For five years, Christ Bible Institute has had the privilege of offering the STEPS biblical counseling and discipleship program in Japanese. This program invites participants on a journey of gospel-centered change. The fifth cohort completed the program this month, and one of the participants offered the following testimony of God’s healing grace.
I’ve known about STEPS since three years ago, but applying felt like a hurdle I could not overcome.
A church I previously attended had become cult-like, and cases of sexual harassment and violence became widely known in the Japanese Christian community. Because of that, I began to feel that I myself was shameful. Though I didn’t realize it at the time, I had come to believe that this church’s shame was my shame, and I feared I would never be accepted by the wider Christian community in Japan.
Before I participated in the STEPS program, God led me to take an intensive class at Christ Bible Seminary. Through this class, I came to understand that God was removing the shame I had been holding onto, and I was left with deep gratitude.
During the time when my church became cult-like and people became aggressive, many members left. I began to question whether the God I knew was truly righteous, but this in turn led me to seek him more deeply.
Through STEPS, Jesus taught me the truth and allowed me to encounter him in a new way. I had believed, “I am fine. I need to help others who are hurt.” But through STEPS, Jesus walked me through my own hurt, including spiritual abuse and words and actions that I should never have had to experience. Jesus grieved with me, and my mentor also walked alongside me in that grief.
Through experiencing Jesus’s presence, his truth, and my mentor’s companionship, healing became real and clear for me. God also used this time to address boundary issues from my family background. I realized I had been carrying burdens that were never mine to bear. Jesus gently showed me the boundaries I am actually responsible for and reminded me that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. |
