Some go through life in search for a deeper meaning, and for most it’s a path towards God. This week’s feature explores Lesego Dlamini’s, a 25-year-old from Macembe at Bhunya, journey from being a child of faith by association to a young adult seeking a deeply personal connection with Christ. God, for Dlamini, has emerged as the one unwavering presence that anchors her through life's fluctuations.
Although Dlamini may not pinpoint the first exact moment she encountered God, but she cannot imagine a life without never-ending grace. “Trying to work my way back to my very first encounter with God would be an arduous task because I do not recall how or when it happened, but I know that I have met Him and He is beautiful. In fact, I see Him as the one constant feature in an ever-changing world.”
Growing up, Dlamini was never rooted in a specific church but her late aunt played an instrumental role in how she viewed God and how Dlamini shaped her relationship with Jesus as her Saviour. It was through her guidance that she learnt to appreciate the power of His Word, a lesson that would become a cornerstone of her faith. “My parents never stressed the idea of church in us as children, but we knew my aunt would make us tag along to whichever church she was attending at the time.
“She taught me how to quote Scripture and I will forever be grateful for that, because if there is one thing God has placed above everything, it is His Word (Psalms 138:2) and if you hold Him to it, then He will grant you what you seek. All I was ever taught was to pray and say, ‘God, You said in Your Word’, and it has always brought clarity. It may not have brought immediate answers but it has always brought me peace and clarity that surpasses human understanding.”
Taking her aunt’s lessons with her, Dlamini found herself a home at Luyengo Free Evangelical Assemblies. And when she was 17, she remembers seeking a relationship with Christ.
“I wanted to call myself a Christian, not by assimilation, but because I understood the weight that the title came with. It was at this moment that I understood that there is a void within all of us that only Jesus can fill. I tried to fill it with other things but I was never satiated. However, there is a peace that comes with knowing that Jesus is enough. There is peace in knowing that you will not always have your way, but joy is eventually guaranteed.”
According to Dlamini, what she finds most beautiful about having been found by God and experiencing His love, is that she knows that she is not alone. She expresses how God shows up for her every day through His people in whatever way that He chooses and that this gives her an opportunity to experience Him in a new way each day.
Dlamini’s words of encouragement to those seeking a relationship with God are: “No one’s walk with God will look the same, hence the Bible says we should work out our own salvation (Philippians 2:12). Not because people suddenly have knowledge of your faith in God, but because we are accountable not only to church leaders and the congregation at large but the authority of God. We will stand before Him and want to hear the words, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” What is the whole purpose of pursuing a relationship with Him if not for that?”
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