I am twenty-one years old and a new believer who is saved solely by grace. I was born and raised in a loving family of another religion. My parents brought me up with unconditional love and gave me all the freedom to decide on the path for my life. Despite this, I mistreated my mom and sister and often disobeyed my dad.

Throughout my life, I never questioned the existence of God and worshiped Him faithfully like my religion had taught me. I prayed on time, did all the right things, and aimed to be perfect. I was trying to save myself from going to hell. Of course, little did I know that this was impossible.

In my first year of university in 2010, I experienced a massive heartbreak and fell into a vicious cycle of low self-esteem. This led me to develop anorexia and I even attempted suicide. It was during this dark time of my life that I longed for a love that is unlike human love, a love that I did not even receive from my parents. I began searching for God. I felt I did not have a relationship with Him. Instead, I felt like I was here in this world like an employee to do my part before receiving my dues.

To add to my misery, I fell into a wrong company of friends in late 2011. They condemned me every day and pressured me into things I did not want to try, such as alcohol and other sinful activities. But through this mess, the Lord was watching over me. He had already planned to draw me near to Him.

My very good friend is a believer and I always wondered what was it about her that enabled her to walk in such boldness and confidence, taking pride in who she was. I lived with her for four months and heard about Jesus. But it wasn’t until my second semester internship in 2013 when I unintentionally ended up signing a lease to live with four believers in a house!I experienced amazing grace for the first time. Those were the best four months of my life. I developed deep friendships, and these strangers would pray for my mom’s healing and they loved me without judgment.

During this time, I also read Joseph Prince’s book, Destined To Reign, and my mind was blown when I realized that Jesus loves me so freely! He is grace. He is the righteousness that believers are clothed in. He is the God of my good friend and new roommates.

I felt so free, knowing that I lay in the hands of a loving God, not needing to rely on my futile works to save myself from hellfire. I am saved by believing in a Lord who died to cleanse me of my sins. This is unconditional love. I felt peace for the first time.

On February 28, 2013, I invited Jesus into my life. He has changed my life, blessing me with unending grace. I have been and healed of the sins of the past, present, and future. When I look in the mirror today, I see that I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

I am so thankful to all the people who introduced me to the truth. I would also like to thank Pastor Joseph Prince for preaching Jesus in the manner that He deserves to be preached. Most importantly, I praise and thank the Lord for accepting me, receiving me into His loving arms, and raising me up as His beloved. Hallelujah!