Lim Shan Qi
I am Shan Qi, and I am turning 18 this year. My family is a Christian household with my mother, father and 2 other brothers. This is my testimony on how I came to know, believe, and trust in God.
Since young, I have been attending WEFC, occasionally going to other churches on special occasions like Easter. I went through the whole system of power tots, power kindies, powerkids. I listened to the Bible stories, like Noah’s Ark and the parting of the Red Sea. Knowing all these miracles didn’t make me trust in God much. Church felt like a simple class that I attended every week. I just lived like any other kid; you couldn’t tell that I was a Christian compared me to any other person of another religion. Nothing of the Christian faith had much influence in the decisions I made.
Even though it was my parents who physically brought me to church, others encouraged me to look deeper into the faith. I told people that I believed in Yahweh, but if they asked me why I did, I had no proof to back up my faith in Him. Some time back, I came across a video on the different religions in the world. The one thing that made me realise that I was on the right path was that Christianity is the only religion that says I am powerless in guaranteeing where I go after death. I realised that I am “shit” and cannot save myself from hell, and I needed God to save me. The video made me think: If I believed in any other religion, wouldn’t it be pointless? For those that preached predestination, there was no point since the religion could not change where I ended up. For those that believed that we could save ourselves, what was the point of believing in God then? I wanted to understand why Christianity was different from the others, so I decided to explore the religion more by starting a relationship with this God.
To help me on this journey of faith was my LCG. They are a wonderful bunch and were regular at LCG, so that encouraged me to show up almost every week so I could spend quality time with the Christian community. Since LCG is a place where peers get to grow in their relationship with God together, I was exposed to many truths of the Bible and the faith. Eventually, the LCG joined a run of the Christianity Explored class. There were snacks every week, but the food wasn’t why it was memorable for me. I remember one week where we were to find a corner and talk to God individually. It was sunny when I went into the stairwell, so I prayed for God to “prove” his existence by sending rain. What caused me to open my eyes was the few raindrops that spattered on my leg through the barely-opened window I wasn’t even sitting close to. The rain only got heavier from there. At first, I wanted to ask for another sign, like Gideon did, but I decided that signs were for the disbelieving; if multiple were needed, I would most likely never accept the fact that God existed. That experience made me trust in His existence and spurred me to receive Christ as my Lord and Saviour.
After receiving Christ, my everyday life was not much different, save for the fact that my conscience was more active, steering me from wrongdoings that I would have otherwise committed. Before, I always thought about what living in a coffin or what being dead would feel like; would my spirit just hang around my coffin, things like that. However, after accepting Christ, I understood that in my life eternal with God, I would be moving around and doing things in a different form and place. Heaven sounded like such a better place than being in an urn. This helped to quell the worrying thoughts that I always had about impending death that waited for me like a countdown. Knowing God is both a friend and father throughout life and beyond helps me not to worry about my future, and instead focus on how I can glorify him in the present.
On a side note, receiving Christ also helped me to better appreciate the lyrics of many of the worship songs, as before I did not feel like I could relate to many of them. Worship changed from something that I enjoyed because it involved singing to having a newfound meaning.
My faith in Christ has grown to the point where I know there is no turning back. I have thus decided to get baptised, so as to cement my relationship with my Lord and serve as a timely reminder that I have devoted my life to Him, so I should live it as best as I can. It also helps me to remember that all I have comes from Him including my salvation and my life. Now, God pokes at me every day I forget to do devotion or pray. I know He wants to meet with me.
I would like to thank my mother for bringing me to Christ, and always allowing me to go for CG so I can grow in my relationship with God. Also, special thanks to my CG, who has been there through my lows and listened to me without judging. All of you have been a great support in my faith journey up till now.