Experiencing the blessings of God because of my decision to keep the Sabbath
08 Oct 2019 | 3 min readsharing2019tjc | testimony decision sabbath
In the name of Jesus I testify. I’m Sister Yu Pei Qin from Madrid church in Spain. In July 2009, we immigrated to Madrid to earn a living. At that time, the church building in Madrid had not yet been built, and we were renting a venue for members to gather together to worship God. Every Saturday, I would obey the commandments of God and observe the Sabbath.
In the first few years of being in Madrid, I was working in a clothing store owned by a Chinese person. I would usually use my lunch break to rush to service, and just like other brothers and sisters, I would then leave in a hurry after service. Looking at how we managed our time on this day, it seemed as though we were observing Sabbath merely as a form of routine because most of the day was spent at work.
In July 2015, through God’s blessings, I opened an accessory shop which only had mediocre business. However, there was a strange phenomenon where accessory shops in my area tended to have really good business on Saturday mornings, while Sundays would barely see any customers.
At the start of 2016, Pr FF Chong came to Madrid to help out in our spiritual convocation. He encouraged all the brothers and sisters that we must keep the commandments of God and observe the Sabbath day, to trust that all our needs in life will be taken care by God. When I heard that, I had an internal struggle. My husband and I had just bought a new house, and we still had debts to repay. If I chose to close my shop on Sabbath, then my business would be severely affected. As such, I told myself that I would repay my debts first, then adjust my schedule on Sabbath after that and worship God for the entire day. When I had such thoughts, God arranged for a sister from America to give me advice. She told me that I was currently only owing debts to man, but if I did not keep the Sabbath, then I would be owing debts to God. If we owe debts to man, God will help us, but if we owe debts to God, then who can help us?
After I heard this sister’s words, I purposed in my heart to keep the Sabbath and entrusted the cares of this world to God. Thank God for His guidance, at this point in time, a co-worker suggested that we all close our shops on Sabbath to whole-heartedly worship God. And thus on the 16th of January 2016, Madrid church officially started observing the full day of sabbath (having both morning and afternoon services).
Thank God for His amazing grace, we would keep our promise with faith every Sabbath, to give up the opportunity to run our businesses and earn more money. We believed that God would not short change us.
As expected, God poured down His blessings upon us:
- In that same year (2016), all our debts we owed back in China were paid back.
- In August 2017, I opened another new shop.
- At the start of 2018, through the blessing of God, my husband and I bought a new house at a very low price, which was even cheaper than the house we bought 5 years ago, even though property prices had been on the rise these few years
- In 2018, God blessed us with a new car, and we still had more than enough to spare
And I considered this in my heart: the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all. (Eccl 9:11) Thank God, if I had been stubborn and refused to accept the encouragement from the preacher or the sister; if I insisted on gaining this world with my own efforts; if I did not submit to God’s guidance; if I did not turn my footsteps around to return to God and draw near to Him on Sabbath, to worship Him and receive His blessings, how then would my family be living in abundance today?
God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. (Gen 2:3) The Sabbath Day is a day where God will pour down His blessings upon us. His promise and blessings are true, because our God is a faithful God. Looking back, I know that if we did not hold on to the grace and opportunity that God had already prepared for us, my husband and I could still be roaming about this world wearily, going through hardships but yet gaining nothing. May all glory be given to our Father in heaven! Amen.
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