Liana Gozalie

God is at work in every heart, everywhere.

I struggle with the longevity of my relationship with God. I experience much growth in my spiritual walk with God in CFC and I am very thankful for it. However, my narrow mind leads me to thinking that God only does amazing works in CFC. Knowing that I will go back to Indonesia in the near future, I become discouraged because I presume that it won’t take much to tear me away from God. The non-Christian environment, the lack of spiritual accountability and my own sinful heart are way too strong for me to not give into and I foresee that I will eventually crumble upon returning home.

I view my trip to Japan as God’s obvious answer to my doubt that God is at work everywhere in every heart. There, I had the privilege of joining an International Business class for a day at Kansai University. The class coordinator knew some J-House staff members and invited us to share about our beliefs. Basically, he encouraged us to openly share the Gospel to the Japanese students so as to expose them to different beliefs and ways of thinking. I thought, wow, what a random opportunity God provided amidst our fear of rejection as we evangelized in that very campus! I then learned that the class coordinator was a Muslim from Saudi Arabia. There and then, I had a major paradigm shift as I realized that God was using a non-Christian to make His name known to Japanese people. It’s like He was challenging me: Liana, if you don’t want to be used to expand my Kingdom, don’t worry about it, I have other better ways and people I can use. I repented for the ways I put a limit to how extensively God can work and for my pride in thinking that God needs me in order to spread His name.

Staying in J-House and seeing how the people there are continuously growing very much in love with God convinced me even further that God is indeed at work in every heart everywhere in the world. He’s at work in CFC, in Japan and in Indonesia too. If I ever fail to witness and testify to God’s redemptive work anywhere in the world, I only have myself to blame for not opening my heart and eyes to see His life-transforming love for His people and how He’s doing mighty things in their lives.

Now, my heart overflows with peace as God reassures me that He will most certainly continue to work in me and through me to change lives in Indonesia. He loves me and will sustain me all the days of my life. I want fight for the privilege of being used as a kingdom worker and the blessing of witnessing God’s unstoppable force at work in the hearts of His people, anywhere He sends me.

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
Isaiah 46:4