Jorani sat on the floor next to her mother. I sat in the circle with them and several other women as we discussed recent difficulties in our lives and how Jesus has helped us with them. Jorani smiled shyly yet joyfully as she shared, “It used to be that when my husband would get angry with me, I would get angry back at him very easily. That was my habit, and we would often fight. God has been working to change my character, though. Now when my husband gets angry, God helps me to stay calm and peaceful. I do not have to fight back. My husband is noticing the difference that Jesus makes in my life. He is not getting angry so often now.”
My heart filled with joy when I heard Jorani’s testimony. I remembered how just 18 months ago, when she was baptized, her husband was so upset that he threatened to kill her. After that, when we would sit at her parents’ house studying the Bible together, she would ask what the Bible taught about divorce. Feeling overwhelmed with the contention with her husband, she wanted to get out of the marriage. So hearing her testimony was very inspiring.
Often, new believers focus on what God can do for them to improve their physical needs, such as praying for health, financial blessings or improvement in social status. However, Jorani was excited to see how God was working in her heart. What a wonderful testimony to God’s power in our lives when we submit ourselves to Him.
Jorani’s testimony reminds me of some people that we worked with several years ago. When they were baptized, we asked them what had first made them desire to follow Jesus. They replied that it was the change in the lives of the people they knew who had already chosen to follow Jesus. Please pray for Jorani as she continues to allow Jesus to change her from the inside out, and pray for the testimony she is living out in their home to soften her husband, Saran’s, heart.
