By Melissa McLaughlin
Ever heard one of those remarkable testimonies of someone whose life was dramatically changed after they became a Christian? I get so excited to hear about God’s mighty hand moving in people’s lives.
For many years, I felt my experience following Christ lacked the pizzazz that marked other’s journeys. But this is my story of how I became a Christian.
Over time, I have come to realize that every single heart that yields to the Lordship of Jesus Christ is an absolute miracle. By nature, we prefer to be in charge. By nature, we’d rather tell God what to do. In short, we’d rather be God.
Take a self-centered, rebellious, hard-headed person and transform them into one who lays down their arms and surrenders it all for Jesus. This is nothing less than a mighty parting of the Red Seas of our hearts. Every follower of Jesus is a walking, talking, living miracle.
Here’s my miracle story.
How I Became a Christian
I grew up in a loving Christian home, with parents who cared for me, protected me and guided me with healthy boundaries and abundant TLC. Our family faithfully attended church every week, where I learned more about the Bible and about our Savior, Jesus Christ. We prayed, gave our offering, sang songs of praise to the Lord and nurtured our understanding of Jesus.
By about age 12, I made a personal statement of my faith in Christ and chose to be baptized. I felt excited and uplifted to take this big step. Though at the time, I didn’t really understand the depths of sin that gripped my heart, nor did I fully understand the weight Jesus endured in order to save me from that sin. But as much as I was able, I believed in Jesus and sincerely endeavored to follow Him.
I continued on the path of faith in Christ through my middle school and high school years. During my college years, at about the age of 20, I began to wonder about the truth of Christianity. With so many other religions in the world, how could I be sure about the truth of Jesus? How could I anchor my life on this belief?
On a series of Saturday afternoons, I hunkered down in the college library and read a host of books on other religions to discover what each believed and why. After hours of investigation and soulful consideration, I reached the conclusion that Christianity honestly made the most sense. In all other faith systems, mankind was attempting to reach God, but in Christianity, God came to us, through Jesus Christ. Christianity stood apart.
Yet somehow, doubts lingered, tugging at the edges of my mind. My best intellectual pursuits still left me on shaky ground. Though I continued attending church and remained active in my Christian life, I felt inwardly adrift and spiritually unsteady. It was an unsettling time and soul peace was nowhere to be found.
There were two distinct moments that changed everything. One evening after a college outreach meeting, two young men who also attended the event, asked me about my faith. Somehow, they sensed my tenuous feelings and listened compassionately. After sharing my questions and my intellectual summation, they explained quietly but firmly, “Intellect alone will not get you to Jesus. Yes, it can help point you toward Him for He is truth, but in the end it is a leap of faith. You need to take that leap.”
Their words echoed in my soul. God placed these two people in my life at precisely the right moment to speak precisely the right message. A message from God, a gentle breath of truth and life for a flickering wick. My heart and mind were stirred with new life. Incredibly, I have never seen them before or since.
Then, while sitting in a chapel service about a week later, a young woman from our college campus read this scripture:
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. -John 14:1-2
“If it were not so, I would have told you.”
There it was. The words of Jesus. The words of truth.
“I would have told you.”
So simple. So clear. So pure.
This scripture resounded in the depths of my very being. I knew it was true. Not with an intellectual ascent or head knowledge, but with a deep heart knowledge. The Living God had touched my mind with His Living Word. The Living Son of God, moved in me through His Living Spirit. I trusted Jesus and I trusted what He said. He would tell me if it were not true. And my spirit came alive in Christ!
I felt like I was made brand new, inside and out. A ray of shining light broke through the fog and dust that had muddled my vision. Now I could see Christ again, clearly and unhindered, in all His glory, truth and grace. Hallelujah! The God of my youth, became the God of my young adult years and has carried me through ever since.
Does this mean I never have questions, fears or misunderstandings? No, I still wonder about the nuances of my faith and God’s Word and how it will all play out in my life and in the world around me. But I have never again stood on the shifting sands of life without Christ. My feet are on the Rock and I am grateful beyond words.
How to Become a Christian
If you have never believed in Jesus or confessed Him as Savior and Lord of you life, I invite you to do so today. Ask Jesus to show you the truth. Ask Jesus to give you the desire to know Him. He is waiting with open arms to receive anyone who will place their faith in Him. You will have your own miracle story to tell of how you became a Christian!
These are a few scripture verses that may help you.
Genesis 1:1 – In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 – The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 10:9 – If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Please pray with me
Heavenly Father, we praise you for you are God and there is no other. We thank you for sending Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins, that those who believe in Him, by faith, are forgiven and promised a place in heaven forever. What grace, what amazing grace! We ask you to forgive us of our sins. We confess Jesus is Lord and we believe He was raised from the dead. Help us walk in the newness of life He has won for us. Help us seek you, Jesus, in Bible reading, in prayer and by gathering with other Christians. Help us experience the fullness of your indwelling Holy Spirit, sent to live in the hearts of all who believe. Help us overflow with the joy of our salvation and shine with your truth, grace and love for all to see! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
How did you become a Christian? What’s your miracle story?
Additional Resources:
How Ravi Zacharias came to Christ
4 Words of Life – How I found my faith By Yvonne Morgan
Believer or Follower – Which one are you? By Melissa McLaughlin
Do you ever wonder if the world is coming to an end? By Melissa McLaughlin
Why I am a Christian (David Wood, Former Atheist’s Conversion Testimony)
You have all the pizzazz you will ever need, you bright shining light you!
Awww, you’re too kind! Remembering what Jesus did for all of us is enough to keep our hearts overflowing with pizzazz-ful praise forever!
I’m going to try and use your new word in a sentence today!
Beautiful testimony of your faith! God bless you each and every day in your walk with Him. It is God Himself who makes the ‘leap of faith’ possible. We are so very blessed!
So true, Linda! Yes, it is the Father Himself who draws us, so even that final moment when we surrender to Christ, it is by the grace and mercy of God. Kindness after kindness!
Melissa…I wana become Cristian..pls help me…
Hello Friend, if you want to become a Christian, please re-read the post. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross. You only need to believe. Romans 10:9: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is LORD and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Here is the prayer from the end of the post: Heavenly Father, we praise you for you are God and there is no other. We thank you for sending Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins, that those who believe in Him, by faith, are forgiven and promised a place in heaven forever. What grace, what amazing grace! We ask you to forgive us of our sins. We confess Jesus is Lord and we believe He was raised from the dead. Help us walk in the newness of life He has won for us. Help us seek you, Jesus, in Bible reading, in prayer and by gathering with other Christians. Help us experience the fullness of your indwelling Holy Spirit, sent to live in the hearts of all who believe. Help us overflow with the joy of our salvation and shine with your truth, grace and love for all to see! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
You can pray this prayer (from your heart), or pray the words on your heart.
I hope this is helpful.
God bless you. Melissa McLaughlin
Awesome testimony 🙂
I too wandered the full circle of religion. I knew people were excited when they saw my interest in what they believed. But the thing about was that none of them took me under their wing and taught me anything. And there just seemed to be a “find your own way” air about them despite their excitement. So I studied and read but honestly, if everything I looked into, it was nothing more than Christianity with little differences here and there. So I thought if everything were nothing more than contradictories I was best remaining a Christian.
But while I looked into the others, I seriously believe the Lord kept me close enough from falling into the traps. And I truly praise Him for that! And after a while I quit resisting His call to return and made my way back like the prodigal son.
Thank you for sharing your testimony, John! Powerful story of God’s protection and guidance. I am convinced the Lord kept you close and protected you as you wandered. Thank God, He brought you all the way back home! Thank you, Jesus, for never giving up on us!
I reckon He proves Himself this way!
I reckon He does!
Thank you for this inspiring message. Even if we feel like our faith journey is more quiet than another person’s journey, God is at work and our journey is unique.
It’s true, Melissa. God is working on each of our hearts, as we surrender to Him, bringing beauty from ashes and new life from the dry and brittle places. In His hands, our lives are always a wonderful miracle. May we cherish our journey with Him!
Thank you for sharing. Sometimes I think it’s more remarkable when someone grows up in a Christian environment yet still senses that something else is needed. And, as you pointed out, that something is Jesus.
I appreciate your feedback, Tom! You make a really good point. Sometimes a person who is enveloped in a Christian environment can either take that for granted or miss the personally life-transforming relationship with Jesus, because they are resting on the faith of others. Truly, the life of every believer is a testimony of God’s great power to save!
Amen! “What grace, what amazing grace!” Thank you for sharing your precious story here. I agree with you that every story of how someone becomes HIS is a miracle. We each have been that sheep gone astray. And truly, it is such a mystery how He meets us and turns our eyes toward Him. May my prayers continue to be lifted up for all those loved ones that I am praying for, for that miracle to become so full too.
Thank you, dear Bettie, for reading and sharing your insights! Yes, every single one of us have been a sheep that has gone astray. I never get tired of hearing each unique story of how our Shepherd found each one, in just the right way, at just the right. It’s a testimony of God’s grace, mercy and power to save. I join you in praying for many more to receive and believe in Jesus, so that His miraculous ways become their life’s true story. Bless you!
God puts the right people there at the right time. Praise Him that He even bothers with us, sinful as we are, yet the Bible tells us He loves us with an everlasting love. Knowing Him brings such security and peace; no, not everything will run smoothly for Christians in their lives, in fact our faith may bring more difficulty, but we know our feet are planted on the Rock that will not move.
Carolyn, that is part of His miracle working power, the way God connects us with exactly the right people at exactly the right moment. Only God!!! And you are so right, amazingly, the God of the universe even bothers with us, but more than that, laid down His life for our sins that we could be part of His holy family forever. There is no higher love, no deeper grace. And no sorrows of this life can touch it. God bless you!
Your way of thinking sounds very similar to my husband’s! It took him down a similar path of wondering about the facts of his faith, even though he grew up in a Christian home. He finally came to understand that he simply can’t understand it all, that’s why it’s faith. And that he doesn’t want to understand it all or have it all figured out because then wouldn’t he be as smart as God? I love that he pushed through those questions to reach that conclusion! Thanks for sharing your story and the truth of the gospel!
I’m thankful your husband pushed through those questions to rest in the truth of Christ in the end. What a wonderful conclusion to his faith story! One thing I know, it is critical that each person has a personal experience and faith in Christ. Sometimes, this can get lost in the shuffle when you grow up in a Christian environment. But God sees through all the outer trappings to the innermost parts of our hearts and that is where He calls to us. What a mighty God we serve!
Amen! Thanks for sharing your testimony. God sure does move in mysterious ways. My own testimony is similar to that of The Eclectic Contrarian. Just think, even though we had gone astray, God came down to meet us and have a relationship with each one who responds to His call: hallelujah!!! Thanks again. God bless you 🙂
Thank you for reading and sharing your story, too! It is a wonder, to think that the holy God who created the heavens and the earth would bother with us, small, selfish and sinful people. And yet He does and reaches each one who is willing to respond, in just the right way. What a wonderful Savior! So, glad Jesus brought you, the Eclectic Contrarian, me and so many others back to Himself. God bless you!
Thank you so much for sharing your testimony! I love the “simple” truth that if it were not so, he would have told us. That makes it plain as day. I think your testimony is powerful — each story is — and especially powerful for those who grow up attending church, having an early salvation, and going off into the world where they begin to question. Your message is one that encourages, especially those with a similar story. It is powerful!
Thank you for the words of encouragement, Melinda! And you are right, every single testimony of coming to faith in Christ stirs my heart, every time. I never really thought about the fact that others, who also grew up in a Christian family, could have struggled in a similar way. I pray my simple story reaches those who may be questioning their faith in Christ.
But it is truly no less a miracle than those with a dramatic outward change, for by nature, our hearts are selfish and we would rather deny God’s sovereignty over us. Our pastor used to say, the hardest people to be saved are those who grew up in the church! What he meant is that outwardly, they know all the right words and behaviors but inwardly, may actually not believe, know and embrace Jesus in an authentic personal way. In the end, we must each make our faith our own. For God wants every person to know Him and be known by Him. We simply can’t do that for anyone else. Praying for more eyes to be opened to the true saving power of Jesus Christ, whether they are on the streets or in the pews!
Hi Melissa. Not only do we share the same heavenly Father, but it’s possible we share a human ancestor or two–I’m a McLaughlin on my mother’s side.
Hi Mitch, so glad to meet you. You are my brother in Christ and maybe an earthly relative too! That’s fascinating. I have never researched my ancestry, though McLaughlin is my husband’s family name. Still it would be neat to see how far all the earthly connections reach. Anyway, may God bless you and yours!
Well, say, “Hello, cousin!” to your husband for me, then. ;>) Maybe somewhere along the line we can talk ancestors and see if there’s an intersection point. Blessings.
Will do! Blessings to you and yours!
Wow!It’s really a superb testimony of a true lover of Christ. A true lover because no one can call Jesus as the Lord unless God the Father wishes it.Thank you very much for sharing it.🌹ðŸ‘
Thank you for listening to my journey of faith in Christ and adding a word of encouragement here! I am eternally grateful, God the Father drew me to Jesus. Such an incredible gift of love and grace!
It is indeed an incredible gift of love and grace.Most welcome.🌹ðŸ™
I love how God keeps us in sync with out subjects. Thank you so much for including a link to my blog too, I feel so honored. Great and wise words for a wonderful woman of God. God bless my dear friend.
I agree, Yvonne! It is an awesome work of the Holy Spirit and it makes me excited to see how He brings forth a similar message from different people’s lives. Thank you again for sharing your testimony of coming to faith in Christ. It is a powerful story and one that can help many others. I pray many read your story. God bless you, sweet sister in Christ!
Thank you for sharing your story, Melissa. I like how you explained how God took those verses in John 14 and just made them “live” so that they spoke to you at your point of need. He did the same for me one night in my journey with Romans 10:9. I wasn’t even a “flickering wick” at the time… maybe more like a “smoldering wick” with more smoke than fire! But God took away all my doubts and I have gone on in faith ever since. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for enlightening us and giving us the knowledge and conviction of spiritual truth!
You expressed that so perfectly! Yes, God took those verses in John 14 and made them come alive to me. At exactly the right moment, in exactly the right way. Furthermore, different versions of the Bible state that passage with a slightly different phrasing, But even that, God used to reach me.
Praise God for making Romans 10:9 come alive to you! God’s Word is truly alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing to the deepest parts of our souls. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for drawing us and giving us eyes to see. Forever grateful!
Hallelujah and Maranatha Sister in Christ-Messiah Jesus-Yeshua Melissa!!
GOD BLESS ALL my Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus-Yeshua and my Messianic Jewish Sisters and Brothers in Christ-Messiah Jesus-Yeshua and my Devout Jewish Sisters and Brothers and Your Families and Friends!!
I Love you all Everyone through Jesus-Yeshua Christ, because HE LOVED EVERYONE FIRST!! 💕 Praise Jesus-Yeshua Christ for Today and Everyday!!
“Happiness keeps You Sweet, Trials keep You Strong, Sorrows keep You Human, Failures keeps You Humble, Success keeps You Glowing, But Only GOD keeps You Going.”!! Amen-Amein Praise Christ-Messiah Jesus-Yeshua Hallelujah!!
Love 💕 Always, YSIC \o/
Kristi Ann
God bless you and keep you always, dear Kristi Ann!
Melissa I loved it. I can never it enough of your wonderful articles. You are really inspiring me for a closer walk with my Lird and Savior. N. E.