I received the Holy Ghost in 2011 at the first younger Still Waters camp. My life has never been the same since then.
I was very young, but through my teenage years, the Lord kept me out of the world. I have heard young people say that they don't have a testimony because they never went out in the world. That IS a testimony! Don't ever let the devil tell you that!
Over the years the Lord has asked me to let go of many things that I loved for Him, including my church, family members, and friends that I genuinely cared for, but the Lord sent me a church. My family streamed the Tabernacle, listened to tapes and I visited Jeffersonville as much as I could. The Lord sent me a family: wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ. The Lord sent me a husband who believes this Message with all of his heart.
When I got married, I moved 3,000 miles away from my home, and it was quite a change. I started to get anxiety because everything was so unfamiliar to me. I stopped listening to those tapes and started listening to that devil. It was subtle, but I accepted the anxiety. I could hardly leave my house. I couldn't go to the store alone. I would break down in tears in public and have panic attacks in my own home. The devil told me that I was alone, and forgotten by my friends and family so far away. I believed him. My relationship with my father could have been better, and the devil would remind me of it all the time. Satan tried to turn me against my husband, telling me that he would someday leave me and the Message too.
That devil tried to tell me that I had a female problem, maybe even cancer, so I went to the doctor, but got normal results. That liar! He tried to label me with anxiety, depression, and also tried to tell me that I had some sort of personality disorder, which according to doctors was something I could never get rid of, and I'd have to learn to cope with it. The devil would tell me to hurt myself or end myself, and my husband was afraid to leave me alone because I would sometimes act on these thoughts.
The devil told me I committed UNPARDONABLE SIN, and how hopeless I felt! I'm so ashamed, but this is where the devil will lead you if you listen to him! My husband and I began to search for a psychiatrist that could help me. I couldn't get out of bed in the mornings, even though I couldn't sleep, either. I would go days without eating. I had many physical symptoms of stress. Just absolutely, NERVOUSLY BROKEN DOWN. That devil's voice was so constant, and I spent so much time alone, that I tried to drown it out by playing music or movies for background noise as I went about the day.
Sometimes the screen time on my phone was eight hours or more a day. I'm so ashamed of myself for listening to that devil! This went on for months, and one day got desperate, and thought to myself, "I just have no joy left in me." Then, I remembered something Bro. Joseph said to me at my first camp. He said something like, "You feel that joy? Don't you ever let the devil take that from you!" Something in me snapped.
Wow, I had gotten so far from God without even realizing it. I let the devil take my joy! I knew then: I need to hear that Voice! It was difficult at first. I remember Bro. Joseph saying once that if you give God five minutes of your time, He'll take it.
So, I started there, and after five minutes I was still hungry. I kept listening and digging for more. In one of the tapes I listened to that day, Bro. Branham was praying for people. I heard him say this and it immediately caught my attention:
O kind heavenly Father, Who knows all things, may He… It’s a—it’s the… Your faith has saved you, lady. That’s you setting right there rubbing your eyes with tears. You have been nervously broken down, and you have been told a lie by Satan. Satan has told you that you have committed the unpardonable sin, and you cannot be forgiven. Your sins are forgiven you, sister. Jesus Christ makes you whole. Stand up on your feet and accept that now, as God’s blessings. Raise up your hands, and stand up, and give Him praise.
54-0724 A Personal Experience With God
I about came apart. That was for ME! I accepted that for ME! I grabbed onto it and applied that to my situation. I'm not letting go of it! It has been six weeks of hearing at least one tape every day.
The tapes replaced those movies and music, and my screen time didn't go down, but now it's eight or more hours of Messages! The Lord has delivered me of more things than I can count.
Every symptom I had before is gone. I believe He's delivered me of things that I haven't even realized yet. I have been praying and reading my Bible every single day, which seemed so difficult a few months ago.
The other day my father and I had our first real conversation in years, and it was about the Message. Also, I caught myself a moment ago praying and crying for someone that I previously couldn't stand the thought of. This is where God will lead you if you listen to Him! Oh, nothing is too hard for God! Not depression, not anxiety, not fear, not hate! Not anything is too hard for God! Truly, if you put God first, He will take care of everything else.
He takes all that ugly darkness out of you and replaces it with joy unspeakable! I'm so happy! I just can't contain it all! A happy, happy, happy sister in Christ!
Anonymous