Personal Stories: Catherine Beviss' story
I Have Seen God’s Hand In All Aspects Of My Life
This is the story of a young girl brought up in a loving family in Eldoret in Kenya, who got in with the wrong crowd as a teenager until everything went pear-shaped, and although she started going to church on a regular basis she did not give herself totally to God until she was won over by a campaigning missionary.Catherine Beviss’s life before she found Jesus was totally reliant upon her own resources and those of her close-knit family. “Before Christ I depended on my own strength, my knowledge and that of my parents. I was young, earning lots of money and without a care.”
That was okay until her dad died. “Everything changed when my father passed away. For three years I struggled to come to terms with this and blamed God for my pain.”
“I did not understand why.”
Then she drifted badly. “I got in the wrong company, drinking heavily, had a boyfriend and put my mum under a lot of pressure.” Until her world fell apart. “Things got worse when I fell pregnant, lost my job, and all my friends abandoned me and society looked down upon me as an unwed mother.”
Although she always went to church at this stage of her life, she had not given herself over to God. “I was then a regular church-goer but did not know Christ as Lord of my life.”
Not until a while later did things start to look up. “It was in the cold season of July 1992 that a visiting evangelist, Reinhardt Bonnke, held a week-long crusade in Eldoret. It was an open-air crusade as there was no venue big enough to hold the numbers.”
Its proximity to Catherine’s house was surely no accident. “The crusade was held very near to our home and we could hear the message from our kitchen.”
Her friends went to the Christian meeting and were won over. “My work colleagues attended the crusade and one by one they came back with the good news of salvation and urged me to go.”
Aprehensively she eventually attended the gathering. “I was afraid to go because I somehow knew this was going to affect me and I was not sure I could handle it! I finally went to the crusade on the second-to-last day and on that wet evening I gave my life to Christ.”
She did it! “What a wonderful feeling of peace and relief.”
An emptiness in her life had been filled It was then I realized what the void in my life was.” The Holy Spirit had entered her being and washed her clean. “I was accepted, forgiven of ALL my sins and there I began the journey with Christ.”
But her troubles continued. “I lost my job three weeks later and the Christian brothers and sisters in my church continued to encourage me to pray and reminded me of God’s promise in Romans 8:28 ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him who have been called according to his purpose’”.
As time went by a vacancy cropped up at a religious organization, which brought her even closer to Jesus. “I later got a job with the Bible Society in Kenya where my faith grew from strength to strength.”
The Holy Spirit has been instrumental in guiding her over time. “Through the years I have seen God’s hand in all aspects of my life.”
“I cannot tell you all the things the Lord has done for me, but this I know – Jesus has been strongest when I was at the lowest point in my life. He has given me strength through difficult times. He has given me hope when there seemed to be none left.”
There have been difficult times when there seemed to be no logical reason for certain things to happen. “Sometimes, I asked the Lord, “Why?” He reassured me, through His Word, through a song and through brothers and sisters in Christ. Through everything I have come out stronger and more committed to follow Him.”
“The most wonderful thing is this . . . I know I can trust in Him, I can depend on his promises and I can lean on his unconditional love for me.”
“Every day I strive to know Him more and to know His will in my life. I know it is Jesus who has brought me this far. I could not have done it by myself.”
Phil. 4:13 ‘I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.’
“Jesus paid the price for my sins with His life on the cross, how can I ever thank Him, except by praising Him, worshipping Him and testifying of Him.”
“Thank you Jesus for choosing me and for giving me a new life. I am forever grateful and I love you, Jesus.”
Catherine Beviss
