Lin Ling Shandong Province
I was born in a poor peasant family. Because my family didn’t have power or influence, I was looked down upon and often bullied by others from my childhood. At such times, I felt especially aggrieved and distressed and expected from my heart that a savior could come to change my destiny. After marriage, my life was tough and my child often got ill, so a neighbor preached
Jesus to me. Learning that the
Lord Jesus could save those who suffered hardships and afflictions from the sea of misery, I was very excited in my heart, feeling that I finally found the savior. From then on, I believed in Jesus and was very zealous, often going to different places to attend meetings and listen to preachings. Later, however, I found that the
church became more and more desolate and the phenomenon of jealousy and strife and scheming against one another became more and more serious, which was no better than the world. I was very disappointed and my
faith grew cold gradually, and I didn’t attend meetings any more.
In 2000, a sister preached to me the
gospel of Almighty God’s end-time work. When I knew that
Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus, I was happy beyond expression. Every day when I had time, I would hold God’s word and read it thirstily. God’s earnest words warmed and comforted me, so that I felt the Creator’s care, love, and salvation for me and my thirsty heart received nourishment and supply. Henceforth, I lived in the Church of Almighty God, this big family, having meetings and performing duty with the brothers and sisters. We all did our utmost to pursue the truth and pursue to live out the likeness of a man under the watering and supply of Almighty God’s word. The brothers and sisters loved and helped one another and had no intrigue, deception, or discrimination against the poor and in favor of the rich, much less bullying and suppression. In the Church of Almighty God, I found the dignity and integrity of being a man and truly enjoyed the happiness and pleasure I had never had. However, because of believing in Almighty God, I was arrested and cruelly tortured by the CCP government and was imprisoned for one year. In the devil’s dark den, it was Almighty God’s word that gave me faith and strength and led me to overcome satan step by step and transcend the bondage of death….
On the night of August 24, 2009, I had barely fallen asleep when a sharp and violent knocking suddenly woke me up. Before I knew what was happening, seven or eight policemen had broken in. On entering my house, they roared, “Don’t move! Quickly get up and come with us!” I hadn’t had shoes on when one of them took several photos of me. Then, the policemen rummaged around, even not missing a small slip of paper. In a short time, like being “ransacked” by the bandits, my house was in a complete mess and there was no place to stand. Afterward, three evil policemen forcibly carried me into a minibus outside.
After taking me to the police station, the evil policemen had me stand facing the wall. One of them asked me harshly, “Tell us honestly things about your believing in Almighty God! What do you do there? Who is your leader? Where is he? Tell me clearly!” I said fearlessly, “I know nothing!” They flew into a rage immediately and kicked me while cursing. And they threatened me ferociously, “Say one of them and we’ll set you free. If you say nothing, we’ll beat you to death!” While saying that, they pressed me hard into a big iron chair, put a big iron stick across the chair, and locked it. The evil policemen mobilized forces to arrest me like that, and they all glared at me with a fierce look, treating me, a defenseless weak woman, like a felon. Seeing that, I couldn’t help becoming kind of alarmed and timid: How will they torment me? If they torture me cruelly, what should I do? Maybe I can say one? Then, I won’t suffer…. But then I thought: Even if I say one, that means I’m a Judas and betray God…. A fierce war was raging in my heart. At the time, I remembered God’s words, “…do things pleasing to all, do things beneficial to all, and do things beneficial to your own destinations. Otherwise, the one who suffers in the disasters will not be others but you yourself. …much less like to associate with a person who sells out the interests of his friends, which is my disposition, no matter who he is.” (from “You Should Prepare Enough Good Deeds for the Sake of Your Destination” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) God’s words suddenly woke me up. I couldn’t but feel scared for my thought just now. Everything is in God’s hand. Encountering satan’s persecution, I didn’t put my mind to how to overcome these devils by relying on God, but I easily believed their lies instead. Haven’t I fallen into satan’s scheme? If I sell out the brothers and sisters and become a shameless Judas, won’t I offend God’s disposition and thus bring destruction upon myself? So I made a firm resolution: No matter how rampant satan is, I will never do the things of selling out the truth and betraying God and will never be a Judas! However, in face of these ferocious evil policemen, I still felt somewhat afraid, so I couldn’t help praying earnestly to God in my heart, “O Almighty God! My stature is really too small. Facing the siege of satan’s evil force, I’m kind of timid. May you give me faith and strength and keep me, so that I won’t bow to satan the devil but will resolutely stand testimony for you!” Then, God’s words rang in my ears, “Do you know that all the surrounding circumstances are permitted by me and arranged by me? See this clearly. Satisfy my heart in the circumstances that I have given you. Do not fear this or that. The Almighty God of hosts will surely be with you. He will be your rear guard and shield.” (from “The Twenty-sixth Piece of Word” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) Yes! All things coming upon me today are out of the permission of God’s throne. Although I’m in the devils’ den and face a gang of vicious devils and beasts, I’m not fighting alone. With Almighty God being with me and being my reliance and strong shield, what shall I fear? Instantly, I wasn’t timid or afraid any more but had strength within to fight against satan to the end. I resolved to stand testimony for God even unto death!
Then, the evil policemen began to interrogate me by cruel tortures. The first morning, they handcuffed my hands behind my back. One of them pulled the handcuffs with force behind me, and the sawteeth kept sticking into my flesh. After a while, my wrists were pricked and blood flowed down my hands, which brought me sharp pain. Later, they cuffed me to the heating pipe. For fear that I would escape, they cuffed my hands very tightly. My wrists bled unceasingly from rubbing. The evil policemen questioned me over and over again, attempting to make me tell the things about the church. As every time I said I didn’t know, they got furious and exasperated. One of them rushed forward and slapped me hard. Immediately, I saw stars and almost fainted, all my teeth became loose, and I shed tears in spite of myself. Seeing that I shed tears but said nothing, an evil policeman gnashed his teeth with hatred. He seized some hair on my bangs madly and wrapped a few loops around his hand, and then hit the back of my head forcefully against the wall. I became dizzy from the violent striking, and my head “buzzed.” But he was still dissatisfied and slapped me several times. Then, he roared in anger, “How dare you cry! How dare you refuse to say!” With the words, he stomped on my feet fiercely with his leather shoes while gnashing his teeth. After being frenziedly beaten and tortured by the devils, I felt painful and limp all over and lay on the floor motionless, as if I were dying. At the sight of it, the evil policemen slammed the door and left while cursing. In the afternoon, they beat me in the same way and forced me to tell the things about the church…. Being tortured like that several times, I felt dizzy and sick and my whole body ached as if falling apart. I felt that I might die at any time. However, those evil policemen still didn’t slacken in questioning me. They inhumanly burned my feet with a lighter, and my feet sizzled and instantly had several blisters, so that I shed tears unceasingly with pain. I sat on the floor miserably. Seeing that they, like devils coming down to the human world, stared at me in anger and were itching to shred me into pieces, I involuntarily felt weak in my heart: O Almighty God, when will such torture come to an end? I really can’t withstand it…. Just when I felt weak to a point that I almost broke down, Almighty God’s words resounded in my ears, “…in the last days, you should bear testimony for God. No matter how great the sufferings, you should walk to the end. Even if you have just one breath left, you should be faithful to God and submit to God’s manipulation. This is truly loving God, and this is a strong and resounding testimony.” (from “Only After Experiencing Painful Trials Will One Know that God Is Lovely” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) God’s words gave me great faith and strength again. I realized this: God permits such an environment to come upon me just for letting me bear for God the testimony of overcoming satan in the affliction and thus perfecting my faith, love, faithfulness, and obedience to God, so that I can be qualified to inherit the future promises and blessings from God. It’s worthy and meaningful for me to suffer this today. But I regard the interests of the flesh more important than gaining the truth and life. When my flesh suffers a little, I complain a lot. I’m really too ignorant and poor. Even today I still don’t understand God’s will or know what I should gain in following God. Thinking of that, I felt remorseful and self-condemned for my disobedience and was willing to repent to God. No matter how the evil policemen afflicted and tortured me, I would never care for my flesh. I only wished to obey God’s manipulation and arrangement, endure all the sufferings to stand testimony for God, and show my faithfulness and love to God by my practical deeds. Even if I had to give up my life, I would never be a Judas and betray God! Even if I had one breath left, I would never yield or give in to satan! At that time, I couldn’t help remembering a hymn of life experience, “Head can be cut off and blood can be shed, but the backbone of God’s people cannot be bent; God’s charge is on my mind. I resolve to shame the old satan.” (from “I Wish to See the Day God Gains Glory” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs) The hymn resounded in my ears and I had unfailing strength in my heart. As a believer in God, I should have backbone and perseverance. I should keep God’s charge in mind and must stand testimony for God to shame satan! In the evening, those devils ordered me to sit on the floor with my legs straightened and then forcefully hung up my hands cuffed behind my back. Immediately, my arms and injured wrists ached very much. The frenzied evil policemen turned on the fan and kept it blowing toward me at high speed. I shivered with cold and my teeth kept on “chattering.” At that time, I had a period. These devils didn’t allow me to change sanitary napkins but asked me to “deal with it” in my pants. Even so, they still thought it wasn’t enough, and brought a switch and whipped my whole body violently. Each whip left a mark of blood on me. It ached so much that I kept writhing on the floor to dodge. Seeing that, they whipped me more violently and cruelly. Meanwhile, they said fiercely, “We’ll see whether you speak or not! We will beat you till you are disabled today!” The evil policemen were abominably cruel and malicious, but they didn’t get any result from the interrogation.
In the several days of interrogation by tortures, one devil in the National Security Team acted as a “good person” all along, in an attempt to force me to sell out the church by soft tactics. Outwardly he was friendly to me, serving me water and an apple. He also said with false gentleness, “You’re so young and have to undergo such suffering. That’s really pitiful. Tell us immediately, and you’ll be fine and can go home. Both your husband and child hope that you can get home earlier!” Therefore, I thought that he was good. I never expected that he would be more sinister and malicious than the other evil policemen. Seeing that I kept silent the whole time, he bared his ferocious features, fully exposing his hideous true face, and began to torture me more cruelly and maliciously. He took me to the hall of the station and had me sit in a corner to freeze me for two hours. After that, he came to call me. As he thought that I answered him in a very low voice, he forced me to straighten my legs, stomped on my knees violently, and forcefully lifted up my hands cuffed behind my back. With a “crack” from my waist, I felt sharp pain and let out a scream instinctively. Then my waist lost feeling…. Unexpectedly, my scream irritated the devil. He yelled at his lackeys exasperatedly, “Get a rag and stuff it into her mouth. See whether she’ll still cry!” They stuffed a dirty and stinky rag into my mouth, and I felt so sick and wanted to vomit. He roared at me, “Hold it with your teeth! Don’t drop it!” While saying that, he continued to force it into my mouth. At the moment, I only had bitter hatred in my heart but no more tears in the face of the wolf and beast. Then, the devil continued to interrogate me. Seeing that I still said nothing, he pressed my legs hard and lifted my hands from behind again. I sweated all over with pain and couldn’t help letting out another cry. When he saw that I still didn’t say anything, he gave an order to his lackeys, “Take her back!” Two evil policemen grabbed me up from the floor. At the time, I couldn’t straighten my waist and could only bend and move slowly step by step. In extreme pain, weakness, desperation, and helplessness came over me again. I didn’t know how long I could hold on. So I prayed to God in my heart again and again, calling to Almighty God to keep me so that I wouldn’t betray God even if I had to die. Afterward, I saw that Almighty God sympathized with my weakness in every aspect and showed mercy to me and kept me in secret all the time. When the evil policemen interrogated me again, they threatened, “If you still refuse to say, I’ll take you to another place and let you sit on an electric chair. Once it’s energized, you’ll faint. Even if you won’t die, you’ll become disabled!” Finishing his words, he took me to the electric chair. But just when they had bound my hands and legs and were about to torture me, it suddenly didn’t work and couldn’t be energized. At that time, I deeply felt that Almighty God was with me at all times. Although I was in the devils’ den, God didn’t leave my side. He only permitted me to undergo sufferings but didn’t permit satan the devil to harm my life. I thanked Almighty God for his wonderful keeping, so that I escaped the affliction. My faith became firmer and I was willing to undergo all sufferings to stand testimony for God. These frenzied evil policemen interrogated me by tortures for five days and six nights, and didn’t allow me to have food or water, nor sleep. It truly made me see clearly that the CCP government is a clique of gangsters. If one falls into its hand, it means that he falls into the hand of an atrocious devil. Without Almighty God’s care and keeping, no one can free himself from its hand. Although these devils didn’t allow me to have food or water, nor sleep for several days and nights, and they tortured me by various means at the same time, I didn’t feel thirsty, hungry, or sleepy at all. I deeply knew that Almighty God’s great life power was supporting me, flesh and blood, and was supplying my life, so that I could live tenaciously till now. As Almighty God’s words say, “God supplies all living and non-living things with his life, and by his power and authority he makes all these go on in an orderly way. This fact is unimaginable and incomprehensible to anyone. Yet these incomprehensible facts are the very expression and proof of the power of God’s life.” (from “God Is the Source of Man’s Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh)
Later, seeing that hard tactics didn’t work on me, the evil policemen resorted to soft ones again. The captain of the National Security Team came to interrogate me personally. In a hypocritical manner, he undid my handcuffs lightly and asked me to sit down, saying “gently,” “How foolish you are. You’re not a senior leader there. Others have sold you out, yet you still take the blame for them. Is it worthwhile? Additionally, since you believe in Almighty God, your son will be restricted from entering the university, joining the army, and taking the civil service exam. You see, your husband doesn’t care about you, and we can’t even find him. Maybe he already has another woman and has deserted you…. Actually we’ve already got the information about you. Even if you don’t tell, we still can convict you, because this is the CCP’s world and we’re the boss. And we can also decide how many days you’ll be detained. Even if we beat you to death, we won’t take the blame. You’d better say it earlier! China is different from other countries. Even if you say nothing, we can still convict you and sentence you.” At his words of “patient guidance,” I felt uneasy and extremely distressed, not knowing what to do. So I immediately called to God in my heart, “O Almighty God! You know that I’m too small in stature and I lack too much. Encountering such an environment, I don’t know how to experience and face it. Please lead me.” At that time, God’s words guided me within again, “My people should guard against satan’s schemes all the time … lest you fall into its trap, when it is too late to regret.” (from “The Third Piece of Word” of God’s Utterance to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh) “…for my sake you should not yield to any force of darkness. Walk the perfect way by my wisdom. Don’t let satan’s schemes succeed.” (from “The Tenth Piece of Word” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) God’s words enlightened me within and I had the way of practice. Right! Satan is using psychological tactics to induce and blind me. I should see through its scheme, defeat it with wisdom, and by no means fall into its trap. All matters and all things are in God’s hand. Even if I have to be imprisoned for life, I can’t yield to satan and betray God! At the moment, my mind became much clearer. In the face of the devil’s speaking delusive words, sowing discord, and coaxing, I quieted myself before God all the time to pray to and rely on God. After that, I said to him indignantly, “I’ll sue you! You not only interrogate me by tortures but also condemn me at will!” He grinned, saying, “Anyway, I didn’t beat you. Just sue. This is the CCP’s world and it won’t speak for you.” His devilish words even more stirred up my bitter hatred for the CCP, this evil party. This old devil is absolutely lawless! Afterward, he took out a pile of ID cards of the brothers and sisters for me to identify and asked if I knew them, attempting to make me sell them out. I said coldly, “I know none of them!” When he heard that, his face darkened with anger. Unable to get any result, he left angrily. In the afternoon, the evil policemen sent me to the detention house and threatened me fiercely, “After we reach the detention house, we’ll let you squat at the waterside and peel garlic. After several days, your hands will fester!” As they said that, they grinned smugly. From their hideous smile, I saw satan the devil’s sinisterness, cruelness, and maliciousness.
One month after I was imprisoned in the detention house, the police claimed that I could go home as long as I paid 20,000 yuan. I said that I didn’t have it. Then they bargained and said that it would also be fine if I paid 10,000 yuan. I said that I didn’t have a penny. They flew into a rage immediately, saying ferociously, “Since you don’t have money, we’ll put you into the labor camp! After you get out, you’ll be homeless and your husband will abandon you!” I said firmly, “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care!” Thus, they willfully imposed on me the charge of “disturbing the social order and disrupting the enforcement of the law” and sentenced me to one year of hard labor. From that, I even more saw clearly that the CCP government is satan the devil that treats human life as straw and is hostile to God. In the hell on earth ruled by the devil and regarding God as its enemy, the ruler is Heaven and is the law! Living under its domain, people have no freedom of human rights at all, let alone freedom of belief! At that time, I spontaneously thought of Almighty God’s words, “The king of devils has been running amuck for thousands of years and even today it is still guarding the fortress of demons so tightly…. In such a dark society where devils are brutal and inhuman, how could the murderous king of devils allow the existence of the lovely, kind, and holy God? How could it clap its hands and cheer for God’s coming? This gang of lackeys! They requite evil for good and have long had no regard for God. They mistreat God in a most atrocious way, having no regard for God at all. They commit assaults and robberies, being entirely heartless and completely conscienceless…. Why hinder God’s work to a watertight extent? Why use various kinds of tricks to cheat God’s people? Where are the true freedom and the legal rights and interests? Where is justice? Where is comfort? Where is warmth? Why use schemes to cheat God’s people? Why forcibly suppress God’s coming?” (from “Work and Entering In (8)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) At the moment, I was sad and indignant. I saw that the CCP government is really sinister and cunning and deceives the public to win credit. Outwardly, it carries the signboard of “allowing freedom of belief and safeguarding the legal rights and interests of citizens,” but in secret, it unscrupulously disturbs and destroys God’s work; it arrests, beats, punishes, or kills the believers in Almighty God as it wants, taking every possible means to force them to reject and betray God and thus yield to its dark ruling. Man was created by God. It’s perfectly justified and proper for man to believe in God and worship God. However, the CCP government runs counter to right principles and acts against Heaven like that. It tries its utmost to banish the coming of the true God and inhumanly persecutes believers in Almighty God, threatening and coaxing them, framing them up, extorting a confession from them, and cruelly torturing them. Its monstrous sins are really abominable and hateful! Its baseness and evil made me hate it to the core and further strengthen my faith and resolution to break with it even at the cost of my life and firmly follow Almighty God and walk the right way of human life.
In August 2010, I was released after serving my sentence. When going back home, I knew that during my imprisonment, my husband was shadowed by the police for one year. In that year, when it was at nightfall, the undercover policemen often came to the back of our house to listen and spy and watch. So, my husband was unable to go back home and had no place to stay. He could only work outside in the daytime and huddle in the pile of firewood near to our house at night. He was harassed by those devilish lackeys so much that he never had a sound sleep. After I was released, those lackeys of the government spread rumors in the village, inciting all the villagers to reject me, and asked the director of the local women’s group to watch me; moreover, they had me write a letter of guarantee, not allowing me to go out of the city and restricting all of my personal freedom.
After staying at home for one month, I was forcibly taken to the interrogation room of the National Security Team again by three or four policemen. They shackled me to an iron chair and forced me to tell things about believing in Almighty God. At the time, my family went to ask them to release me. They said rudely, “If you want us to release her, you must pay a fine of 20,000 yuan or ask her to tell things about believing in Almighty God. Otherwise, we’ll sentence her to five years of hard labor!” As my family didn’t have so much money, they had no choice but to go back. I deeply knew that those devils tried to force me to betray God through the second arrest. So I kept praying and calling to God earnestly in my heart, “O Almighty God! Today satan wants to play another trick, attempting to force me to betray you. I’ll never fall into their trap. Even if they put me into the labor camp for another several years, I’ll stand testimony to satisfy you.” When I made a firm resolution that I would stand testimony no matter how many sufferings I might undergo, I saw God’s wonderful deed. Failing to get anything from the interrogation, the evil policemen actually released me on that very evening. I thanked Almighty God for making a way out for me and saving me from satan’s talons again.
In the CCP government’s cruel persecution, I never expected that I could get out alive. Without the guidance and leading of Almighty God’s word, without the keeping and care of Almighty God or the boundless strength God gave me, I—such a frail life—would have been killed or devoured by those inhuman devils at any moment and wouldn’t have stood firm before satan. I truly experienced the authority and power of Almighty God’s word, felt the supernaturalness and greatness of Almighty God’s life power, and tasted God’s most real and practical love and selfless life supply for me! It was Almighty God who led me to overcome satan’s temptations and transcend the bondage of death time after time and walk out of hell on earth step by step. I deeply felt that only Almighty God loves man most and Almighty God is my only reliance and salvation. I’ll pledge my life to rebel against and reject satan, pursue the truth hard, and follow Almighty God to walk the bright right way of human life forever.
Source: The Overcomers’ Testimonies
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