By Cuihua
I’m 72 years old this year and am an ordinary believer in the Church of Almighty God. I have been watched over and protected by God time after time since I accepted the work of Almighty God in the last days in 1998. And the most unforgettable experience is seeing God’s marvelous protection for me in a boiler explosion, which took place in the next room in the winter of 2014. And the scene is still refreshing in my mind.
One night in November, my husband and children were all not at home. As I would have a church meeting the next day, I went to bed early. At about half past one in the morning, loud rumbling noises woke me up from my sleep. At that time, I felt very frightened, thinking: Where is this sound coming from? When I calmed down and listened, I heard the sound becoming louder and louder, accompanied by the sound of water spraying. All of a sudden, I thought: The sound is from the boiler room next to my bedroom. Is the boiler going to burst? Thinking of this, I felt nervous in my heart, so I put on my shoes immediately and wanted to find what on earth was occurring. Opening the door of my bedroom and looking at the boiler room, I saw the ground was swimming with steaming water and the walls around were wet. Meanwhile, a rumbling came from the boiler in the corner, accompanied by sizzle, hot water constantly spurted out of the boiler, and the dog next door ran out yelping in alarm. Seeing this scene, I was petrified and especially flustered. It seemed that the boiler was going to burst. So I wanted to run out. But the hot water spouting from the boiler room was in the way and I was afraid to be scalded, so I had to turn back to my bedroom and closed the door tightly.
At this time, when I heard the sound becoming louder and louder, my heart leapt into my throat and thumped violently. Beads of cold sweat sprang forth on my forehead. I thought: The boiler is about to burst and there is only a wall separated me from it. It looks like that I won’t be able to avoid the disaster tonight. While thinking, I was more and more scared, feeling that I would soon die. When I was in great fear, God enlightened me: Don’t you believe in Almighty God? Right! How could I forget God in panic? Almighty God is the only true God who created the heaven and earth and all things, and my life is also in God’s hand. Only God can save me when I am in trouble. Then I thought of God’s word: “Do not fear, the Almighty God of hosts will surely be with you; He stands behind you and He is your shield” (“Chapter 26” of Utterances of Christ in the Beginning in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s word made me feel supported in my heart, and gave me confidence and power. God is my support. What more do I fear? God rules over all things. Whether the disaster befalls me is decided by Him. I only submit to His orchestration and arrangement. Then my heart calmed down and I knelt down on the ground quickly, continuously praying to God: “O Almighty God, it seems as though the boiler is going to burst and I am extremely afraid. O God, I believe You are almighty and all matters and things are in your hand. Whether the boiler is to burst or not is also decided by You. Tonight I put myself in your hand completely. Whether to live or die, and whether I am blessed or cursed, I will accept Your orchestration. I am sure You are righteous. If you let me die, it’s predetermined by You and I won’t have any complaints about You; if You make me alive, it is your exceptional exaltation. I will thank You more so and repay Your great love by performing my duty well.”
Just at this minute, a miracle happened: There was a deafening bang outside and the boiler burst. I thought I couldn’t survive, so I shut my eyes to wait for death. However, I heard the sound of water flowing outside my bedroom door. When I came to myself and opened my eyes, I found myself was without even a scatch, just like nothing had happened. Then I looked around my bedroom, and saw that the wall adjoining the boiler room and the door next to it were both in good condition, too, showing no signs of damage. The ground was also dry, with no water flowing into the room. I let out a long breath and my heart was finally released. Because I knew God had listened to my prayer and made me barely escape with my life. I was so thrilled my heart was about to burst. And I constantly thanked and praised Almighty God.
In the early morning, the dawn was just breaking. I hurried out to see what had happened last night. I found the back wall of the boiler room had been struck and collapsed by the flying boiler and the nearly three-inch-thick cement boards on the top of the boiler room and toilet had been blown up, and the ground was a mess. I looked as I walked out. Then I found that the boiler had passed through the backwall, and it flew over a two-meter-wide road and a small vacant land, went up a slope, then knocked a large hole in the courtyard wall of a house, and at last it dropped down in the yard and burst. The boiler actually had traveled at least 50 meters in its flight from the boiler room. It had already damaged the walls of the boiler room and the wall of that house across the street, but only my bedroom, which shared a wall with the boiler room, was completely undamaged, and I was sound and safe. It was truly God’s wondrous protection. Had not I been watched over by God, I would have been blown apart if the boiler exploded into my bedroom.
After a while, my husband returned. He was also scared out of his wits when he saw the terrible scene after the boiler’s bursting. He asked me: “Are you all right?” I shook my head and said: “Thank God! I’m fine!” My husband saw I wasn’t hurt at all, so he said gladly: “Thank God so much! If God had not protected you, we old couple would not see each other now.” Then there were more and more neighbors gathering. They said:”Ah, you were indeed fortunate! When the boiler burst, you were near at hand, but you were not hurt at all. It was really Heavens that saved you!” “How lucky! …” Hearing their words, I silently thanked God in my heart. I knew in this time of danger, it was Almighty God who saved me and gave me a second life.
Through this experience, I saw that we mankind are so fragile and cannot withstand even a single blow. Only Almighty God is our only Savior and support. Only if we come before God and rely on Him can we attain the care and protection of God. Just as Almighty God said: “God created this world, He created this mankind and, moreover, He was the architect of ancient Greek culture and human civilization. Only God consoles this mankind, and only God cares for this mankind night and day. … If mankind wishes to have a good fate, if a country wishes to have a good fate, then man must bow down to God in worship, repent and confess before God, or else the fate and destination of man will be an unavoidable catastrophe” (“God Presides Over the Fate of All Mankind” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Thank God for His grace of salvation to me! I am willing to follow God all my life to repay His great love for me!
