The Promise of Joy

“No fights, no problems, no pain. Everything in their lives must be perfect.” With smiling faces and welcoming attitudes, the Loures MB Church in Portugal knew no hardship. Or at least that’s what Beatriz Semedo mistakenly believed when she began attending the church. Beatriz grew up in the traditional Catholic Church which she attended out of habit. Though she heard the word of God she did not understand it. She was told that God was near and loving, but to her He seemed distant and cruel.

Beatriz’s son battled with drug addiction for 18 years before his death at age 33. Life incredibly painful for Beatriz. Thoughts of suicide entered her mind. Living made no sense to her because there was no hope. Years of revolt and loneliness ensued, and throughout this difficult period Beatriz blamed God for the struggles that her family was facing.

When Beatriz began attending Loures MB Church it was out of duty rather than faith, but God was at work regardless. Amidst her agony and bitterness she couldn’t see how she would be able to relate to the always-joyful congregation. But over time, and through the counsel of Otto and Marjorie Ekk , missionaries serving with MB Mission, Beatriz began to understand that these families were people just like her with their own problems and life situations to resolve. The difference was that through Christ they had found joy in suffering.

It was during a special Saturday service when Beatriz released her pain to God and encountered the power of His love. He met Beatriz in her deep grief and she accepted Jesus into her heart and made Him Lord over her life. She gained a church family that prayed for her and with her. Beatriz’s faith began to increase, and little by little she felt her crumbled heart being rebuilt.

The death of Beatriz’s son was a tragedy, but with her new faith in Christ God turned her sorrows into something beautiful. At his funeral Beatriz sang songs of hope that amazed her non-Christian coworkers. Jesus has lessened the weight of Beatriz’s pain by taking it on Himself, and in doing so, has grown her faith immeasurably. “My faith is the anchor on which I hold firm throughout the difficulties of life,” says Beatriz. “The Lord is my strength.”

To learn more about how God called Beatriz to Himself, watch her story, “His Divine Hand”