I've shared my testimony before on Sowfull but this time I wanted to open it up for others to share their testimonies.I believe that it's so important to share how Christ has worked in our lives so that we can inspire and spark faith in others.
“They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not love their lives in the face of death.”
Revelation 12:11 HCSB
Below are true testimonies from people in various places in the world. Some requested to remain anonymous and that shall be respected. I pray that these words bless you as they may relate to your situation.
"This is how I got saved. It was towards the end of 2015, I'll never forget, the day Jesus found me. I was so lost to the darkness, that it was normal for me. I grew up in a very broken family, I didn't realize how broken it was, until God opened my eyes. I am the last born of six kids on my mother's side, with my father, I don't know how many we are. My dad left before I was born because mom was told there is something not normal with me, so I might be born with a form of disability. It was not what they expected, I was born with partial deafness. You must understand, where I grew up in, men did not want a disabled child, because they felt like less of a man to think that they would father a child with some form of disability. It was a horrible idea that they passed around from generation to generation. But dad still kept in touch with my other five siblings, they had such a strong bond, that on his death bed, he called them so that they can have their last conversations together. It was then that the "me vs them" started. I felt like the rejected one. I didn't quite fit in. I wasn't loved. When Father's day came, I was filled with sadness, while my siblings still had their dad, until he passed. When he died, I felt like I lost him for the second time, forever and it pained me even more because I craved having a father, just like my siblings did.
It was that time I went through depression. In that dark season, I craved love and attention, so I pretended to be this person I'm not. I'd lie just to make people stay. I always felt like I had to work a lot harder for anyone in my life to stay, since dad left. Depression turned into suicidal thoughts. One morning, I reached my breaking point. I went out to the train station because I wanted to be hit by a train. As I was waiting for the train to come, this girl on Twitter messaged me (by the way, its not just Twitter), she said she had a dream that I would kill myself and told me details about myself that were so true, I was shocked. She told me about Jesus, that I don't have to end my life, I can trade it for Christ's instead. So that day, Jesus saved me.
A few months later, I found a church.
My family hated it because they want nothing to do with the church. They actually believe/worship ancestors. So I was causing a havoc. The day I got baptized, I was alone, no friends, no family. I struggled with just getting out of the house to go to church. My sister would go into my room when I was not there, she would burn incense and talk to whatever and tell it to make me to stop going to church, but little did she know that my room is flooded by the Holy Spirit, that is why anything she did never worked. To this day, it's still a war, but no dead person or alive or anything at all is greater than Jesus. I believe that as much as God has made a way for me, He has a way for my family and He has taught me to trust Him and to lean on Him. I've never been more free and loved than I am right now and its all because Jesus met me where I was, took my deadness, and gave me His life, which is so beautiful. I now have a wonderful family in the body Christ!!!"
- Sister in Christ, South Africa
"My Testimony of Post-Grad depression Upon graduating from college in May 2015, I knew for sure I didn't want to move home. In the months leading up to my apartment lease running out, I was consistently applying for jobs and grad programs that would keep me away from home. None of that worked out. I applied for and was offered a job in Georgia but I knew I wasn't supposed to be there. I ended up moving home at the end of July and the post-graduation depression hit me hard. Amidst starting my grad program, I still felt like I was empty inside. The enemy planted negative thoughts in my head that told me that life was hopeless. I felt like my independence had been stripped from me because I moved back in with my parents. I fell into the comparison trap which caused me to feel inferior to my friends who were able to stay in Charlotte, work full time, and continue friendships without me. I began to think that my place in people's lives didn't matter because in my mind it seemed as if no one care that I left. Between the comparison game and feelings of inferiority as well as feeling left out, my life quickly became unfulfilling. I would wake up and go to sleep crying. I either didn't eat or ate terribly which caused me to gain weight. I slept all day except for when I was in class. When I did connect with friends, I spent time complaining about my situation and eventually they got tired of listening to me. I tried to make myself feel better by visiting Charlotte some weekends but my friends and I didn't click anymore. I felt like I was forcing something that wasn't there which made me feel worse. At this point, God was changing my appetite and I didn't even know it. No amount of alcohol could fill me and no bar or lounge could make me feel like I belonged. The things my friends were interested in no longer interested me so we had nothing to talk about. Between my body physically being depressed and feeling like everyday was lifeless, I reached my bottom. I had thoughts and plans of running away. I convinced myself nothing or no one needed me. I felt like if I left home, no one would look for me and life would resume as normal. I became irritable and made it hard for my family to be around me. One night after an argument with my parents, I had a severe panic attack. I locked myself in my bathroom and found myself sitting on my floor crying. I couldn't breathe and my hands were shaking uncontrollably. I knew in that moment, this wasn't what life was supposed to be like. I cried out to God for the first time to take control of my life. I asked Him to first help me because I didn't know if I would survive that moment. I needed Him to be the breath in my lungs and to wrap His loving arms around me. I told Him that He was going to have to pull me out of my depression because I saw no end in sight nor did I have the strength to find it. It was in that moment that God rebirthed me as I felt His Presence overwhelm me with peace. Although I can't explain it, I felt a calmness and a warmth come over me. From then on, He gave me a new reason to remain on His earth. He showed me what it feels like to experience His love and warm embrace every day of my life. While I hit many lows during this season, I gained a start in the mental health field, favor with employment, and some of the most amazing godly friends. Most importantly, I now have an ever-growing relationship with God that has shown me who I am in Him and continues to fill even the secret places of my life with His Love. The happiness I feel every day doesn't even compare to where I once was. I thank God for healing me from my depression and literally giving me a second chance at his beautiful gift of life. "
- Erin Coleman, North Carolina
"My testimony about anxiety. Anxiety is something I've struggled with since I was in 8th grade. It was so bad that I began experiencing physical symptoms that mimicked very serious medical conditions, warranting numerous doctor's visits and tests. Once I was told it was anxiety, like a lot of people, I felt that I just had to keep struggling until the circumstances I was in that triggered the anxiety were over. However, once I got to college and realized I couldn't just up and leave to reduce anxiety, I had to find an alternative method of coping, especially since I refused to take the medication the doctor prescribed me. I'll never forget when I was in the cafeteria at school and was literally about to have a panic attack. I spoke Philippians 4:6-7 over and over and I literally felt the anxiety leaving my body almost instantly. My heart stopped racing/fluttering, my body temperature regulated, I stopped trembling, I no longer felt short of breath. I felt this unexplainable peace come over me. That's when I truly began to understand the power of the tongue and speaking God's Word over my life. I realized I had to stay in constant prayer and know that whenever I speak God's Word over my body and mind (and REALLY mean it), it has to obey. Total healing, in regards to anxiety, didn't just happen all at once. It is a constant process of trusting in God and depending on Him even when I don't understand why I feel the way I do. I started going to counseling in undergrad which helped tremendously. It helped me pinpoint anxiety triggers and I began to address them in prayer. It's not easy dealing with anxiety, especially in these times. But, it is important to allow God to constantly renew my mind and for me to get into the habit of making a conscious decision to come out of a prideful mindset that makes me feel I can control everything. No matter the situation, I have the authority to use the Word God gave me to put anxious thoughts and feelings in their place. I choose to walk in the healing and deliverance God has given me."
- Eboni Hosch, North Carolina
"Before I gave my life to Christ, I had never even heard the term "saved" like.. what did that even mean? A lot of my Nigerian friends used it, but it was foreign to me. It wasn't until God nudged me to go to the Bethel Campus Fellowship Conference in 2014 that I found out--no, that I experienced--what it meant to be saved and WHO saved me. I had grown up in the Presbyterian church, Sundays in an African home were always routine: we went to church because it was the norm, it was what we did as a family. But what I never internalized was that I could actually have a relationship with God, that the Creator of the whole universe wanted to know me personally and I, Him. And that's what I experienced when I got saved February 7th, 2014 where God first introduced me to "relationship over religion." The Lord had set me free from so much: a porn & masturbation addiction, pride, lust, deceitfulness, you name it, He killed it. But the relationship did not stop there, it was simply birthed at that conference in Ridgecrest, North Carolina. For the next 3 years, I would be working out my salvation in fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12), literally. There were seasons when my old habits would creep back up and remind me of who I used to be, and there were times when I'd let the devil convince me that I wasn't truly set free. But God. After a roller coaster of ups and down, rebelling and returning, I finally chose God to be Lord over my life in November of 2015...and again in September of 2016. Because even when I believed in my heart and declared with my mouth that Jesus Christ was Lord, I still dipped my feet in sinful waters.. and drowned each time. God was always there to save me, to guard my life, to be my lifeguard, and I want nothing more than to love Him and serve Him for the rest of my life through trials and temptations, through storms and sunshine, through mourning and rejoicing. This walk with God is not easy and it has not been easy, and guess what? As long as I desire to grow in Him, it won't get any easier. But He is so worth it. He is more than worth it, because He thought that we were more than worth it when He sent His only son to die on the cross for our sins. So best believe I'm eagerly waiting to milly rock through those golden gates when He tells me, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."
- Atang, Maryland
"Hi, so my testimony is that I got into the college I wanted.
I live in Ireland and with the way things work over here you have to do well in your final exams (leaving cert) and from your results you get a certain amount of points. Obviously the better you do the more points you get. The course in the college I wanted required a lot of points. I needed around 500 points to guarantee my place there. Unfortunately, I was 33 points short. I remember when I got my results I broke down crying in the car. I couldn't believe it. It was that feeling of almost there but not quite, something I've felt all my life. It was going to take a major miracle for me to get into this college. But I give thanks to God for the people he has surrounded me with. These people in particular are my mum, my pastor and one of our church members. They reminded me of the God I serve Who is sovereign. The God Who can make the impossible possible. The God Who can take a situation where it looks as though all hope is lost and make something beautiful out of that same situation. With their words of encouragement I was able to build up my Faith and just surrender everything to God. I also spent days listening to a particular song on repeat which I will attach below. Today, I am so happy to say that I am now a student of Trinity College, the top college in Ireland. What a wonderful God He is. I can't thank Him enough for this beautiful gift. He has always seen me through every bad situation. I just want to encourage whoever is reading this now to just trust wholeheartedly and lean on God in whatever situation you find yourself in. Trust that no matter how bad things are, He is in control. He knows what He's doing and because His thoughts towards us are of good and not of evil, HIS way is the best. Song - https://youtu.be/FLJzLMUiDII "
Thank you,
Love from ireland
"My dad was in the car. It was him, his pastor, and this lady, and a couple more. They were on their way to minister at a jail and the lady just died in the backseat randomly. My dad's pastor, Dr. Otis, pulled over, told everybody not to be alarmed and to keep praying for her. She was dead, had no pulse, and they were praying in tongues and she was raised from the dead. She went to the hospital and the doctor was confused as to how she was still alive because she had less than 3% of blood in her body. They were swarming around the hospital and she was feeling fine, praising God that she was even alive. She said while she was dead, she could see them leaning down over her, praying for her but she could also see the light. But, God told her it was time for her to go back down to earth & tell everyone of His power."
- Kelsei LuBom, Louisiana