Personal Testimony

My name is Joanna, and this is an excerpt of my testimony.

I knew about Christianity growing up but I was really comfortable with my denomination and I never bothered about anything other than excelling academically so God was to me the one I prayed to, to help me to excel in my classes and that was it. I had my eyes set on this excellence, on what I wanted and envisioned for my future since everything else was falling apart. Oftentimes I was suicidal, among other things. In my mid-teens at about age fifteen (15), my emotional, mental and spiritual dysfunction began to catch up with me. I became heavily demonized, having frequent fainting spells and seizures although medical tests proved that I was a normal teen. I saw the demons, heard them and felt them. As the years went by the manifestations became more severe until my very existence was threatened, this time not by my hand. This thing in me was out of control and it wanted to kill me!

 After countless, fruitless interventions my aunt took me to her Pastor to be prayed for. At first, NOTHING HAPPENED! There was nothing that could be done for a person who wanted deliverance but not The Deliverer. Yup, you read me right, I did not want God. I wanted to be free from these tormenting demons but my heart was closed to Jesus Christ. I did not want Him to have my heart, neither did I want to commit to follow Him and therefore the demons could not go anywhere. The Pastor left me to pray for some other people and I went outside to sit on my aunt’s lap.

Then suddenly, EARTHQUAKE! I saw people around me praising and worshipping God during the earthquake, but I could not, because I did not know Him. At that time I desired Him not. What words of worship could I possibly have uttered? The demons muted me, I could not speak. The earth shook violently and I saw myself descending through an enormous crack in the ground; deeper and deeper into flames of fire; this was my first vision. Then I remembered a sermon that was preached months before, on the scripture: 1Peter4:17 “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” The latter part of this verse resounded in my ears. At that moment, something miraculous happened. I saw myself in need of deliverance, in need of a Savior, in need of Jesus. The earthquake passed and I gave my heart and life to Jesus Christ. Immediately as I did so, demons began to cry out of me and left me as they were commanded to go. I made the decision to receive water baptism that very same afternoon. That faithful day was November 29, 2007.

Since then, I have been living for the Lord, having experienced many challenges but like Paul, I fight the good fight of faith. Look what the Lord has done! All praise and glory to His name.

 

 

By Joanna Lloyd