Melina Thomas's sermon "My Testimony" shares her journey from pursuing a promising acting career in Hollywood to surrendering her life fully to God and learning the importance of obedience, spiritual discernment, and faith. Through her personal experiences, she explains how pursuing personal ambitions can sometimes be mistaken for following God's will, and how responding to God's direction can protect us from greater hardship. She also explores the spiritual battles mothers may face during pregnancy and postpartum, emphasizing that motherhood is a calling and a ministry, not a barrier to fulfilling God's purpose. The message encourages believers to recognize spiritual opposition, seek God's deliverance, and trust Him to provide strength, healing, and freedom from burdens they were never meant to carry.
Key Points:
Obedience to God is more important than personal ambition
Melina describes how she pursued acting from childhood and quickly achieved success, landing commercials, television roles, and other high-profile opportunities. Although she initially believed these opportunities were doors God had opened, she eventually recognized that her career choices did not always glorify Him. Through Bible study and spiritual conviction, she realized that following God sometimes required surrendering the very dream she had worked so hard to achieve. Her testimony reminds believers that not every open door is necessarily God's direction, and that we must be willing to surrender our desires when they conflict with His will.
Delayed obedience can lead to greater pain
After becoming convicted about her acting career, Melina faced a difficult decision when an audition required her to consider a role that conflicted with her Christian convictions. She ultimately chose to walk away from acting in October 2019. When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the acting industry and gyms in 2020, she recognized how God's earlier direction had helped position her for stability and security. Drawing from James 1:22 and 1 Samuel 15:22, she emphasizes that believers must not merely hear God's Word but act on it. Delaying obedience can make an already difficult decision more painful, while following God's direction requires trust even when the outcome is uncertain.
Not every hardship is God's will for your life
Melina explains that believers sometimes assume every painful circumstance is something God expects them to endure. Reflecting on her own struggles, she encourages Christians to recognize that some difficulties arise from personal decisions or spiritual opposition rather than God's intended purpose. She challenges believers to examine their circumstances through Scripture instead of automatically accepting suffering as their assigned burden. The message emphasizes the importance of seeking God's guidance, recognizing unhealthy situations, and trusting Him to lead us toward healing and freedom.
Motherhood is a calling and a ministry
Drawing from her difficult pregnancy and personal struggles with depression, Melina discusses the spiritual challenges that can accompany motherhood. Referencing Genesis 3:15 and Genesis 3:16, she speaks about spiritual opposition against women and children and encourages mothers not to assume that every burden they experience is something they must simply accept. She reminds the congregation that children are a blessing and that raising them is a meaningful calling. Although motherhood may require temporarily putting aside personal goals and ambitions, it does not mean those dreams are permanently lost. God can use the experience to develop greater love, compassion, and understanding for future ministry.
God can restore what seems lost during seasons of sacrifice
Melina encourages mothers who feel they are falling behind in their personal goals, careers, or ministries because of their responsibilities at home. She reminds them that God's purposes are not limited by time, power, or human connections. Caring for a child does not necessarily mean abandoning the future God has planned. Instead, this season can prepare mothers for their next assignment with a deeper understanding of people and a greater capacity to serve. Believers are encouraged to trust God's timing rather than become bitter about opportunities that must temporarily wait.
Cry out to God and trust Him to deliver you
Using Psalm 34:17, Melina emphasizes that the Lord hears the cries of the righteous and delivers them from their troubles. She explains that righteousness involves faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, forgiveness, and a commitment to follow and obey God. Rather than silently accepting fear, anxiety, depression, or overwhelming burdens, believers are encouraged to seek God, pray for help, and rely on His strength. She concludes by reminding the congregation that Christians are engaged in a spiritual battle, but they do not have to fight alone. Through Jesus Christ, they can find strength, healing, protection, and freedom.
God wants His children to walk in freedom, not carry unnecessary burdens
The sermon concludes with a special prayer for mothers and expectant mothers, asking God to provide healing, comfort, patience, understanding, faith, and protection. Melina prays that women will be released from burdens they were never meant to carry and experience renewed joy and spiritual strength. The closing message encourages believers to trust in Christ's victory, depend on His power, and allow His love to shine through their lives and families.
Scripture references highlighted in the sermon:
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James 1:22 — Be doers of the Word, not hearers only.
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1 Samuel 15:22 — Obedience is better than sacrifice.
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Genesis 3:15–16 — The conflict between the serpent and the woman, and the consequences described following the Fall.
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Psalm 34:17 — The Lord hears the righteous and delivers them from their troubles.
