«In the last days… men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemous… slanderers… brutal… having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!» (2 Tim. 3:1-5).
Throughout the history of mankind, evil, injustice, slander, greed and other vicious phenomena have always been present on this earth. The Word of God says that in the last days, these will multiply even more. The Lord warns about this, at the same time showing us the way out: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you” (Lk. 6:27-28).
The problem is, not everyone believe these words, or they believe them, but are unable to keep. Nevertheless, if they believed them and acted according to the Word of God, they would see the love of God, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9).
Recently someone slandered me in the company of some people. I knew that this person had always slandered me before others, only this time his words went to the limit. I returned home from the service and went to my everyday work. I could not put his words out of my mind. I was crying out to the Lord, “Lord God, how long will You allow it? Why don’t you silence him? In Your Word, You said, ‘Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you’. You know that I have done all that. Why doesn’t the situation change? Why don’t You speak to him?”
Seeing that the Lord was silent, I said, “Well, Lord God; this means the problem is in me. When I finish my work, I will come before You to find out what I have done wrong, and why his slander goes from bad to worse!”
I started to clean my apartment quicker to go to my prayer room sooner. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and led me to phone the head of the construction work of our Church, to find out the costs of construction of the roof of the kitchen and dining room. I was stunned. It was about the outer kitchen and dining room of the Social Center, the roof of which was damaged. Because of heavy rains during last several months, both kitchen and the dining room were leaking, and it was impossible to feed children there.
I thought for a moment, what the roof of the kitchen and dining room had to do with the slander against me. However, the suggestion of the Lord was so clear, that it no longer made sense to go to my prayer closet and wait for an answer from Him to a question that disturbed me. There was another reason why I did not understand His suggestion; I knew that another person with whom I had spoken two days ago would build it. He promised to cover all the expenses. I was so glad that he would, because during the construction, I could go to a vacation, and after I was back, I would continue the remaining renovation work of the Social Center Building.
However, knowing the budget of the Social Ministry, I was sure that we did not have enough money for such a huge work. But because the Holy Spirit told me, I phoned the head of the construction and asked him to have his specialists calculate the construction costs of the roof of the kitchen and dining room.
He immediately reminded me about the person who promised to finance the work, and told me, “Do not worry, we already calculated everything. We only have to buy some 20 pieces of roof sheets and renovate the damaged sections of the roof.”
I understood right then that there was a misunderstanding. The matter was, the roof must not be just partly renovated; we needed to remove it completely and build a new roof. That would require much higher costs, which they surely hadn’t foreseen. So I replied, “I am grateful to all who support our ministry, but please calculate the whole work again. Do not worry; we already have the necessary funds.” I said it with confidence, as I trust the Lord. If the Lord forbade me to think about slander and led me to change the roof instead, then He would also give money for that.
We went to a building material store. Only I knew that we did not have enough money in the Social Ministry budget, but while choosing the materials, I did not consider the costs, because I was sure that the Lord had already provided for the best covering; I only needed to make a right choice.
And so, the cost of construction of the roof amounted to 2.366.700 Armenian drams (around $5.000). Before returning to the Office Building, I phoned our accountant and asked her to check the Social Ministry bank account. Shortly after that, I received a message from her, that we had 2.400.000 Armenian drams. I thought it was a mistake, as we had never had so much money on our bank account. In our ministry, we spend all the funds we receive. So it was impossible to have that much at that moment. When I came to the office, I hurried to see it myself and to make sure that everything was correct. The sum was there indeed, and the most amazing thing was, a person whom we did not know sent it. He knew anyone in our Church and moreover, in the Social Ministry. He just heard about the work that our Ministry does, and found someone who could provide our banking details to him.
The roof of the kitchen and dining room of the Social Ministry was built completely. It was finished in 10 day.
I thought much about the course of my life and the instances of unexpected success that I had in life. I thought much about those who helped me go up the stairs of success. I understood that in my life, I owe to all people who help me glorify the name of the Lord, but in the same measure, I owe to those who create obstacles on my way, hinder me or slander me. If not those who created made-up hindrances on my way, I would not be that intimate with the Lord, would not give the judgment to the Lord, and would never trust Him. Difficulties establish your feet on Jesus the Rock; they help you to see the faithfulness of God even more, and to worship Him all the days of your life.
Evil can turn good, if you believe and obey God.
The devil thought that by crucifying Jesus, he would destroy God’s will, vision and dream for mankind. That is why for years, he followed through the birth, maturation and work of the Savior. He led Jesus to the cross step by step, without even knowing that the cross was not the death of Jesus the Savior, but HIS RESURRECTION AND COMPLETE FULFILLMENT OF THE DIVINE WILL ON EARTH AND IN HEAVEN.
The most important thing in this life is to live according to the Word of God, to bring the Kingdom of God to this earth and to glorify His name!