About a year and a half ago, I went through a period of great spiritual distress. I started hearing and reading stories here and there from people dissatisfied with how certain things were functioning in the church. Although I knew that not everything happens as it should, I always tried to believe that God is still in control, as we are promised: “There is no need to doubt, to be fearful that the work will not succeed. God is at the head of the work, and He will put everything in order. Should there be things needing adjustment in the direction of the work, God will attend to it, and will work to set every error right. Let us have faith that God will guide the noble ship carrying His people safely to port” (Last Events, p. 46).

The comments I heard, however, brought fear and insecurity to my heart, and I began to pray to God, asking Him to remove my fear and give me certainty of His direction. I sought to study the matter and asked Him to send someone who was sensitive to this issue and could help me. Several weeks passed, and during this time a verse always came to my mind: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18). I then understood that feelings of fear do not come from God, and that I should trust in Him and not get involved in discussions that tend to bring fear and insecurity to the heart.

About two months after I started praying about this, our church participated in a district choir gathering. I confess that due to the somewhat chaotic nature of such events, I didn't expect God to answer my prayer there, but as the Saturday morning service began and I heard the first five minutes of the sermon, I looked at my husband and he looked at me, and somehow we both knew that the pastor who was preaching was the person God had sent to help us find the peace we were seeking.

The pastor preached about the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, especially in the last days. As he preached, we felt our hearts “burn” and our doubts began to be answered, one by one. I felt a great peace, unlike anything I had felt in a long time. In the afternoon, the pastor gave another sermon, and we really wanted to talk with him, but since we were attending to our church group, we ended up not having the opportunity to meet him. I went home sad and questioning God. If everything indicated he was the right person, why didn't we have the chance to get to know him better?

On Monday afternoon, God began to answer me. My husband received an email from that pastor saying he would like my husband to produce a series of lectures on DVDs for him. My husband exchanged a few emails with him, and they agreed that he would come to the countryside property where we live to do the recordings within two months. I was astonished – how God answers our prayers! He lives about seven hours from our home in a large city, full of resources, but he was interested in coming to the property where we live to do the recordings! God is wonderful! He wanted us to have the peace of mind to talk in the comfort of our own home, and not quickly at the church door.

To make a long story short, that pastor, Pastor Jorge Dias, an evangelist from the South Minas Association, came to our house twice and spent 4 days with us doing the recordings. We had the opportunity to talk about many things that troubled our hearts, and we felt that God used him to bring us the peace we were seeking and the certainty that God is indeed in control, and that we need to cling to Him and seek the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, and all things will be resolved in His time according to His will. This series of lectures was completed several months ago and is available online on the blog The Holy Spirit and the Last Days or through Project Restore. But from now on, in agreement with Pastor Jorge, Project Restore will also be making the material available on DVD (at cost price) for people who do not have internet access to watch it at home and share it with others.

Through this experience, I learned that God always answers our prayers in the best possible way, and He delights in answering us when we are seeking to better understand His will. If you are seeking the Holy Spirit, seeking to do God's will in your life, watch and share this DVD, and you will be greatly blessed!

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