God Never Left Me

Good day everyone.
I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share my testimony. My prayer is that as you listen to my story, you will see not how strong I am, but how faithful God has been throughout every season of my life.

As a child, I was very stubborn. My mother faithfully brought me to church, and I attended Sunday school, but only because I wanted to avoid being spanked. I believed that God existed, but my faith was only based on what I had been taught. I knew there was a God but obeying Him was the hardest thing for me.

When I started working, I gradually drifted away from church and eventually left the United Pentecostal Church. I lived my own life, believing I could handle everything on my own.

Looking back now, I realize that even when I walked away from God, He never walked away from me.

God Prepared Me Before I Knew It

Years later, I moved to Dubai to work. Like many overseas workers, I left my family hoping to give them a better future. But living abroad was much harder than I expected.
I feel so alone.

I missed birthdays, family gatherings, holidays, and many of my son’s achievements. Every time my family sent me photos of celebrations or of my son receiving awards, I smiled for them, but afterward I cried. Looking at those pictures only reminded me how much I was missing.

Working abroad came with many other challenges. There were visa concerns, expensive accommodation, transportation problems, and the constant pressure of surviving in a foreign country.

Every evening I cried myself to sleep. Depression slowly consumed me. I felt empty, hopeless, and completely alone.

Before I returned to Dubai after one vacation in the Philippines, my father insisted that I bring a Bible with me.

I refused.

“Pa, I’m not going to read it.”

But he insisted.

Just to satisfy him, I placed the Bible inside my luggage. At that time, I had no idea that the Bible I almost left behind would become the very thing God would use to save me.

God Spoke Through His Word

One day, during my day off, I stayed inside my room crying. My eyes were swollen. I could hardly breathe. I felt like my life had no direction.

Then I heard a thought in my heart that kept repeating, “Read the Bible.”

I argued. “Why should I read it? I already know the Bible stories from Sunday school.”
But the prompting continued.

Finally, I reached for the Bible sitting on the table in front of me. I simply opened it and began to read.

The moment I started reading, everything changed. It felt as though God Himself was speaking directly to me. Every verse answered what I was feeling. Every page reminded me that I was not alone.

I cried and cried as I asked God to forgive me. For the first time in my life, I truly experienced His love – not as a story I had heard in Sunday school, but as a personal relationship.

From that day forward, I started reading the Bible from Genesis. That Bible became my daily companion.

Looking back, I now realize that God was preparing me for something I never saw coming.

God Was Preparing Me

As I continued reading the Bible, I eventually came to the story of Paul and Silas in Acts 16. Although they had been beaten and imprisoned, they prayed and sang hymns to God at midnight. Suddenly, an earthquake shook the prison, the doors opened, and their chains were broken.

I was so amazed by their faith that I paused my reading and prayed,

“Lord, if something like this ever happens to me, I will also sing praises and worship You inside the jail.”

I had no idea that God would answer that prayer – not by preventing me from going to prison, but by giving me the strength to worship Him while I was there.

My Arrest

Years later, I was promoted to become the HR Manager of our company. As part of my responsibilities, I became an authorized signatory for company checks. The owners asked me to sign blank checks for company transactions and assured me that I would never get into trouble because they would always fund the checks.

I trusted them.

Unknown to me, the company was already facing serious financial problems.

On November 3, 2016, I was arrested for two cases involving bounced company checks.
One check amounted to 12 million UAE dirhams, and the other was 600,000 UAE dirhams.

Although I was not the owner of the company and had no control over its finances, I became legally responsible because my signature appeared on the checks. In a single day, my entire life changed.

God Was with Me

As I was taken to the police station inside a prison vehicle surrounded by steel bars, fear overwhelmed me. I silently repeated my favorite Bible verse:

Joshua 1:9
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

I prayed,

“Lord, this is my favorite verse, but today I need it more than ever. Please go with me.”

Tears streamed down my face. My stomach was in knots from fear. I knew I had entered a battle that I could not fight alone.

Life Inside Prison

When I first entered prison, I was curious. But when night came and I realized I could not leave, the reality finally sank in.

Life inside prison was difficult. We had only two sets of clothes. Every day we washed one set while wearing the other.

There were no windows. No clock. We could not see the sun. Time stood still.

Breakfast was only tea and kuboos bread. Lunch was usually curry. Dinner was lentils and bread.

Simple things we often take for granted suddenly became precious. There were no cabinets. A cardboard box beside my bed became my closet. There were no cups. An empty noodle container became my drinking cup.

Inside that prison, God taught me one of the greatest lessons of my life. I realized that we spend so much of our lives chasing material things, but in the end, we can live with so little.

God humbled me. He taught me contentment. He showed me that our security should never be in our possessions because everything we own today can disappear tomorrow.
Only God remains constant.

God Answered Me Through Job

While in prison, I heard about another inmate with a similar case who had already spent eleven years in jail. Fear overwhelmed me. I cried before God.

“Lord, if I have to stay here for eleven years, it would have been better if I had never been born.”

Again, I heard the same gentle prompting:

“Read Job.”

I resisted.

“I already know the story.”

But every time I prayed, the same words came to my heart.

“Read Job.”

Finally, I obeyed. As I read, I discovered that Job had spoken the very words I had spoken to God. He questioned. He cried. He suffered.

And through His Word, God answered my heart just as He answered Job’s. I knelt beside my bed and wept.

“Lord Jesus, You truly hear me. You are truly with me.”

Even inside a prison cell, I experienced the presence of God more deeply than I ever had outside.

God’s Presence in Prison

Although I was physically alone, I was never spiritually alone. My parents prayed for me. My husband, sisters, brother, and aunts prayed for me. My pastor in Dubai prayed for me before every court hearing. My CEC church family continually lifted me up in prayer. Their prayers reminded me that I belonged to a family of believers.

Inside prison, I also witnessed God’s power. One of the inmates became seriously ill. She had a high fever, collapsed on my bed, and could barely breathe. Some of us gathered around her and prayed. The next morning, she had recovered. She testified to the other prisoners that she believed God had healed her after we prayed. That miracle reminded me that prison walls could never stop God’s power.

Facing the Judge

Every court hearing filled me with fear. Standing before the judge while handcuffed made me realize how frightening it is to stand before an earthly judge. It also made me think about standing before God one day. That thought changed me.

Initially, I was sentenced to a total of eighteen months in prison. But God was not finished writing my story. My lawyer filed an appeal.

By God’s grace, both of my cases were reduced, and my total sentence became only six months.

Then God gave me a beautiful reminder of His faithfulness. I was released from prison on my birthday. Out of all the birthdays I have celebrated, that was the most unforgettable. Freedom became God’s birthday gift to me. Only God could have written a story like that.

God Fulfilled My Prayer

Inside the main prison, I met other Christian women. Every evening we gathered together. We read the Bible. We prayed. We worshipped.Then I remembered the prayer I had made years earlier after reading about Paul and Silas.

“Lord, if I ever go to prison, I will sing praises to You.”

God answered that prayer. Not by keeping me out of prison… but by giving me the strength to worship Him while I was inside it.

What I Learned

Looking back today, I understand that prison was not the end of my life. It became one of the greatest classrooms God ever placed me in. He taught me humility. He taught me contentment. He taught me that tomorrow is never guaranteed. He taught me that material possessions mean very little compared to His presence.

Most importantly, He taught me that His Word is alive. When I was depressed, God spoke to me through the Bible. When I was afraid, He strengthened me through Joshua.
When I complained, He answered me through Job. When I entered prison, He reminded me of Paul and Silas. Every step of the way, God had already gone ahead of me. He was preparing me long before I ever knew what was coming.

Conclusion

Today, I can honestly say that God never abandoned me. Even when I walked away from Him, He pursued me. Even when I was depressed, He comforted me. Even when I was imprisoned, He stayed with me.

The prison changed my circumstances, but God changed my heart. If my story encourages you today, I hope you will remember this:

No matter where you are or what you are going through, God knows your situation. He hears your prayers, He speaks through His Word, and He is faithful even when life does not make sense.

Looking back, I can truly say that what the enemy intended for harm, God used to draw me closer to Him and to strengthen my faith. To God alone be all the glory.