Living by Faith in God's Promises

By Aida Agao Dolores Lagarde

God Almighty is the Creator of heaven and earth. He has the sovereignty and has the supreme power above everything of what we see and the unseen. The mighty and exalted one. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and last, the beginning and the end. In the Old Testament, the one who says to Moses, “I Am who I Am.” Yahweh/El-Shaddai.

In all creation of God, the human is the most highly created by God because we were created by His own image and likeness. God created humans for His glory. Therefore, the main purpose for our life is to glorify God.

We can only glorify God through faith by believing in His words. We should live by faith because the Scriptures says without faith, it is impossible to please God. Anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Life in this world is going to be a roller coaster with many ups and downs. But you should not be controlled by your circumstances. God wants you to be stable, be consistent, and not be shaken by any adversity. When facing difficulties, when life seems to have no way out and has already come to a dead end and already hit the ground, that’s the time you have to activate your faith in God’s promises. The word of God is a strong tower. His promises are true. You must believe and trust in the power of His words. Always remember, you have assurance of victory through His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Live by faith and live with peace knowing our God is the controller of everything.

Glorify God in your life by living by faith in God’s promises.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685178833

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Living by Faith in God's Promises

Aida Agao Dolores Lagarde

Copyright © 2022 by Aida Agao Dolores Lagarde

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Diary from September 2002 to May 2021

God Will Fulfill His Purpose in Your Life

For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will.

—Ephesians 1:4–5

Thanks be unto the Holy Spirit who enables us to understand the things which we did not understand before.

God has placed a purpose in each person’s life in accordance with His own will. And each purpose is meant to make known to people that there is a God who is all-powered, holy, and good. Let it be known to us that the sole reason for us being created by God was to bring glory to His name. He wants us to become His children by becoming one with His only Son, Jesus Christ, and be holy and acceptable in His sight.

Have you ever asked yourself this question, What is God’s purpose in my life? We have to understand that everything in this world has a purpose—things that are seen or unseen. Everything that God has made has a meaning. We knew that our lives were created by God; and so then what is the purpose? What is your purpose for you to exist in this world? Do you want to know?

The Word of God says in Jeremiah 33:3, Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

It is a great thing for us to know the purpose and will of God in our lives. Are you someone still looking for God’s direction in life?

I am deeply thankful to our Almighty God and through the power of the Holy Spirit who helps me to share His goodness in my life.

Unto Him I give all the praises, glory, and thanksgiving for everything He has done. All of these were made possible in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Each of us have our own dreams and plans in life, and each has their own strategy to survive. Some of them continue their studies until they reach the goal, and some of them cannot afford to pay the school and start working for a minimum wage. Whichever of these things people do, there is one common goal in mind, to have a good future. Mostly, people think that they can be successful by doing it through their own understanding. But one thing they don’t realize is that the true success only comes from the Lord and through His perfect guidance.

Chapter 1

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and future.

—Jeremiah 29:11

Let me start to share with you a little background about myself and where I came from. I will start at the beginning when I remember when I was a little girl.

1979

I live in a very small village with not many people living there far from the city. I have a big family, and I am the youngest of nine siblings. I will start my story.

When I was a little girl, at the age of seven, I remember I always went with my mother every time she washed our clothes in the river. In that river, there was a big, flat rock where I laid down while waiting for my mother until she finished washing clothes. And as I looked up at the sky, I was happy when I saw an airplane flying by in the clouds; it looked small because it was very high up. And every time I see something like this, I say to myself, One day, I will also be in a plane like that. At that time, I didn’t know that hoping and believing in something is the meaning and beginning of faith.

The big rock in the river where I used to lay down when I was a little girl, looking up at the sky watching airplane passing by, while waiting for my mother to finish washing the clothes.

1980s

It was during my elementary grade that I remember when my siblings and I were trained by our parents to work hard on the farm. We farmed coconuts, planted rice, sweet potatoes, corn, and cassavas. That was how we lived and survived life.

We also learned to do manual grass cutting and taking care of animals like carabaos, pigs, chickens, dogs, and cats. Our parents trained us well. And that’s how we work on the farm after school or during summer vacation. It was not an easy life, but we were a happy family in the middle of poverty. There were many times that I walked outside barefoot without slippers, or we had to wait for the other siblings to come home so I could borrow the slippers. And also, I will never forget the first time I had a toothbrush. I was already in grade 2, and I was so proud to have it. I purposely went outside the house and brushed my teeth so the people passing by would know about it. It was like a feeling of success having my first toothbrush.

Another scenario that is stored in my memory was one day, I was in the bushes in the middle of the coconut trees. I was there looking for the spare coconut that fell on the ground from the tree. I just looked for coconuts and exchanged it in the store for candy because I didn’t have money. And while doing this, suddenly the heavy rain poured with thunder and lightning. I was so scared. I felt self-pity, looking at myself soaking wet in the middle of the bushes. And from then on, I was determined that someday, I will get out of poverty and go live in the city.

My Elementary School

1986

I was determined and persevered until I finished high school. After I graduated from high school, I was begging my parents to let me continue my study in college. At first they were not sure and did not agree with it, not because they were against education, but because they didn’t know where they would get money for my tuition fees and other things I needed. But because they believed that I was so determined, they found a way and let me do it. During the time I started living in the city, I could see the difference to where I came from. At that point, I continued building up dreams. I also remember that during our break time, I loved staying on the school balcony and watching the cars pass by. In my mind, I was wishing one day I could also drive a white car. These are all the memories from my childhood that I will never forget.

Now let’s move to the next chapter which I documented in a diary.

Each of us have our own unique experiences and stories in life. And this is the story I kept in my diary. I will share with you my true life story that only God can do—my God who can make all things possible.

It was April 1992 when I received a letter from my best friend who is working overseas as a caregiver in Hong Kong. She was telling me how beautiful it is working abroad. While reading her letter and looking at her beautiful photos she has taken from different places in Hong Kong, I was so amazed. In my mind, I hoped I can also get a chance to work abroad, especially because we’re in a difficult situation. My father passed away just a year ago. The reason why I was not able to pursue my schooling in the university was because we could not afford it. I had tried to apply into different jobs, even becoming a seller/saleslady at the wet market, but none of them got back to hire me. There’s a time when I felt so down when I looked at my family situation. I wanted to help my mother, but it seemed everything was too difficult. That’s why when I was reading the letter, slowly I built up a desire to apply for a job abroad. I kept on praying to God to help and guide me. I knew that only God can make a way. I put my hope in the Lord because He knows what is best for me.

Without knowing, that letter of my friend is an open-door opportunity for me. I believe when God directs us for something, He also provides us all the things we need just to make all things possible. God will give strength to overcome, determination to pursue, and a big hope and faith. Together with these, God will also give favor, provision, and protection. Because in every one of God’s plan in our life, He also sustains everything we need to make things happen.

We know that as children of God, there is a greater reason for our existence, which could be contrary to what we first believed in before we met Him and became part of His salvation. Before we met the Lord, most of us may have lived our lives thinking that our existence is all about loving and taking care of ourselves and for some, to also support and feed their loved ones.

And this is why most people’s lives only revolve around their work-home cycle. Wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, go to work, come home, sleep, then the cycle just continues exactly the same every day. But as children of God, we know that there are greater things in front of us that need our attention; our existence has a greater purpose than all the business in this world. And that is to acknowledge in our lives that there is a great God who we need to serve, honor, and glorify in our lives (Genesis 1:26–27; Nehemiah 9:6; Revelation 4:11).

Self-courage

Back on April 30, 1992, I travelled to Manila to search for the agency that could help me move to Hong Kong to work there. It was around dawn when I left for Manila from Cavite, where I stayed at my auntie’s house for a couple of days while I was getting my documents ready for the application. During that time, I didn’t know how I could get to