Faith's Testimony

Knowing that I have eternal life gives me confidence about my future because I know that no matter what happens, I am loved and forgiven by Jesus and my eternal destiny is to be in heaven with Him. No matter how great or awful life may feel on Earth sometimes, I have a peace that everything is a part of God's plan for my life and ultimately, it doesn't matter what people think of me.

I was saved when I was five years old, but my freshmen year of high school I met two girls in my P.E. class who God really used to help grow me in my faith. One of the girls is named Hannah. Hannah was a hard-core atheist who grew up in a "christian" home but resented religion for its homophobic beliefs and had every "scientific" explanation against the existence of God. She loved to debate me on the topic, and I loved the challenge, but I was very unprepared most of the time. The second girl's name was Sophie. Sophie was a socially awkward, possibly mildly autistic girl who also loved to debate every aspect of Christianity. She was more into mystic religions such as "achieving nirvana" and loved to listen to Satanic rock bands and study conspiracy theories. Although both of these girls claimed they would never believe that the Christian belief system was the "right one" they both came at me with question after question and counter-argument after counter argument every single day. In the beginning, I was first thrilled that they wanted to talk about God in general and I knew it would be a great opportunity to share the gospel, but as they asked questions, I realized I didn't know most of the answers. Now, I realize that I could never know all of the answers, but many of their question were simple, important, and had to do with the very foundations of my faith. These questions were the first objections I had ever heard against Christianity, so naturally, their questions became my questions. I began aggressively researching all of these objections, trying to make sense of everything for myself, as well as my new friends. The answers I found made sense to me, but when I presented them to Hannah and Sophie, they would either have an alternate explanation or come up with another objection. I felt determined to find the answers they demanded, but it became a frustrating process and I started to wonder if they were right. I found myself praying consistently, which wasn't something I had done much before. I would pray for my friends salvation and for wisdom, but as I began to think they might be right, my prayers were becoming desperate. I prayed that God would help me to know that He was really there. I gave up the battle I was fighting in my mind and eventually I cried out to God and asked him to help me believe and live my life with a love for Him. I believe he answered my prayer. The next day I saw everything differently. God's word started to make sense and I had a strong desire to know God. I thank God for allowing me to go through that time of questioning, because I grew in my relationship with Him more than ever before.

Because of my walk with God, I know I am never alone and that what others think doesn't really matter.