Sharalin's Life Story: God Never Gave Up On Me

As a young teenager, I was forced to question what I believed and why.  Like everyone does at some point in their lives, I had come to a crossroads.  I had always known that God was real, but I didn’t know if it was really worth it to follow Him.  I had a decision to make, and even though I was young, I decided what I was going to live for.

I was born into a Christian home, always believing in God and the Bible. When I was three years old I asked Jesus to come into my life, and for a long time I didn’t question my decision.  I didn’t understand very much when I was that young, but following God was all I had ever known and I wanted to follow Him with all my heart.

When I grew up a little more, I knew something was wrong.  I understood more, but I wasn’t satisfied with my relationship with God.  I could feel him constantly tugging at my heart. I kept hoping this hunger would go away; it seemed like too much work to become closer to God to fill this hunger.  I was also scared.  I was scared of giving control of my life over to Jesus because I didn’t want to give up things in my lifestyle that were fun: little things that I knew were wrong and always felt guilty about. I thought that living for God meant a life of strict rules and boredom.  I thought I would have to try to be perfect.  And there was no way I wanted to read my Bible.  That seemed more boring than anything else.  I felt like I had to change a lot in my life before I could make things right with God and I didn’t know if it was worth it.

During this time, it seemed like God enjoyed torturing me by making me feel empty and guilty.  But now I know that He was speaking to me.  I see now that He was bringing to light parts of my life that needed to be dealt with.  At the time, I hated it; I didn’t want to be reminded of things I was doing wrong. I waited a very long time, but God never gave up on me.  He never stopped calling me; He was working in my life the whole time.

I finally came to a crossroads in my life where I had to make a decision.  I was at a crossroads and needed to decide if I really wanted to follow God or not. I was still a Christian then, but God knows everyone’s heart and he knew mine wasn’t sincere.  I always put off getting close to God, knowing one of these days I would have to clear out my life and make room for Him.  Finally, I realized that “one of those days” wouldn’t happen unless I did something about it. God was already reaching out to me, but I still had to reach out to him.

I started clearing out my life.  I tried to resist temptations that before I had so easily given in to. I started reading my Bible more, and as time went on I found it to be a comfort and guide in my life instead of the boring old book I had thought it to be.  I had to give up some things in my life that I knew God was telling me were wrong.   God never fails to point out to me what I need to work on.

It was totally worth it.  Living for God has been more fun than I would have ever thought.  I’m far from a perfect Christian and life isn’t always easy because I have God in my life, but I know that I’m never alone and that makes problems so much easier to face.    I can’t imagine going through each day without God, not knowing why I’m alive.  God proves to me every day that He loves me. So don’t wait.   God is reaching out to you, and all you need to do is reach out to him.  You will never regret it.

Who is Jesus?

How can I change my life?