My Faith and Trust Was Not in the Lord
My name is Janaida Mendez, and this is my story.
Growing up as a child, I often heard the name “God.” I did not have much knowledge of God, but for some reason, always desired to know who he was. I remember, each night before going to bed, I would have to pray a prayer. If there was a time where I would forget to pray, I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep. I guess I thought that “praying” was my way of being right with God, like He would not be pleased with me if I didn’t.
One day as a teenager, I mentioned to my mother that I wanted to go to church. Since the Catholic church was all my family knew, she insisted that I attend a Catholic church. Around this time, in 2009, God blessed me with my first-born daughter. With my mother’s advice, and the tremendous burden in my heart of not knowing who God is, I started to attend church to seek answers. While attending services, I was led to start Bible study classes in preparation for my first communion. A few months later, after finishing the classes, I received a call that it was time to start the first communion. I realized that something didn’t feel right, and so I refused to go back and stopped going to services.
"With my mother’s advice, and the tremendous burden in my heart of not knowing who God is, I started to attend church to seek answers."
In 2010, my parents started attending Lehigh Valley Baptist Church and invited me to join them. I immediately started going, and it was the first time in my life that I was getting answers. The preaching was from the Word of God, and it was clear that the Lord was getting a hold of my heart. On November 14th, 2010, I attended a night service. During the preaching, I was convicted and knew that I wasn’t right with God. At the end of the service, I went up to the altar and cried out to the Lord and asked Him to save me. Shortly after, I spoke with one of the ladies about my profession, and she brought me to a quiet room and opened the Bible to share a few verses.
Shortly after, I began the 4-week Bible study, and this particular verse stood out to me. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This made me realize what a sinner I truly am and how I don’t deserve God’s genuine love and goodness towards me.
Time began to pass. Months turned into years, and I had drifted off from my walk with God. I was living my life fulfilling the desires of my flesh and not living for God. I had faith in the Lord, but did not trust Him to lead my life. As a result, I faced many trials.
"I surrendered my life to God and truly put all of my trust and faith in Him. I knelt down on my knees and poured out my whole heart to the Lord and asked Him to be my Savior."
Fast forward to 2019, I believe that Christ was still trying to grab a hold of my heart and bring me back to Him. I returned to Lehigh Valley Baptist Church and started attending services again faithfully. I began to struggle with whether or not I was truly saved. I knew that I needed to reevaluate my life. I desired to seek help, but because of my shyness and being so quiet, it held me back. One Sunday morning, Pastor Roland preached a great and convicting message. My sister encouraged me to seek help, and since I had prayed that morning for the Lord to show me my condition and where I stood before Him, I knew I needed to finally find the courage to talk to someone.
On March 12th, 2023, I surrendered my life to God and truly put all of my trust and faith in Him. I knelt down on my knees and poured out my whole heart to the Lord and asked Him to be my Savior. God showed me that I could never change myself or live my life “my” way. Only God alone could change me. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” I could clearly see how the Lord began to transform me. The change began in my heart. I desired to be faithful to God, faithful in church attendance, faithful in reading the Bible, and faithful in prayer. I desire to live for the Lord.
In scripture, I read Luke 15:32 which says, “It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.” God used this verse to assure me of my salvation. I have full assurance that I am a child of the King and I am saved by His grace. My desire for each person who reads this testimony, is that you also would be sure of your salvation through Jesus Christ. Seek God in the Bible and ask Him to begin a work in your heart.