The process of a journey is the most important part. I used to think that if God would just illuminate my path like a runway to show me which way He wanted me to go in life then I would be so happy to follow Him. But I really believe that He makes life the way it is because He wants us to seek a meaningful relationship with Him – a relationship that is based on experience and not emotion. That’s not just part of the process, it’s like an incredibly integral and important element in each piece of the jigsaw puzzle that is coming together to form the whole ‘picture’ story of my life. I look back often at how it was not the way I wanted that storyline to work out, but how thankful I am that God didn’t answer the prayers the way I wanted. It’s been a very fun journey because we’ve seen the Lord answered our prayers differently than what we hoped for and we’ve also seen Him very specifically answered what we were praying for just in the nick of time.
Here I would like to share my personal experience about my prayers. In my teenage days I always tried to run away from my religious background, so at that time I always prayed to God for my marriage because the only solution to get rid of it was through marriage. After marriage and when I got cheated by my husband, I became frustrated and heart broken and always complained to God that I only prayed for a good husband, not a cheater. But now after long time, I realized that incident was only the beginning of my new life because if I spent a normal marriage life like other women of my country then I couldn’t be able to move overseas where I found people who helped me to know about Isa Al Masih. Also, when I started my business I always prayed to God for the success of my business because I wanted to become successful and rich like others but when I lost my business and all my investment, I again became depressed and hopeless and stopped praying. But now after following Isa, I realized the reason why God didn’t answer my prayers was because He wanted to open the way for me to know Isa through these failures. Success could make me physically rich but spiritually poor. After becoming the follower of Isa, I admitted that though physically I may be poorer, spiritually I am richer than many others who are physically rich. Honestly, I don’t think I can fit everything into this testimony on how Isa Al Masih has changed my life after he became my Lord and Saviour. This is because Isa Al Masih has changed my life to a huge extent from a nominal Muslim to a Muslim who truly surrenders to Allah.
Before I became the follower of Isa, I was a very short-tempered person who was always ready to fight with everyone. If someone tried to criticize or corrected me, I became angry with them and also stopped talking with them for a long time. However, after following Isa I felt many changes in my life. I personally think that Isa has given me the ability to resist temptation and decreased my level of anger. Here’s a Bible verse that I live by: “But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13). I also learned how to deal with criticism through the verse, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” (Romans 12: 14)
Sometimes, when I felt distanced from Isa, the Lord, I felt as if this string of confidence, patience, and stability left me. I simply felt……lonely. Not only did I feel lonely, but I felt as if all the sins and evil temptations were out there to get me. It was a weird feeling but once I prayed and meditated on His word, I felt a sense of security within my soul. It’s really amazing! Although humans have a tendency to sin, once they allow Isa to be the Lord of their lives, they will experience peace and serenity even when life can get messy.
In the beginning, I thought that my experience of Isa Al Masih was one of the greatest. It was special and unique of a kind but when I later read and heard the testimonies of some other people’s encounters with Jesus, I realized theirs were much more amazing than mine. The very best conclusion I could come up with to summarize my spiritual journey is as stated in 1 Timothy 1:12-17
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service,
13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief;
14 and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.
15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.
16 Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.
17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen