After I followed Almighty God, I came to know from his word that today God works and speaks practically, leading people into reality in everything. But in real life, I had no true knowledge of the practical work of God.

Personnel transfer in God’s family is quite a normal thing because of the needs of the work. However, whenever my changed work was not to my liking, I could not obey the arrangement in my heart. I felt very distressed at this, so I brought the matter before God and prayed: “O God, when you arrange for me the people, matters, and things not to my liking, in my heart I always fail to obey you absolutely. I hate my disobedient and corrupt innate nature, but I just can’t extricate myself from it. How I wish I could obey you as Noah and Peter did. May you have mercy on me, care for me, and give me the truth of obedience.” After the prayer, I believed that when I encountered such matters again, God would surely keep me so that I could be obedient to him. However, before long, I failed to obey God again when I was assigned to a different work. I felt very distressed for that, “Alas! I disobeyed God again.” Then I murmured: O God! I have been praying for this matter for a long time, but why did I still disobey you? I do not want to grieve you like this while following you. God, you are almighty, so aren’t my mind and thoughts in your control? If you give me an obedient heart, won’t I be obedient to you? Since the king’s heart is in your hand and you direct it like a watercourse wherever you please, how much more me, a nobody? Today I still cannot be obedient to you; could it be that you did not listen to my prayer? I was weighed down with anxiety and was puzzled about this matter despite much thought. Then, God’s words came to me: “Now you have to start with reality in everything. Every work God does is most practical, is what people can sense, and is what they can experience and meet. People have many vague and supernatural things within. As a consequence, they do not know God’s present work. So, they always make errors in experiencing it and feel it is difficult to experience it. All this is caused by their notions.”

At that moment, I was suddenly enlightened. For such a long time, I always believed that I had prayed and sought God so that he should guide me and make me obedient in time of need. Actually, this is something vague and supernatural within me. I am really so blind and ignorant that I do not know God’s practical work at all. Although having followed God until today, I still believe in him in a vague way. God practically arranges people, matters, and things to perfect man; man has to, according to the requirements of God’s word, cooperate with God by practically undergoing suffering as a price before he can gain the truth and attain the transformation of his nature. However, after I prayed I fancied that God would directly give me the truth of obedience, and then I simply waited for God to do so. I myself did not cooperate with God by forsaking my flesh and practically undergoing suffering. When my fantasy was shattered, I complained against God and even harbored notions about God. I was really too foolish! O God, if you had not inspired me in time, I would continue to experience like that, and I would go further and further from you and my notions about you would become more and more serious. In the end, I would be eliminated by your practical work. Thank you, Almighty God! Your practical work has enabled me to understand that I was believing in a vague god, which was very far away from you, the practical God Godself. And your practical work has led me out of the vagueness and onto the right path of truly believing in you. I am willing to cooperate with you, experience your practical work, and be a person who has reality and genuine obedience.

Ma Ling

Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province