I will still believe

This blog entry is a recent personal reflection of mine.

There are times in our lives where we are surrounded by difficult and seemingly impossible situations. Wherever we turn to we see difficult and seemingly impossible situations. What do we do in such situation? What should we do in such situation?

Yesterday morning, I was reminded of a precious lesson I learnt many years ago. I learnt a new pointer too. The passage is 1 Samuel 30. In this passage, David went through an incredibly difficult situation. He might be justified to react in many ways but he did not. His godly responses were mainly two responses. Firstly, he strengthened himself in God (v. 6). Secondly, He sought the Lord for a solution to his very difficult situation (v. 7-8). In the remaining verses we could see how God honoured David by giving him a mighty victory. Had David responded in other ways he wouldn't have experienced the victory. Had David responded according to his flesh his seemingly impossible situation would have been turned into a truly impossible situation.

This morning, I listened to a particular Indonesian praise & worship song for the first time ever and I was greatly ministered by the song.

Below are the lyrics of the song in English (my translation).

You Work in a Miraculous Way
Jonathan Prawiradi

When I cannot see You
I will still believe
You always know
What You need to do for me

When I feel that You are far away
I will still believe
You always know
The timing to act for me

Chorus:
You work in a miraculous way
My mind can’t fathom it
How You work things out for the good of me who loves You

"Yes Lord, come what may I will still believe. Thanks much for speaking to me afresh in the last two days."

P.S. If you would like to listen to melody of the song you can go to http://ww.kidung.com and look for the following title, "Kau bekerja dengan cara yang ajaib"

God knows better

On Tuesday night I wrote an e-mail to my lecturer requesting a conversion of the course I am doing from credit to audit. That was the first time that I had ever made such an application in the course of my studies in the Bible College. I decided to do this as I felt that I wouldn't be able to really complete the assignments well and that I had some important ministry and family considerations. I was concerned that ministry would be affected if I spent the time doing the assignments. There were several family matters that I needed to look into as well including getting a flat in a central area. I didn't like the idea of converting the course into audit as it would mean that i would need to retake the subject again next time. But I thought perhaps God was teaching me a lesson about letting go.

On Wednesday I received a reply e-mail from my lecturer. He told me that it was already too late for me to apply for the conversion. If I wanted to I should have done it during the two weeks of lectures some time ago. He told me that if I didn't submit my assignments he would give me F as my grade and this would bring down my overall grade in my transcript. Later on I also learned that this F would not be able to be erased completely from my transcript ever. Now, the big problem was that the due date of the assignments was the next day (Thursday). This was already an extended date for me. And I had 5 assignments to submit having done around halfway for 1 assignment. The gravity of the situation left me with no choice but to apply for an urgent leave for Thursday and Saturday (I work every Saturday) and for a day off next Monday to complete my assignments. Thank God that my lecturer gave me another extension until Monday. After that 3% of my marks would be deducted per day.

On Thursday, I almost completed 2 assignments. I hope to complete them fully by today. Today, I also hope to complete another 1 assignment, make continual progress in another 1 assignment and started to work on my final assignment, a research paper requiring at least 20 sources.

I thought perhaps God wanted to teach me a lesson about letting go. But God knows better than me. It seems that the lesson that God wants to teach and remind me instead is about how He knows better how much I can be stretched. Just when I thought I couldn't stretch further God proved me wrong. I am surprised that I was able to almost complete 2 assignments on Thursday. I am surprised that I have some good momentum to finish the remaining of the assignments. Come Monday, it will be an achievement to complete 4-5 assignments within a stretch of several days.

I do not know what my grade will be but I am very sure it will not be F. I also have the confidence that the ministry and the family matters at hand will not receive F as a grade as well. This is as my God knows better.

I am back from Nairobi...

I am back in Singapore. The trip to Nairobi, Kenya was most fruitful. I could see the hand of God moving before, throughout and after the trip. Thanks much for those who prayed and interceded for me, Charmaine and Team Nairobi. Please continue to pray for Team Nairobi as often as you can as your prayers can move their mountains.

Li Chuang and Lisa are doing well. God continues to provide for them. The ministry work continues to progress as well. It has been a privilege for me, AG4 district and AWAM to be able to partner with them to advance the Kingdom in Kenya. Li Chuang and Lisa gave us great hospitality during our stay there. They took care of us so well that I was a little bit embarrased by it. They are indeed some of the most giving people I have ever met in my life.

In this trip Charmaine and I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Esther and some time with Pooh. Esther and Pooh were from Hope Bangkok. They are now in Nairobi, Kenya as God gave them a vision for Kenya. I was greatly inspired and encouraged listening to Esther's sharing and testimonies. God gave her a vision for Kenya after she did a 40-day fast, just drinking milk. In the last 6 months things have not been easy for her (also for Pooh) but as she continued to hold on to God's vision and persevered she saw God's provision and intervention. Actually, there is another brother from Hope Bangkok, Kevin. However, he was in Bangkok when we were there. He will be coming back to Nairobi some time soon. Indeed it is most encouraging to see three young adults stepping out from their comfort zones to be involved in the work of missions.

In case you want to see how they look like here are some photos:

Esther and Li Chuang

Charmaine, Esther and I

Pooh (left), Kevin (right) and a friend (centre)

While I was in Nairobi God spoke to me from Ephesians 6 about the reality of the spiritual warfare. God spoke to me in a fresh way that the struggle is indeed not against flesh and blood. My heart was convicted to up prayers and intercession in Singapore both for the work in Kenya and Singapore. If you are from AG4 district and AWAM group and reading this blog entry please join me to pray and intercede regularly for the work of God in Kenya and Singapore. As the struggle is not against flesh and blood we can't fight the battle with our flesh and blood only. We must do all we can humanly possible and pray hard for God to move by His power.

Before I sign off here is one interesting photo. Indeed nothing is impossible for those who believe. Come and talk to me if you want to know the secret behind it. :)

Cheetah and me