Nilma Alves
*Luís Alberto Alves
It's not easy to complete a 30-year walk in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Along the way, there are countless temptations. The devil throws all sorts of lentil dishes on the road to try to pull you away from the company of Jesus Christ. The enemy hits hardest at the item you were enslaved to when you were far from God.
Satan tries to show that faithfulness to the Lord is something painful to maintain. He tries to sow the illusion that the dishes he offers are good. After all, pleasure is something enjoyable. I know what I'm talking about. When I planned to hold a Thanksgiving service for 30 years of walking alongside Jesus Christ, the devil hit me hard.
He sowed images of my past in my mind, showing only flashes of rare moments of pleasure, of my wanderings through the streets of São Paulo, usually at night, in search of pleasure. When I returned home, where I now reside with my beloved family, a gift from the Lord, he tried to sow sadness in my heart. Something terrible. Enough to drive me crazy. But I asked the Lord for strength to keep standing, serving the Lord through His Gospel. I managed to hold the Thanksgiving service and praised the Lord through a sermon, where I brought the Word that is written in Mark, chapter 2, verse 17, when Christ said that He came to call sinners, because those who need a doctor are the sick, not the healthy.
Time
I remembered the countless battles faced in these 30 years. In some, I imagined I would be crushed. From 2017 to 2024 I faced the pain caused by unemployment. During that time I counted on the help of my wife, through prayers and fasting, and of friends and brothers in Christ who shared their bread with me. A time when no job opportunities opened, not even to unload cargo from trucks. Everything was closed.
Something terrible. At the height of despair, I stopped in front of a double-articulated bus, hoping it would run me over and say goodbye to this world through death. The driver managed to brake. I tried to throw myself from the floor where I live, but something wouldn't let me plunge into space. At the beginning of 2025, the situation changed. Back in the job market, I had joy back in my heart.
I finally arrived at May 25th of this year, when I completed 30 years in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I reflected a lot. I remembered the people who didn't give up on me. They were by my side during the bad times. I realized how good the Lord is. When He pulled me out of the rot, I was someone with a lot of spiritual filth. A person who didn't deserve to be by God's side because of the countless sins I had committed. God accepted me anyway. He cleaned my soul and spirit, and today I am a new creature. Thank you, Lord.
*Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor and author of the book "The Empty Refrigerator Theory".
