After Years of Searching, I Came to Know God.

Sunette - Cape Town, South Africa

 Hi,

My name is Sunette and I live in Cape Town, South Africa. I just wanted to share with you how, after years of searching, I came to know and experience God.

For as long as I can remember, my family always attended the NG church (Nederduits Gereformeerde) which is a protestant church. As a teenager, I was confronted with the hypocrisy between the “holy” Sunday church members and the same members who lived in sin and chaos during the rest of the week. Different incidences made me wonder if this hypocrisy is what Christianity is all about. I always believed there was a God, but I never had any personal experience or assurance that there was a true God and I felt the whole “Christianity-thing” was quite a bore.

After working for a few years, I went overseas to Britain to do some travelling. Travelling really opened my eyes to many things, including religion. Being exposed to different religions for the first time in my life made me question which religion is really true. I wondered if there really is one God or if all the different gods are all the same God in the end, which we worship in different ways? I was very confused, to say the least!

I was working on a fruit farm when I started to feel something was missing in my life, and I wondered what was really the purpose of my life. I ended up devouring any “self-help” book that could possibly lead me to an answer. In one book I read about a group of Christians who were praying and speaking in different tongues as described in the Bible at the day of Pentecost in ACTS 2:4. I had never heard of any such thing happening in modern day.

The same evening, I decided that I need to know if there is a God or not and if He is a God that is “the same yesterday, today and forever,” He would be able to give me a sign to prove He is real. I got down on my knees and prayed to God that He must give me a sign if I was to follow Him. The only sign that could convince me was that God would let me speak in another language just like in that book.

After I had prayed I waited and waited and waited and eventually fell asleep. Nothing happened, so it was clear for me there was no God.

However, two days later, a couple came to the farm where I was working. The lady started chatting to me and after a while she asked me, out of the blue, if I was a Christian. I didn’t tell her about my prayer of a few nights ago, but I told her for certain that I am not a Christian (as there is not really a God). She left it at that and gave me a leaflet from her church. We also exchanged phone numbers, but as soon as I had given her mine, I already thought to myself “why did I do that? I never give my number out.” So eventually, when people left, I threw the leaflet away.

Only a few days later, the lady phoned me a few times to ask if I fancy meeting up. I always had an excuse, but one time I couldn’t think of any excuse why I couldn’t meet up with her. So I agreed, but I thought that if she tries to preach to me I will be ready to answer her back.

That evening turned out to be very nice and we talked about loads of things but never did she mention God or religion. We met up numerous times and really came to like each other.

A few months later, the same couple invited me to go with them to Scotland for the weekend, which I gladly accepted. The weekend was absolutely great, with lots of sightseeing, meeting some of their friends, etc. As Sunday arrived the couple that I travelled with were going to a Christian meeting and would leave for home straight afterwards. I had the choice of doing some more sightseeing by myself, but I thought it would be more convenient for them if I’d join them.

At the service all the people were very friendly, and all seemed to really put their heart into the service (singing, etc.). However, at the end of the meeting, the congregation prayed together - in different languages, fully giving glory to God! As I have never heard people praying in tongues and didn’t know what was going on, I got really scared and wanted to run out. Only then the most peculiar thing of all happened: I could not move! My brain was working but my body just wouldn’t co-operate. As if that wasn’t enough, my tongue started going up and down in my mouth!

At that point somebody in the congregation was given the “gift of interpretation”. As I had never told anyone of my prayer to God for a sign, I knew the words the person uttered came directly from God: “Today is the day of salvation. You’ve asked for a sign and today you know I am the Lord your God! Today you will make your choice to follow Me.”

I thought I would go hysterical inside, and as soon as I could move again, once the congregation ended their prayer with “amen”, I ran out of the building. There was no doubt in my mind that what happened was from God! I knew then that the God of the Bible is true and I could no longer deny Him. I asked my friend to pray for me that God might forgive me and when we prayed, a new language flowed instantly from my mouth. I was shown in the Bible what had happened to me, and also scriptures about baptism of adults that I had never really looked at before. All these things I was never told at my church! So straight after the service was finished, I got baptised, like the Bible instructs us with full immersion, and I have never looked back since that awesome day!

Love in Christ,

Sunette