“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
—Matthew 11:28 (ESV)
Grace didn’t know where to turn when her family began falling apart.
Her marriage had been cold and distant for years. She wasn’t sleeping or eating and began drinking alcohol every day to feel a little better, but nothing helped.
“My life was a mess,” Grace said. “I was depressed, neurotic, worried and distressed. I cried almost daily.”
One day while playing Scrabble on her phone to keep her mind off of things, Grace saw an ad on the side that asked, “Do you want to know Jesus?” At that moment, she thought, “What could I lose?”
That ad led her to Conociendo a Jesús—BGEA’s free online discipleship course in Spanish. The course, called Know Jesus in English, offers five lessons about living for God and pairs students with an online discipleship coach to answer questions along the way. It’s part of BGEA’s internet evangelism ministry called Search for Jesus (En Busca de Jesús in Spanish).
“I started the course knowing my life was a mess … there was a void in me that nothing thus far had filled,” Grace recalled. “I realized that I alone could not and decided to ask for help from someone bigger than me.”
Grace was connected with Glenda Lee Morales, a discipleship coach trained to guide people through the course. Grace was filled with questions.
“I had many doubts about God, His existence and not a gram of faith,” she said.
Glenda’s main goal was to ultimately point Grace straight to Jesus, and that made all the difference. “I kind of helped her, but it was because of God and the Holy Spirit’s work being able to heal people,” Glenda said.
Glenda shared the Bible story of the Prodigal Son to help Grace understand God’s love toward her, no matter where she was or what she had done. Grace’s heart was being transformed with each new lesson, and then she asked Jesus to come into her life.
“I told Him I no longer wanted to carry that big load and gave it to Him. You know what? He took it,” Grace said. Once she had encountered the love of Jesus, it was noticeable.
“She was able to experience the fruit of the peace, love and joy of the Holy Spirit,” Glenda explained. As she walked closely with Grace throughout her five-week journey, she said, “I noticed her joy and she was just emotionally different.”
Through Jesus, Grace has found the love and purpose she desperately needed. She boasts in Christ, saying, “After inviting Jesus into my life, [He] gave me joy and peace, pulling me out of a severe depression for over nine months.”
God has even transformed Grace’s marriage, which she says “has had a 180-degree turn. … He has given me a desire to be with my husband, and He’s teaching me to respect [my husband’s] authority—something I never did.”
When Grace explains how far she’s come, she says, “I used to cry every day. Now my heart sings to the Lord with joy and gratitude.”
Would you or someone you know like to learn more about living for God? Check out our free online course Know Jesus, or Conociendo a Jesús in Spanish.
You can help people discover the joy and peace that comes through Christ. Consider volunteering with BGEA’s online ministry Search for Jesus, or En Busca de Jesús for Spanish.
