Katriza Victoria Manalo
I was born and raised in a Christian family. Since I was young, my life has always been surrounded by church activities, worship gatherings, and ministry work. I grew up learning about God, hearing His Word, and watching my parents serve faithfully.
It became natural for me to do the same. I served in almost every ministry you could imagine: missions, worship, women’s ministry, teaching, discipling, transport, and many others. I was always enthusiastic and passionate, giving my time, energy, and even emotions for the work of the Lord.
I loved being in the presence of people who served Him. I loved the feeling of being used for His glory. Ministry became my world. However, along the way, I did not realize that I was slowly relying more on my abilities rather than God’s grace. I thought that as long as I was serving and doing good things for Him, I was strong enough to stand on my own.
I thought my faith was unshakable because I was constantly doing things for the kingdom. But when you start depending on your own strength, pride silently creeps in. I reached a point where I felt confident in myself, thinking I could handle everything. I was doing so much for God but forgetting to truly spend time with God.
I began to miss the essence of intimacy with Him. When I thought I was standing strong, that was when weakness found me. I became vulnerable, careless, and distracted. I found myself caught off guard, falling into compromise and sin. I entered a wrong relationship and began to harbor pride and bitterness in my heart.
What I thought was strength was actually self-reliance. And when that foundation crumbled, I found myself empty, lost, and ashamed. It was one of the darkest and driest seasons of my life. Yet in that painful breaking, I experienced something I never experienced before: God’s mercy and grace in their purest form.
I sought the Lord not as the busy worker or the strong leader everyone knew, but as a broken child who had nothing to offer. I came before Him with tears, desperation, and honesty. I told Him that I could not do it anymore. And there, in that place of surrender, He met me. God reminded me of His Word in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”
Those words carried me through the nights of guilt, silence, and healing. His grace stood firm when I could not. His love surrounded me even when I felt undeserving. He reminded me that His plans for me had not been cancelled, that He still had a purpose even for my failures.
God did not reject me; He restored me. He did not condemn me; He redeemed me.
And then came His promise through Isaiah 43:19, “Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” When everything around me felt dry and lifeless, God was silently working. He started opening doors that I never expected.
He blessed me with a new job, a new assignment, and even relocation opportunities that reminded me of His divine hand of favor. He surrounded me with people who spoke life and encouragement. His provisions came in ways that could only be explained by His goodness.
Truly, He was making a new thing in me and for me. Looking back, I now understand that His breaking was never to destroy me but to rebuild me. He had to strip away the layers of pride, self-sufficiency, and performance so that I could rediscover what it truly means to be His. I realized that being a servant of God is not about doing more, but about being more like Jesus. It is about loving Him above the ministry, above achievements, above self.
Now, as I continue in this new chapter, I walk not in the confidence of my own strength but in the confidence of His grace. I learned that a life deeply rooted in Him brings peace, security, and direction. When we entrust everything to the Lord, He truly makes all things work together for our good, just as it says in Romans 8:28. Deeper intimacy with God is the key.
When our relationship with Him grows, obedience becomes a natural response of love. Faith becomes stronger, and our hearts become steady even in trials. It is in knowing Him that we find true purpose and joy. Today, I can boldly say that God’s breaking became God’s greatest making in my life.
He turned my weakness into a testimony of His strength, my pain into purpose, and my failures into a platform of grace. My life is not a story of perfection, but a story of redemption, a reminder that everything we are, and everything we will ever be, is all for the glory of Jesus alone.
