Exodus

It has been very difficult being in a strange country over the past seven years, without family assistance and not having the means to support myself.

I have jokingly called it my Egypt-wilderness experience.

There have been times when it seemed I would be consumed by fear and anxiety. I lost hope in God and decided to take matters into my own hands.

As a result, I have been scammed, abused financially, manipulated, and abandoned several times over. In hindsight, this all occurred because I lost faith.

I prayed but never waited for God’s answer.

I thought He would not forgive me. I sinned in direct defiance of His laws, and as a Christian, I should have known better. But God, in His loving-kindness, does not hold our sins against us if we genuinely repent. I was reminded of Psalm 25:6, which says, “Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, for they are from of old” (NKJV). I continued to struggle. Whenever I thought things were looking up, it lasted only a few years before I was at rock bottom again. When I finally realized there was nothing I could do in my own power, I cried out to God: To You I will cry, O LORD my Rock: Do not be silent to me, Lest, if You are silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit (Psalm 28:1, NKJV).

My faith had to be transformed into action. It had to be more than just a concept that I studied in a Sabbath School lesson. Not until I let go of the reins could God take control of my situation. And then the impossible became possible with God! In my time of distress, I turned to my Creator and Friend. With prayer and fasting, I was given a renewed sense of hope that my situation would change. And although I did not know how, I praised God for the victory. For two years, I worshiped aloud in my apartment, dancing like David and Miriam.

I thanked God for what He was about to do. I sensed deep in my spirit that a change was coming. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28, NKJV).

God is faithful, and He loves us with an unending love.

I am now settling into a new chapter in my life, continuing to grow in faith.

Never lose hope! If He could rescue me, He can rescue you!

Kimberly M. H. Henry