Ros Was Comforted by The Holy Spirit When Her Husband Passed Away

On June 11th 2012 my late husband Philip heard the gospel message to repent, be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit and, without discussion, he decided to get baptized. He knew that being right with God and a healing miracle was his last chance at beating his terminal cancer. I was pulled into the fellowship - as his support person through his cancer journey. Thankfully, God, who knows all, fast- tracked the gift of the Holy Spirit - we both received the Holy Spirit within the week, with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Two months later Philip passed away. God in His wisdom had decided not to grant him a physical healing. He had, however, graciously granted Philip’s wish to beat death. It was just not in the way we had expected. Through receiving the Holy Spirit, Philip had his admission ticket into heaven. I was greatly comforted by that.

While I appreciated the love and support shown to me by the members of the fellowship, I felt that the strict moral codes adopted by the fellowship could be confronting down the track. Prior to getting married, we had lived by the world’s (lack of) moral standards. I had come to a crossroad early in my walk with the Lord and needed to decide whether to stay in the fellowship or return to my old ways where I made the rules. I consulted the Bible and was drawn to words from Ecclesiastes 7:4 ... “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning;”. I decided to use this time of mourning to get wisdom from the Bible about the important, heart issues of life. I had also been convicted by the Lord through my powerful in-filling that He was real, and I had been empowered already by the Holy Spirit to conquer one aspect of my proud pre-Christian nature - my inability to apologize. As I threw myself into listening to talks recorded from our meetings, and attending meetings and fellowship events, I found myself living out what I was reading. As I came to know the immensity of God’s love and the obedience of Christ in dying to redeem my soul, my mind was gradually transformed and I was being changed from glory to glory within, as His love flowed through me.

The strict moral codes are no longer an issue. His ways are higher than our ways, and for our good. His love for us in going to the cross demands no less than my wholehearted obedience. I praise the Lord for helping me decide to walk on in His ways, and for His joy, peace and assurance of salvation through the Holy Spirit. I thank Him for giving me strength to endure, faith to believe in His promises, and wisdom to keep following Him towards eternity.

Ros is a member of The Revival Fellowship - Sydney, NSW