn’t help but cough. I quickly covered my head and mouth with a quilt, and I could barely breathe. The sister had another son who lived next door, and I could hear the sound of his TV when the volume was up, so to stay hidden, I didn’t dare to turn on the lights in the attic, and I usually kept my voice to a minimum. It was winter at the time, and the room was very cold, but I didn’t dare to go out in the sun. After a long time, I began to feel very depressed, and I wondered, “When will I be able to stop living like this? When can I reunite with my family and go out with my brothers and sisters to fulfill my duty?” At that time, I often prayed to God, asking Him to guide and enlighten me so that I could understand His will and know how to get through this environment.

Later, I read a passage of God’s words: “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, those who believe in God are thus subjected to humiliation and oppression, and these words are fulfilled in you, this group of people, as a result. Because it is embarked upon in a land that opposes God, all of God’s work faces tremendous obstacles, and accomplishing many of His words takes time; thus, people are refined as a result of God’s words, which is also part of suffering. It is tremendously difficult for God to carry out His work in the land of the great red dragon—but it is through this difficulty that God does one stage of His work, making manifest His wisdom and His wondrous deeds, and using this opportunity to make this group of people complete” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Is the Work of God As Simple As Man Imagines?). From God’s word, I understood that when one believes in God in the country ruled by the CCP, persecution is inevitable, but God uses such an environment to perfect people’s faith. I thought back to when I wasn’t in such an environment, I had thought I was able to endure hardship and had faith in God, but once I was hunted to the point of being homeless, hiding, and completely losing my freedom, and I needed to truly suffer, I harbored complaints in my heart, and all I wanted was to escape. It was only through what the facts revealed that I realized I had no true faith in God at all, no obedience, and that my stature was very small. I also thought about how during these few months, the CCP frantically ransacked homes and arrested people, seized the church’s money, and caused many brothers and sisters to flee from their homes, completely upending their lives and leaving them without even a place to live. The CCP did so much evil, arresting and persecuting people. Wasn’t its purpose just to turn people away from God and make them betray God? If I became weak, withdrew, or even complained in such an environment, I would fall for Satan’s tricks and lose my testimony. Once I realized this, I felt less pain and torment in my heart. I thought, “No matter how long I have to stay here or how much I have to suffer, I want to submit to God’s arrangements.”

After a few months, it seemed that the investigations had become less intense, so I went to another city to perform my duty. To be safe, I cut off my long hair, and I wore a hat, mask, and glasses when I went out to gatherings. I took narrow streets and circuitous routes, trying my best not to be noticed. I thought that as long as I was careful, I could still do my duty. I was surprised when one evening, a few months later, my leader rushed to me and said, “The police have posted your information on the internet. They’re looking for you. The wanted notice was sent to the mobile phones of residents in the central area of our city and several surrounding districts to tell them to report if they saw you. The police found out that your uncle preached the gospel to you, and they have already arrested your uncle and aunt. For safety, you can’t go out to perform your duty anymore.” Later, I received news that the police found my 80-year-old grandfather and questioned him about my whereabouts. They had also closed down my uncle’s physiotherapy center. What’s more, the police were looking for my mother and sister, so they couldn’t go home either. When I heard this news, I was very angry. My belief in God was right and proper. Why was the Communist Party oppressing people who believe in God so viciously? Why was there no fairness and freedom of belief in China? I had originally planned to covertly go back and see my family, but I hadn’t expected that I had been listed as wanted, or that they would threaten and intimidate my family. Even though I had a home, I couldn’t go back, and my family had been implicated and arrested. I realized that now I was a wanted criminal, and I wondered what my friends and family would say about me. Would they think I had done something bad? How could I face them in the future? As I thought about this, I couldn’t stop my tears from falling. The more I thought about it, the more miserable I felt. I felt it was too difficult to believe in God in China. In my pain, I prayed to God, “God! I don’t know how to get through this. Please give me faith and strength, and guide me in understanding Your will.” After I had prayed, I thought of the hymn of God’s word “The Most Meaningful Life,” which says: “You are a created being—you should of course worship God and pursue a life of meaning. Since you are a human being, you should expend yourself for God and endure all suffering! You should gladly and assuredly accept the little suffering you are subjected to today and live a meaningful life, like Job and Peter. You are people who pursue the right path, those who seek improvement. You are people who rise up in the nation of the great red dragon, those whom God calls righteous. Is that not the most meaningful life?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Practice (2)). Listening to it, I was moved to tears. It is right and proper for created beings to believe and worship God, and God approves of this. I thought of Job, who feared God and shunned evil. Even though he lost his children, property, suffered boils all over his body, and was judged and misunderstood by his wife and friends, he still kept his faith in God, praised God in his suffering, stood firm in his testimony to God, and humiliated Satan. There was also Peter, who sought to know and love God all his life. He experienced hundreds of trials and refinements, endured great pain, and finally was crucified upside down for God, thereby creating beautiful and resounding testimony. As a created being, it is so meaningful to be able to stand firm in testimony for God and to gain the Creator’s approval! At the time, I was wanted and pursued by the Communist Party because of my belief in God. Even if my relatives and friends misunderstood me and forsook me, this was nothing to be ashamed of, because I was following the right path in life and doing the most righteous thing. As I considered this, I felt less pain, and instead felt proud of myself for being able to suffer this way.

One day in January 2016, a sister handed me a deck of playing cards. I took it and saw that it had my photo and identity information printed on it. My name, ID number, and household registration address were all there, and it was written that I was listed as a fugitive online by the Public Security Bureau as a “criminal suspected of organizing and using a cult organization to undermine the implementation of the law.” There was also a reporting hotline number printed on the playing card, and the statement that informants could be rewarded. The sister said the police were distributing sets of playing cards containing the photos and information about myself and three other sisters in charge of church work alongside those of murderers and robbers. Later, I heard from my brothers and sisters that they saw a wanted notice for me on the big screens outside the train station and on the bulletin board at the entrance of the Public Security Bureau. Hearing all this simply felt astonishing to me. I wanted to ask them, “What law did I break? What did I do that violated the law? Why are you using such unscrupulous means to hunt me down and capture me?” I couldn’t help but recall a passage of God’s word: “For thousands of years this has been the land of filth. It is unbearably dirty, misery abounds, ghosts run rampant everywhere, tricking and deceiving, making groundless accusations, being ruthless and vicious, trampling this ghost town and leaving it littered with dead bodies; the stench of decay covers the land and pervades the air, and it is heavily guarded. Who can see the world beyond the skies? The devil tightly trusses all of man’s body, it veils both his eyes, and seals his lips firmly shut. The king of devils has rampaged for several thousand years, right up until today, when it still keeps a close watch on the ghost town, as if it were an impenetrable palace of demons; this pack of watchdogs, meanwhile, stare with glaring eyes, deeply fearful that God will catch them unawares and wipe them all out, leaving them without a place of peace and happiness. How could the people of a ghost town such as this ever have seen God? Have they ever enjoyed the dearness and loveliness of God? What appreciation have they of the matters of the human world? Who of them can understand God’s eager will? Small wonder, then, that God incarnate remains completely hidden: In a dark society such as this, where the demons are merciless and inhumane, how could the king of devils, who kills people without batting an eye, tolerate the existence of a God who is lovely, kind, and also holy? How could it applaud and cheer the arrival of God? These lackeys! They repay kindness with hate, they began treating God as an enemy long ago, they abuse God, they are savage in the extreme, they have not the slightest regard for God, they plunder and pillage, they have lost all conscience, they go against all conscience, and they tempt the innocent into senselessness. Forefathers of the ancient? Beloved leaders? They all oppose God! Their meddling has left all beneath heaven in a state of darkness and chaos! Religious freedom? The legitimate rights and interests of citizens? They are all tricks for covering up sin!” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Work and Entry (8)). God’s words revealed the true nature of the great red dragon. The CCP is an enemy of God, a devil that resists and hates God, and the place it rules is the lair of Satan the devil. It simply refuses to allow God to exist, and much less does it allow people to believe in the true God and follow the right path. This is why it defines Christianity as a “cult” and the Bible as “cult literature,” and arrests Christians so wantonly. To banish God’s work of the last days, it fabricates all kinds of rumors and creates false criminal cases to frame and discredit The Church of Almighty God, it pursues and orders the arrests of believers in God as if they were the most heinous of criminals, and it deceives and incites those who don’t know the facts into hating the faithful and resisting God alongside it. The Communist Party really tells every possible lie and does every imaginable evil thing! Once I recognized this, it strengthened my determination to forsake the great red dragon and follow God to the end! Later, I heard from my leader that two sisters who were listed as wanted with me on the playing cards had been arrested and sentenced to four years in prison.

Four months later, the police offered an additional 10,000 yuan for my arrest. A sister in my hometown sent me a letter and told me that the village Party secretary was spreading rumors that because I believed in God, I no longer wanted to see my family or relatives, and that I was acting against the government. As time went on, the rumors became more and more outrageous, and some started to say that I had gone insane or that I was selling drugs. When the people in nearby villages heard these rumors, they all slandered and condemned me. My younger brother found these rumors so unbearable and was so worried for me that he sobbed and wanted to come find me. When I heard this news, I couldn’t calm myself or stop my tears from flowing. I really wanted to stand before my relatives and friends and explain that I believed in the true God, followed the right path, and had done nothing illegal. I wanted to fly straight to my brother, comfort him, and let him know not to worry about me. But if I went back like this, I would definitely be arrested by the police, and I would also put the brothers and sisters I had contact with in danger. I anxiously paced around the room. The more I thought about these things, the more I couldn’t sit still. Finally, I decided to take the risk and call my brother.

I knew my brother’s cell phone was probably being monitored by the police, but all I wanted to do was speak to him, so I didn’t concern myself with such details. I disguised myself and biked to a place dozens of miles away to call him, but to my surprise, the call didn’t go through. I wasn’t ready to give up, so I tried again, but the result was the same. I suddenly had a vague awareness that this was probably God’s intervention. If my brother’s cell phone was being monitored, then he and I would both be in danger. With this in mind, I prayed to God, “God! I almost fell for one of Satan’s tricks today. If You hadn’t stopped me in time, I would probably have been in danger. God, You know my weaknesses. Please lead me and guide me, and give me faith and strength….” When I returned to my host’s home for spiritual devotionals, I read a passage of God’s words: “Those whom God refers to as ‘overcomers’ are those who are still able to stand witness and maintain their confidence and devotion to God when under the influence of Satan and while being laid siege to by Satan, that is, when they find themselves amidst the forces of darkness. If you are still able to keep a pure heart before God and maintain your genuine love for God no matter what, then you are standing witness in front of God, and this is what God refers to as being an ‘overcomer’” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. You Should Maintain Your Devotion to God). From God’s word, I understood that God makes a group of overcomers in the last days. No matter how much pain or refinement they endure, or how the forces of Satan disturb and attack them, they are able to maintain their faith in God and follow God to the end. Then I thought about how when I was slandered and defamed, I became negative and weak because I feared that my reputation would be ruined. I also feared that my younger brother wouldn’t understand, so to give him peace of mind, I disregarded the safety of my brothers and sisters. I saw that I had no faith or loyalty to God. Wasn’t I losing my testimony by doing this? The great red dragon was hunting for me as if I was a criminal, inciting everyone to attack and slander me, and causing my relatives to misunderstand me. It was doing these things precisely because it wanted to make me negative and weak and force me to betray God. I couldn’t let the great red dragon’s devious tricks succeed. Once I realized this, I made up my mind: I would stand in testimony under Satan’s siege to satisfy God, and I would humiliate the great red dragon!

Illness was also a problem that plagued me during my days on the run. I had a left lung resection when I was 15 years old, and my right lung was not very good, either. At that time, the doctor told me to breathe more fresh air and exercise properly to increase my lung capacity. But because I was wanted by the police, I was forced to hide indoors for a long time. I couldn’t go out to get fresh air. I didn’t even have the chance to stand on a balcony to exercise. I had to be very careful when I occasionally opened the window to get some fresh air, because if I was discovered by the neighbors, it wouldn’t just be me in danger, I would be putting the brothers and sisters who hosted me at risk. After staying in this kind of environment for a long time, my physical condition started to deteriorate. The air couldn’t circulate indoors, so my breathing became increasingly strained, my chest felt congested, and after a while, my lung started to hurt, and I often coughed. When I knelt and prayed, I felt like fluid was about to come out of my mouth. When I slept on my side, I could feel the fluid moving in my lung. Later, when it got even worse, I started coughing up blood. My brothers and sisters advised me to go to the hospital, but to go to the hospital and see a doctor, I had to register with my ID card. I was a fugitive, so if something happened, not only would I be arrested, the brothers and sisters who had taken care of me would also be implicated, so I didn’t dare go to the hospital. Some brothers and sisters brought me traditional Chinese medicines, but my condition didn’t improve after taking them. I still coughed up blood. I couldn’t eat, and my body became increasingly weaker. I felt a little afraid, because if I continued to let my condition go untreated and it got worse, wouldn’t I eventually stop breathing and suffocate? Wouldn’t that mean my hope for salvation and a beautiful destination was gone? Wouldn’t those years of forsaking, expending, and hard work I had done in my belief in God all have been in vain? I really didn’t want to die. When I saw that my condition was getting worse by the day and I was coughing up blood, I couldn’t help crying, and I felt utterly miserable.

Later, I searched for parts of God’s word that applied to my state and I came across this passage: “Job did not talk of trades with God, and made no requests or demands of God. His praising of God’s name was because of the great power and authority of God in ruling all things, and it was not dependent on whether he gained blessings or was struck by disaster. He believed that regardless of whether God blesses people or brings disaster upon them, God’s power and authority will not change, and thus, regardless of a person’s circumstances, God’s name should be praised. That man is blessed by God is because of God’s sovereignty, and when disaster befalls man, so, too, it is because of God’s sovereignty. God’s power and authority rule over and arrange everything about man; the vagaries of man’s fortune are the manifestation of God’s power and authority, and regardless of one’s viewpoint, God’s name should be praised. This is what Job experienced and came to know during the years of his life. All of Job’s thoughts and actions reached the ears of God and arrived before God, and were seen as important by God. God cherished this knowledge of Job, and treasured Job for having such a heart. This heart awaited God’s command always, and in all places, and no matter what the time or place it welcomed whatever befell him. Job made no demands of God. What he demanded of himself was to wait for, accept, face, and obey all of the arrangements that came from God; Job believed this to be his duty, and it was precisely what was wanted by God” (The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II). After reading God’s words, I understood a little about God’s will. The fact that my illness was getting worse was permitted by God. It was God’s test for me to see if I had true faith and obedience. But when I was in pain, all I thought about was my own life, death, and final destination. I was afraid that I would lose my salvation if I died. I saw that I believed in God purely to gain blessings, that I was attempting to make deals with God, that I lacked the conscience and reason a created being should possess, and that I didn’t have any obedience to God at all. I thought of Job. No matter whether God gave him great wealth or allowed Satan to deprive him of everything, he praised the name of God, and believed that no matter whether God gives or takes, God is righteous. Job’s belief in God was not adulterated by personal motives, he didn’t consider his own interests, gains, losses, and no matter what God did, he could stand in the position of a created being and simply obey God. He viewed obedience to God as more important than his own life. Job’s humanity, conscience, and reason made me feel especially ashamed. In all of my belief in God up to this point, I had been trying to make deals with God, and I was still very rebellious and corrupt. Even if I really were to die of my illness, that would be by God’s righteousness. When I recognized this, I knew how I should face illness and death, so I thought to myself, “No matter how my illness develops, I will entrust myself into God’s hands and submit to God’s arrangements.”

One morning in November of 2016, just when I wanted to get up, my lung began to hurt. It took me about ten minutes and all of my strength to get up and lean on the headboard. At that moment, the freezing cold wind came in through the window, and I felt truly hopeless. I couldn’t stop myself from crying. After a while, I became short of breath, my heartbeat sped up, my whole body became tense, I struggled to exhale and inhale, and my whole body was very uncomfortable. I felt like I could suffocate at any moment, and I thought that this time, I might not survive. When my sisters saw me this way, they were so anxious that they didn’t know what to do, so they called a sister who had a clinic to come over. She scrambled to give me an IV infusion, but even after she put the needle in, the infusion wouldn’t go in because my blood flow had pretty much stopped. Hopeless, she walked to the door of the room, shook her head, and said, “There’s nothing we can do.” Some sisters turned away and quietly wiped away tears. I knew that I was about to die, and I was a little scared. I was afraid that if I died, I wouldn’t see the realization of the kingdom. At this time, Job’s words kept coming into my mind: “Jehovah gave, and Jehovah has taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah” (Job 1:21). I also thought of the passage of God’s word I had read earlier: “When you face suffering, you must be able to lay aside concern for the flesh and to not make complaints against God. When God hides Himself from you, you must be able to have the faith to follow Him, to maintain your previous love without allowing it to falter or dissipate. No matter what God does, you must submit to His design and be prepared to curse your own flesh rather than make complaints against Him. When you are faced with trials, you must satisfy God, though you may weep bitterly or feel reluctant to part with some beloved object. Only this is true love and faith” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Those Who Are to Be Made Perfect Must Undergo Refinement). God’s words greatly inspired me. I was afraid of death before, so I didn’t obey God at all, but this time I could no longer rebel against God. Even if I did die, I had no complaints. I am a created being, so I should obey God. What’s more, I was fortunate to have accepted God’s gospel of the last days and heard truths that the saints of all past eras never heard. This was already God’s grace and favor to me. Even if I was facing death, I still had to thank God! So, I struggled to say two words—paper, pen. The sisters quickly brought them, and I leaned on the sisters and used all my strength to write in the notebook: “God is forever righteous! He is forever worthy of our praise!” The moment I stopped writing and let go of the pen, my vision gradually dimmed.

The sisters cried and held my hand, encouraging me to rely on God and persevere, but faced with the facts before me, I felt I really couldn’t hold on anymore, that it was impossible to live. I felt as if my heart was gradually sinking to the bottom of the ocean, and the sounds around me faded away. But just when I felt that there was no hope, a passage of God’s words appeared very clearly in my mind: “People’s faith is required when something cannot be seen by the naked eye, and your faith is required when you cannot let go of your own notions. When you do not have clarity about God’s work, what is required of you is to have faith and to take a firm stance and stand witness. When Job reached this point, God appeared to him and spoke to him. That is, it is only from within your faith that you will be able to see God, and when you have faith God will perfect you. Without faith, He cannot do this” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Those Who Are to Be Made Perfect Must Undergo Refinement). The enlightenment of God’s word gave me great comfort and encouragement. My life comes from God, and whether I lived or died on that day was in the hands of God. Without God’s permission, neither Satan’s forces of evil nor disease could take my life. As long as I had a single breath left in me, I couldn’t give up, and I shouldn’t lose hope in God. I prayed to God, “God! Although I face death today, I have deeply felt that You are always by my side. God, I wish to entrust myself completely to You, and I leave my life and death entirely up to You! I believe that no matter what You do, You are righteous. I have come before You in this life and gained some knowledge of You, so even if I die, I will have no complaints or regrets. If I don’t die today, if I can continue to live, from this day forth, I wish to pursue the truth, perform my duty well, and repay Your great love.” At that time, a sister played the hymn “Pure Love Without Blemish”: “‘Love’ refers to an affection that is pure and without blemish, where you use your heart to love, to feel, and to be thoughtful. In love there are no conditions, no barriers, and no distance. In love there is no suspicion, no deceit, and no cunning. In love there is no trade and nothing impure. If you love, then you will gladly dedicate yourself, will gladly suffer hardship, you will be compatible with Me…” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Many Are Called, but Few Are Chosen). After hearing these lyrics, I felt a great sense of self-reproachment. After believing in God for so long, I had not put into practice any of God’s word, let alone did I truly love God. At that time, whether I lived or died, I only wanted to pursue obedience to God. As I was contemplating God’s words, a miracle happened. Without me even noticing it, my breathing gradually eased, my breaths became less rapid, and my heart became much calmer. When the sisters saw that I had recovered, they thanked God with excitement, and I truly saw God’s miraculous deeds. Although I could breathe normally again, my body was already severely depleted, so my sisters still advised me to be hospitalized. One of them gave me her ID card, but I was afraid to implicate her. She held my hand and said, “Let’s pray to God together. What matters now is getting to the hospital. Just pray to God for perseverance and it will be fine.” I was so moved that I didn’t know what to say, nor did I have the strength to say it, so I could only nod my head, knowing all of this was by God’s love. After arriving at the hospital, although the doctor had some doubts about my ID card, they did not look into my real identity in detail, and the treatment process went relatively smoothly. My condition gradually improved, and I was discharged from the hospital about a week later.

After I was discharged from the hospital, I resumed my life in hiding. Because the brothers and sisters around me were often arrested, I frequently had to move urgently to a new place, which became a terrible chore for me. I had to wear a mask when I moved houses to avoid being caught on camera, but it made it hard for me to breathe. Once, when I was hurrying along the road wearing a mask, I couldn’t breathe. It was very difficult to get on the bus, and once I did, there were many people inside, and the air was so stuffy that I was taking deep, gulping breaths. My chest tightened painfully, and my eyes were widening involuntarily. I felt that if I didn’t get off the bus, I might die inside it. I constantly prayed and called out to God in my heart, and after quite a while I was able to breathe a little easier. After relocating so many times, I felt weak, and I was afraid that my body wouldn’t be able to handle it, and that if it went on, this torment would kill me. Later, I saw a passage of God’s words: “The utmost faith and love are required from us in this stage of work. We may stumble from the slightest carelessness, for this stage of work is different from all the previous ones: What God is perfecting is mankind’s faith, which is both invisible and intangible. What God does is convert words to faith, to love, and to life. People must reach a point where they have endured hundreds of refinements and possess faith greater than Job’s. They must endure incredible suffering and all manner of torture without ever leaving God. When they are obedient unto death, and have great faith in God, then this stage of God’s work is complete” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Path … (8)). It’s true, the path of following God is inherently bumpy and difficult. The Communist Party’s persecution of Christians has never let up. If we believe in God, we face the danger of being arrested, tortured, or even killed at any moment, but God uses such environments to perfect our faith. I knew that as someone who believes in and follows God, I should endure these persecutions and tribulations. When I thought of this, my faith felt renewed.

Looking back on my years of belief in God, I see that the Chinese Communist Party used various means to push me, step by step, into a dead end, but God’s words have always led and enlightened me. Now, I have some discernment of the demonic essence of the CCP, and I have gained some understanding of the adulteration of my seeking blessings in my faith, and I have learned how to be reasonable before God. I have also seen God’s miraculous deeds. When I was on the verge of death, God guided me toward tenaciously surviving, and my faith in God grew stronger. All of these are gains I could never have made in a comfortable environment. I resolve that no matter how the CCP persecutes me, or how hard or difficult things become, I will follow God, properly perform my duty, and repay God’s love.