Saved by His Grace

A few weeks ago marked the four-year anniversary of the day I came to the Lord.

So much has happened in my life since that day, including a fire that left me temporarily homeless. Through the many ups and downs, I have continued to learn to trust in Him, taking comfort in one of His many beautiful promises, that He will never leave me nor forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:8).

In late March 2022, the Lord led my roommate to share one verse that would change everything. During this time, I was starting to seek the Lord but was still skeptical, coming out of a life of atheism.

But that day, the Lord met me in my brokenness, in my mess, when I was completely brokenhearted, suffering from depression as well as confusion from trying to find peace in New Age spirituality. I share more of my testimony of God rescuing me from depression in Overcoming Depression (the Spirit of Heaviness).

The verse that changed everything was Revelation 21:4, “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” 

Upon hearing that verse, I broke down crying for about half an hour straight (or more). It was in that moment that I finally felt hope for the first time in a very long time.

It was then that I finally let Jesus into my life, into my heart, and I brokenly prayed to Him to free me from the darkness, from the depression I had been suffering from. God had answered my broken prayers mightily, delivering me from a long battle with depression.

Rescuing Me From the Fire (Literally)

Since that day, God has showed up in my life so many times and helped me through very rough times, including the biggest one early in my faith walk. About five months after I made a willful commitment to turn to the Lord, a huge test of my faith occurred: my apartment building caught on fire, leaving me and my roommate temporarily homeless.

In August 2022, my apartment was part of a six-unit building fire, which forced me to have to rush into the burning building to rescue my newly-adopted pup, after just arriving home from work.

By God’s grace, I was able to rescue him in the nick of time before the firefighters showed up and wouldn’t allow anyone back in the building. It was only God that could have gotten me to arrive home from work the exact time I did, where I encountered my neighbors frantically yelling in the front yard to hurry and get my dog out of the burning building.

In those precious moments with no time to waste, I was running on pure adrenaline and raced to get my dog while the smell of smoke was already thick in my own apartment. The firefighters showed up a mere five minutes later and spent nearly an hour trying to control and extinguish the fire. The fire ended up destroying half of the building and was ruled accidental, originating two floors above us.

My upstairs neighbors were not as fortunate and lost both their dog and cat in the fire. My heart broke so much for them. But, all glory to God, all of my neighbors in the building got out on time and were uninjured.

In the proceeding hours, I was badly shaken up and extremely scared as to what would happen next. Finding myself suddenly homeless with all of my family being hundreds of miles away was terrifying. It was a heartwrenching experience, but God was there in the midst of it all.

All glory to God, our wonderful neighbors down the street were able to temporarily take us in for two nights, and then a dear sister in Christ that I worked with reached out to offer her two spare rooms for us to stay while we found a new home. During this time, I fought to stay calm as I looked constantly for a new apartment during a season that was very competive in the real estate market.

The fire had been a true test of my faith as a brand new believer, and it truly taught me the power of faith and prayer. After several days, I was losing hope in finding a new home anytime soon, and I recall breaking down, sobbing a lot, not yet knowing the miracles the Lord had in store.

During that very difficult time, the Lord essentially restored threefold what had been lost. God put it on the hearts of so many coworkers to donate both money enough to take care of first month’s rent and a security deposit and plenty of furniture and essentials to replace a lot of what had been damaged in the fire. 

Within a mere ten days proceeding the fire, the Lord led us to a new home, and I was beyond grateful. Unbeknownst to us, amid all my anxiety at the time, God had been preparing the new home for us. It had went on the market a mere five days before the fire, and no one else had put in an application for two whole weeks. Again, this was during an extremely competitive month for the rental market in the city.

The day I received the call that we got approved for the new place, I had fallen down on my knees and layed prostrate before the Lord. In that moment, I prayed harder than I had ever prayed, crying out to Him for favor for the new home, putting my full trust in Him to provide. Within less than an hour later, I received the call that we had been approved for the new place.

During that hard time, the Lord rescued me both physically and spiritually. It was in that old apartment where my former marriage fell apart two years before, and it served as a spiritual battleground for my struggles with depression and anxiety. For those familar with the Old Testament, it was in a sense my spiritual Egypt. But, God had greater plans for me and led me out of Egypt into my promised land in the proceeding weeks and months after the fire.

To those reading this who have been struggling in their faith walk, whether it be with doubt or anxiety or experiencing a hardship yourself, I pray that this testimony has been an encouragement to you.

The Lord is always there, even when He may seem far away from you or you don’t feel His presence. It’s in those moments that He is inviting you to grow closer to Him, in deeper intimacy in the prayer closet, in trusting Him with your whole heart.

To anyone reading this who is struggling with depression, anxiety, stress, and/or guilt and shame over a life you never intended to live, there is hope, there is freedom. If you are a doubter or a seeker, I want you to know Jesus loves you more than you could ever imagine and He can forgive you, all you need to do is turn toward Him, repent, and let Him transform your heart, mind and soul through prayer and His Word.

Until next time, Lord willing, shalom to my brothers and sisters in Christ. May you have a blessed rest of your week and a restful weekend.

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