Sister Z once engaged in idolatry and believed in false gods. I preached the gospel to her for years, but it turned out to be in vain.
Recently there was an incident at her workplace due to the continuous conflict between her and her direct superior, Brother D. Sister Z, who is in her late 40s, got sick as a result of the pressure and anxiety from the competition and struggle for survival she experienced in her workplace. When her superior ordered many senior employees, including Sister Z, to change their positions, she hastily returned to the gods of her idolatry, but her problem remained unresolved.
Left with no other options, she took two hours to share her story with me. Once again, I shared the Gospel with her and told her how, as a Christian, she should stay humble, show repentance, reflect on the quality of her work, nourish her inner life, practice showing love, and reexamine her relationship with the superior she loathed. From the perspective of God, she needed to reconcile their relationship. Consequently, she started to repent of her pride, and for the first time she experienced the mercy of the Gospel, namely, the transformation of her workplace. Since her conflict has been resolved, she can work cheerfully every day.
The crisis of her career
One night, the quiet and introverted Sister Z called to tell me that her daily routine and health were suffering due to a feud with the superior of her department, leading to a feeling of crisis and anxiety. It took a long time for her to describe her anguish. With a bachelor's degree and the titles of accountant and economist, she has always ranked in the top three in her professional technical competitions. Being an honest and genuine person, she has dedicated herself to technical studies, and has had a diligent and serious attitude toward her work. For three years she had never had a free weekend, and often worked until 9 p.m. As a role model in her office, with good education, morality, strong expertise and hard work, she had been prized by the superior of every department and company that she ever worked for during a career of more than two decades. However, while working in this particular department, she was being blamed, judged and criticized by her superior, who could always find a reason to pick on her.
Thus, she was feeling hostility toward her superior, but due to her introverted personality she had never confronted him. Rather, she had tried to ignore him, which resulted in an ever-worsening relationship between them. Upon hearing the superior's decision to change senior employees' positions, she suddenly lost her confidence and feared that her age would be a disadvantage, even though she had been confident in her work for decades. I could only listen to her carefully and pray for her, asking God to enlighten her and broaden the path for her career.
A ray of light appeared in her helpless eyes. I said: "God is wishing to undertake a new adventure in your life, change your career, heal your body, and endow you with long-lasting security and joy in your spirit." I presented her with the scripture that says, "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."
(Isaiah 43:19, NIV). With some uncertainty, she replied that after praying, she had gained some confidence.
God's merciful work in Sister Z's life
The following nights the Holy Spirit led me to skip dinner and to pray for her life and transformation. I went down on my knees to pray to God, and then, when saying good morning to her, told Sister Z how God had touched me, and gave her scriptures and encouraging words. God's work was so miraculous that she had changed her opinion toward her boss that she had held for the past three years, and discovered her pride and shortcomings. Four days later, she told me that the tension between her and her boss had started to decrease. This surprised me greatly.
Sister Z has realized that the problems in her interpersonal conflicts come from Satan, has learned the lesson of forgiveness, and has started to pray for her superior.
In fact, her boss has suffered from polio ever since he was a child, and still has a crippled leg. This is the reason for his indifference and slights toward others over the years. His father was a chauvinist, who never expressed praise or acknowledgement to his children, but only criticized, blamed and scolded them. This explains how he treats his colleagues. After learning this truth, I suggested that Sister Z change her opinion and look upon her boss with God's love and sympathy, since he is not a believer in God and treats other in the way he was treated by his father and others. Sister Z started to put herself in his shoes, and felt some sympathy and tenderness for him, which reduced her anger.
After that, she started to appreciate his merits, and complimented him for the first time. In the past few years, she had been full of complaints and had never realized the good side of him. But now she knows that Brother D graduated from a well-known university and has strong professional skills. He has been in charge of the department for twenty years, and most of time he has taken the initiative to communicate with her, but because of her resistance to him she always chose to ignore it.
After four days, she called and in a merry voice told me a story. Two days before her boss had asked her to draft a project, and on this morning, with a humble heart for the first time, she said to him: "Manager D, since you graduated from a famous university and are excellent in the business, please give me as much advice on my project as possible. Do you have some suggestions for me?" Her words made the superior silent for a while. He changed his harsh manner, and praised her work attitude and plan for the first time in three years. Since then, the relationship between them has gradually become more harmonious.
In recent days, the sister also told me that she has started to truly appreciate her boss and to build a good relationship with him.
A few years ago, I tried to send a copy of Bible to her but she always refused. Now since I recommended the book of Proverbs to her, she has grown fond of it and has become more joyful, and her swollen hands and feet are getting better as well. Thanks be to the mercy of God. I have been praying that he will lead me to accompany Sister Z and that we will both be blessed by him.
- Translated by Li Runping
