I have been a believer for about twenty years and grew up in church, but I always felt distanced from God. I grew up thinking God was mad whenever I failed and happy whenever I did what was right. I kept trying to please God and hoped that one day I would be righteous and holy.

I was also taught that Jesus forgives us of our past sins when we become believers, but that we have to keep confessing our new sins from then on. I also thought I had committed the unpardonable sin because I had horrible thoughts about the Lord when reading my Bible as a teenager. I was devastated because all I wanted was to please the Lord and serve Him.

Over the years I kept going to church and serving in church, but I had no peace, as I was never assured of my salvation. In June 2014, things came to a head. I was crying myself to sleep and was constantly depressed over my distance from the Lord. One day, I woke up with a weird rash. I went to the doctor and found out I had shingles. I was told that it was due to major stress.

I called my dad and told him about my condition and he asked me if I felt the need to prove myself. I wept and told him I was trying to prove myself as a wife, daughter, mother, and I felt I had failed God. He told me that I was loved by the Lord just the way I was and he encouraged me to take the Holy Communion.

I began to take the Holy Communion and immersed myself in reading about healing from the Bible. I remembered the name “Joseph Prince” from a Christmas card my parents had received from being partners of Joseph Prince Ministries so I went to YouTube and looked for him. I watched video after video about God’s grace and the message of no condemnation and thought it was too good to be true.

I kept on watching and realized that the pain from the shingles had lessened. I kept hearing and gradually felt better. Soon the shingles disappeared and the doctor said it went away faster than usual with no scarring and residual pain.

At this time I was also stressed about the family’s finances and finding a job. At one time, I did not have enough to buy groceries for my family but I prayed and trusted that the Lord would provide, and decided to be at rest and not worry. That same day I received a check in the mail for a good credit refund on my water bill!

I continued to trust the Lord for a job that I would love, one where I could be an encouragement and blessing to others. In February 2015, the Lord gave me a job in a hospital helping people with their therapy and it came with a good remuneration package.

I can’t express how thankful I am to the Lord for His goodness. Now I know that His favor is undeserved and the more I realize this the more blessings He sends my way. I have fallen in love with Jesus in a way I never thought was possible.

God has blessed me exceedingly and abundantly. I am so thankful for Pastor Prince’s ministry and wish him, his family, and his church all of God’s blessings.