Jai Masih! I praise the Lord that He has chosen me to serve Him. I grew up in a Christian family. My father was a pastor.

Although I was born to a Christian family, in my callousness, I did not follow Christ intimately. I spent a lot of time in very bad company. My father prayed for me constantly and told me that I must not be in bad company and do bad things.

I went to school at a seminary. There I came to know Christ very intimately, but there was no challenge in my life to serve Him. During this time, my father called me with a marriage proposal. I got married and had three children.

All was not well though. I was a drunkard; I was a smoker. I got into much trouble with my friends. I did crime also. Because of all these bad habits and bad things in my life, I was separated from my family.

I became a teacher and was always separated from my father. One day when I was drinking with my friends, my son became very sick with fits. When I talked to my mother, she told me that I would have to leave all of my bad habits and come to the Lord. She said, “You have sinned against the Lord.” She told me to be reconciled with my father.

That day when my son had a fit, he fell on the ground. My heart was melting. My mother prayed for me. I confessed my sins, and I returned to my father’s home. I told my father, “I have sinned against you. Please forgive me.”

My father hugged me and loved me. He told me, “God has chosen you.” After that, I left my job. I began to live with my father again. I prayed, “Lord, give me vision. Give me a burden to serve You.”

It was then I met the pastor I am now working with. He told me, “God is with you.” Then he laid his hand on me and prayed for me. He told me, “Today with us, you are going to serve the Lord. If you believe that Jesus Christ has chosen you for His service, then go and bring your family to serve Him together.”

I was reminded of the prophet Elijah who was fed by the raven and the widow. I believed that God, who had provided for him, would provide for me also.

Now the Lord has blessed us. My wife is in a good job, and my son has never had a fit again. If you put all your burdens upon Him, He will care for you. I have put all my burdens on Him, and He cares for me.

Look at the birds of the sky, they don’t grow and they don’t harvest; yet the Lord provides for them. God has helped me in many ways. He is helping me in serving Him. All my family together is serving the Lord.
 
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By Shandar*, a believer serving among the Yadavs in India

* Name has been changed for security purposes.