Many times we ignore the power of a simple word. But God, who is infinitely compassionate, lifts the beggar from the ash heap through former, yet sincere “beggars”.

Hi Mrs. Cristiane,

This article changed my life: “When it’s not about faith”.

Some time ago, I was on the ground floor of the UCKG. I usually come early and wait for the service to start. Anguish was filling my heart because I was going through a very difficult time. What made me feel even worse was knowing that I was to blame for everything that had happened. But I couldn’t put my finger on where things had started to go wrong.

I went upstairs, sat down on the front row before the altar, and talked to God. I asked Him to show me why I was going through all of that.

After a few minutes, I stood up, took a copy of the church’s newspaper and started reading it. I saw an article with the title, “When it’s not about faith”.

As I read that article it felt like the author was sitting right next to me. In the first paragraph, she said, “You’ve done something wrong, you cry about it, apologize, think of changes you need to implement in your life, and then move on…” That’s exactly how I was feeling. It was unbelievable! Before I could finish reading the article, God made me see that my mistake was that I had made friends with worldly-minded people inside the church. I allowed myself to be influenced by what my eyes saw and ignored God’s voice that said, “Be careful!”

I was being condemned for things that I hadn’t done; people were misjudging me and I couldn’t look at them with pure eyes anymore. It was a very difficult time. The only mistake I had made was to trust in people when I should have trusted in the Lord Jesus. I paid a high price for that.

It took me 5 minutes to realise this—exactly the same time it took me to read the article.

I felt renewed after reading the last sentence. You said, “Convert by changing who you are inside.”

I stood up, participated in the service and began examining myself until I finally overcame that “dark cave where the further you go in, the darker it gets.”

That day, I learned that a true friend is a person God uses to light up the darkness of the cave through sincere words.

For this reason, I usually make a joke saying that my three best friends are: Cristiane Macedo (my husband’s sister), Cristiane Lopes (my brother’s wife) and Cristiane Cardoso, who was the instrument God used to rescue me when my faith was weak.

Thank you.

Daniela Macedo
Married, 25
Bahia, BRAZIL