You must have noticed. At the end of all the texts I post, I ask you to send testimonials for us to publish here. Today, for the first time, we will have a text based on the testimony of a user. Lilian sent us a message after the post “Where is your heart?” telling how she was impacted by the message. A few days later, I got in touch to see how her walk with Jesus was, and I was very happy with the answer. I leave to all the brothers this wonderful testimony.
Lilian’s first testimony
Hello Marcelo!
I’m here to talk about how your blog spoke DIRECTLY to me now. Yes I just read the text “Where is your heart?”. I lived something similar, but unlike you, I did not obey the voice of God.
As a teenager, I had one goal in my life: to be recognized and achieve everything in the professional area. No other area of my life mattered to me.
I converted before I went to college, I loved Jesus, but I followed the purpose I had set. That was “grow professionally”. So far so good, I studied, graduated, and kept working at church, dividing my time between work, college, and ministry. God honored me and put me in places to work which I prayed for when I was studying. Other places that were dreams and I didn’t have the courage to pray and yet God gave it to me.
That was when things began to unravel. I took a business trip and was away for a few months. I was amazed by that (I’m an event producer) when I came back God started talking to me. He told me to turn my heart to Him and do what He had called me again. Me? I didn’t obey! Literally my mind was like the rich man in Luke 18: “I’m not in sin, I love Jesus, I go to services when I can, I pray. I just can’t reconcile career with ministry.” I worked almost every weekend, and the actions of my ministry of evangelism took place exactly on those days.
So I went for FIVE YEARS (believe God spoke to me all this time and didn’t want to obey). I became a workaholic, did nothing but work, just enjoyed working. Hated weekends, holidays and vacations. For me, a holiday was only good if it was working, and I was very proud of it.
I was fired in August 2018 from the agency where I worked. I continued until November working as a freelancer in another agency. I began to think I couldn’t stay at home waiting for the job to knock on my door. I tried to open my own agency and get into government culture edicts. That’s when “unexplainable” things started to happen.
I made five projects for these edicts. Two of these already had sponsors and only one approval was missing to execute. A week before the announcement came out, an appeal was issued saying that some companies could no longer sponsor. Among them, the one that was listed to sponsor. Therefore, none of the projects were approved.
I have been serving the City Hall for nine years holding the same events every year and they have not called me to do the 2019. I started freaking out! I was “angry” with God and asking Him all the time what was going on. With a troubled heart, I could not hear God, only the voice of my anguish.
In January I started helping the victims of the Brumadinho dam rupture as a volunteer (a disaster that happened on Brazil). I loved to take social action and that’s when my heart began to “quiet down”. Giving a little space to the whisper of God that said “turn your heart to me”.
But I was still confused, every time I heard that I understood it differently and thought, “Jesus, I didn’t turn away from you, why are you charging me to turn my heart to you?”
I kept looking for a job and thinking about it 24 hours a day. I sent curriculums to several vacancies by recommendation and no one ever called me. I no longer knew what to do, I was confused and I began to pray and fast (for God to open doors, because I thought it could be anything but God who was closing them), At that time God began to talk again about how my heart should be totally on Him. And how there was where my joy really was. I was very reluctant with everything I heard, my mind only thinking about the debts and how it would be impossible to serve him without at least one dollar in his pocket.
After much fighting, I decided to obey. It’s been very hard for me to accept to surrender 100% to the call. Turning my head off the pro is like I’m erasing my life. After all I did nothing but work.
This week God brought many truths to my heart, showing me why all this. One of the things He told me was that He wanted my whole heart on Him, and He would not allow me to work until I understood that He must be the center.
Yesterday I slept with these things. Today I woke up, grabbed my cell phone, opened the Bible Offline app and there was the alert with the message “Where is your heart?”. Your words served as a balm to my soul this morning. I fell asleep yesterday praying to God and asking Jesus what he wanted from me. And how would I do that. Today I see your text as an answer!
Forgive the text so long, but I needed to share with you! May God keep using you to reach lives and more lives through your words!
Getting in touch
After a few months, I contacted Lilian again and asked how her life was currently. What if her testimony was still alive and walking. See the answer!
Lilian’s Second Testimony
Thank God, everything is great!
I followed God’s directions regarding what He had told me.
I started a social project for the reintegration of homeless people in downtown Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais – Brazil).
God was preparing everything, the church provided a room in a commercial building so we could follow up with these people.
I am working fully on this project and I am extremely happy. Remember the job I was so afraid of giving up? I don’t miss him at all.
I have been living new days with God and it has been a wonderful time!
My concluding remarks
As I said in the last text, I am extremely happy when I see God impacting lives through the texts I have published on this blog. I’m just a young man who has loved to study. Learn more about God. And just as it was in Lilian’s life, I just let God take care of everything. I have certainly been happy to be able to bear so much fruit through my life. I feel like a river of living water cleaning me and filling me every time I get a message or a testimony from the texts I make. God is wonderful. To Him be all glory at all times! Amen!
Let’s talk!
For a more personal contact with me, find me on Instagram by the name @zmbrandao. You can also follow @bibliajfa‘s profile!
Do not forget to send us your testimony through the email contact@bibleoffline.com. We want to hear about your experiences with God.
