Emily Cheng graduated from UCLA in 2012 and currently works as an accountant in Norcal. She attends Lighthouse Bible Church San Jose and in her free time loves adventuring anywhere with good scenery or food, jamming (or just car-aoking), and cheering for her favorite sports teams!
I was raised in a Christian family and attended church regularly ever since my childhood. The Sunday morning routine became a habit to me early in my youth and as I grew up hearing bible stories every week, I believed in the existence of God and the reality that Jesus lived on this earth as a righteous man. I don’t remember the exact moment I was saved, but sometime in my early teens I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior and acknowledged my need for Him to die as a ransom for my sin.
However, for the next few years, my life became consumed by the things of this world as I relentlessly pursued the attention and approval of man while giving into my fleshly desires. My heart was hardened toward the abomination of sin and I constantly sought to be defined by the world’s standards of success and self-worth. I prided myself on seemingly having every aspect of my life under control and in accordance with my own plans as a result of my work ethic. Although I continued to attend church and serve in the youth group, my motives were impure and lacking genuine worship toward God.
Praise God though, that in His ceaseless patience and love, He used circumstances around me to reveal that I was not living a life that reflected Christ as my true Master. As I saw the corruption of my heart drawn out clearly before me, He faithfully began transforming me and removing the internal barriers that had prevented my full dependency on Him alone. God reminded me to trust in Him amidst all trials to experience the blessings of believing Romans 8:28 because He indeed causes all things to happen for our good and His glory. By learning to loosen my grip on the worldly things I idolized, I slowly came to realize the loss of all those things in comparison to the surpassing value of knowing Christ. Even though God chose not remove the challenges in my life right away, He showed me the greater fruit that He promised in James 1:2-3 of producing character, perseverance, and a resulting joy from resting in that promise.
By God’s grace, I later followed my older brother to UCLA for college, began attending Grace Community Church, and became involved in Grace on Campus during my freshman year. I was introduced to expository preaching for the first time and experienced the blessings of true accountability and fellowship with like-minded believers. For the next four years God grew my love for Him and I learned to form convictions based on the authority of Scripture.
Transitioning from college to the Silicon Valley working world has been a whole new adventure and I’m thankful for the tangible reminders of God’s past faithfulness in my life that continue to provide an eternal hope through all circumstances.
← All Posts