It brings me a lot of joy to introduce new testimonies to this little corner of the internet because I just LOVE how we can be encouraged by the fact that the Holy Spirit is alive and well… and it is certainly moving in the lives of those around us! How sweet is that? So, without rambling too much, I’m so pleased to present to you Sharon’s testimony of faith and I hope that you too can be encouraged by how God brought her back to Him!

My Faith Background

I grew up in West Africa, Nigeria where Christianity is wielded as a tool to defraud the masses. My country is bombarded with the venomous version of the true gospel called the prosperity gospel. I knew that Jesus died for me but the reason why he did so and what his death accomplished was never explained to me by my so-called church.

The lack of a proper presentation of the gospel caused me to form my own view of God as vengeful and wrathful; which is not entirely wrong but that was all I knew of his character. I decided on my own that the only way to appease God’s wrath was through my own works. My theology was “it is impossible to go to heaven, and though I deserve hell and God’s wrath, I can try to go to heaven by pleasing God through my forced acts of piety.” 

These forced acts of piety never lasted very long as I would be quickly worn out from “doing good” and quickly shrink farther away from God due to my acute awareness of my sinfulness & inability to change by sheer willpower. In short, unlike many unbelievers and believers today, I never had the delusion that I was a “good person.” I always had a deep sense of shame and knew exactly who I was before a Holy God. The sexual sins I had been involved in at such a young age only made matters worse.

The Wayward Search for Truth

Then, in 2016, I moved to the US to attend college; something I was not excited about, as the plans I had laid out for myself did not include America. As Proverbs 16:9 says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” Little did I know that the “very big plans” I had for myself paled in comparison to what the God of the universe had in store for me.

My first year in college was marred by what I would call a truth search. While I was getting exhausted from being peppered with different worldviews, such as discovering the mormon bible and discarding it to getting baptized in another name and being told I had to speak in tongues to go to heaven, God was drawing me near to him. 

After sheer exhaustion from dealing with so many lies about the gospel, I decided to end my truth quest and stuck to the motions of praying occasionally, trying to change myself while still identifying as a Christian. Sure, I owned a Bible, but I had never read it. There have been so many ways that God miraculously provided for me during my time in the States, but one significant example of how God looked out for me happened during college…

God Brought Me Back to Him Through Challenges

In 2017 I got hit by a car on my way to school. It was a miracle really that I only needed two stitches, considering the speed at which the car was going… even the nurses were surprised! Through his protection, God saved me from that accident and used the compensation that I received from my injuries to provide for my tuition during a time of great need. So even though at the time, I kind of resented God for making getting into heaven so difficult (according to my warped theology), he looked out for me in more ways than I can count when I was all alone in a foreign country.

Not too long after, I was going through a difficult patch, where I was at risk of being homeless. But while I still didn’t truly know God’s grace, he still provided for me. There was an international student advisor at my college, whom I will call Rachel. She decided to take me in even though I never asked her. Rather, because she sensed something was wrong due to my frequent visits to the international office to speak with someone that was trying to help me, she offered without me ever having to say a word to her.

I am so grateful to God for opening Rachel’s heart which caused her to open her home to me, because without her, I would have had to either find somewhere else to live or even face the option of going back home to Nigeria. Rachel and her family who barely knew me gave me shelter at their home. My time at her home was filled with rest and peace… it was as if God was giving me rest.

The Doctrine of Grace = God the Sloppy Judge?

Little did I know that he was working through this woman to open my eyes to the doctrine of grace. She was alarmed when I told her that my relationship with God was “based on my feelings” during the course of one of our many theological conversations. She did not miss a beat and quickly whipped open her Bible to the book of Romans. I was absolutely in shock at the doctrines presented in Romans and brushed it off because I considered it as a threat to my perfectly curated ‘blood, sweat and tears’ version of the gospel. To me, the doctrine of grace presented God as a sloppy judge who turned a blind eye to sin and I wanted no part in it.

But God Proved Me Wrong

In a year, I was able to move out from Rachel’s home and get my own apartment. However, the God of grace, who Rachel showed me, left a pebble in my shoe. I found a church near my new apartment and started attending regularly. I was really relieved there was no other name being proclaimed and no one was adding something else to the list I already had in order to go to heaven.

Eventually, I went on a mission trip with that church. However, it turned out to be more of a travel experience to me than a spiritual one, and when I got back home from that mission trip, I had a deep sense of unexplainable loneliness. I cried out to God and told him that I needed him. I turned on some Christian music, grabbed my Bible in tears and read some passages that did not make sense to me. The words of the songs brought me comfort.

From that day on, my life changed, God used my desperation to bring me to surrender. He changed my taste in music and helped me to stop cursing. These two things were particularly noteworthy because some of the things that I unsuccessfully tried to do in the past when I was in my phase of trying to ‘earn my salvation. I had a growing desire to read the Bible and was slowly understanding what God’s grace really meant. It excited me to find out how God was not only a just Judge but also a merciful Judge. Like what 1 John 1:9 (ESV) says, if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

God was telling me that only He could slay every sin I tried to overcome with my own strength and only He would get all the glory. 

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. — Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV.

Where God Has Taken Me Since… 

I have since moved from the States and now live in Canada. God has used the lockdown and isolation to bring me closer to Him than ever before and has been growing me with a deeper understanding of his grace. I now know that nothing can ever separate me from his love and that there is no condemnation for all those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1 & Romans 8:38-39). The Christian walk is never easy and it isn’t ever smooth, nor can I claim to walk perfectly in Christ… but his grace and his love abounds… and for that, I can greatly rejoice. 

Here’s Why You Can Take Assurance in Your Salvation…

If you are a brother/sister in Christ who is currently struggling with the assurance of salvation; Please know that God is faithful and he will surely glorify those whom he has called and justified (Romans 8:30). I pray we can all echo Paul’s confidence in 2 Timothy 1:12, “which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.” (ESV).

In short, the one whom we have placed our hope in will never fail us. I would like to leave you with encouragement from Hebrews 12: 1, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (ESV). Thank you for reading and God bless you!

More About the Author… 

Hi! My name is Sharon. I enjoy cooking and spend most of my time indoors.  I play the ukulele sometimes and enjoy collecting different genres of christian music to appreciate the talents God has given his people. You can reach me at mundanechristianthougts@gmail.com if you would like to connect. 🙂 

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Testimonies from Other Girls in the Tribe

If you liked Kristina’s Christian testimony of her transformed life after meeting Christ, be sure to check out some of the other personal faith testimonies from others girls in the tribe!

—> Oyelola’s testimony: It Took a Brain Aneurysm for Me to Surrender

—> Hannah’s testimony: Finding Jesus in the Midst of Anxiety and Broken Dreams

—> Maclean’s testimony: How God Called Me to Be More than a ‘Good Church Girl’

—> Melissa’s testimony: Finding God Amongst the Anxiety & Broken Heart

—> Kristina’s testimony: How Dare God Call Me a ‘Sinner’?!

Do you Have a Story?

If you’ve got a personal faith testimony or a story to share, please send me an email at hi@truthfullymichelle.com

I’d love to get in touch with you and share your beautiful story too!

Before You Go…

Drop a comment in the comment section below! And let me know whether you could relate to Sharon’s Christian testimony of a transformed life after meeting Christ! Let’s start a discussion!

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Hope to see ya there!

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