Lamentations

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”

—

It always strikes me that these few verses are found in the book of Lamentations, and it’s even more surprising to know that it is embedded in a chapter full of sorrow and despair.

Lamentations chapter 3 begins with the very words ‘I am a man who has seen affliction’. His life is full of disappointment and bitterness, to the point that his chains are too heavy. He is tied down, trapped, helpless in his situation.
Yet, despite this, the author quickly turns from his despair and remembers the Lord. He has hope and continues to remember the Lord and what he has done for him. And that is how I must look to the Lord.

“I called on your name, O Lord,
from the depths of the pit;
you heard my plea, ‘Do not close
your ear to my cry for help!’
You came near when I called on you;
You said, ‘Do not fear!’

Drawing Near In The Storm

What is your storm?

Every storm is different – some are ripples, some are whirlpools that threaten to throw us overboard.

For all of us, the storm is very difficult. Many of us want to be left alone, and many of us want to handle the storm on our own.

Tonight, I was reminded that Jesus beckons me to draw nearer to Him, even as I labour through the storm. And again, I was comforted by the assurance and certainty that I have in Him. It reminds me why I am a Christian – not just a Sunday church-going Christian – but a Christian with a personal relationship with a God who cares and communicates with me.

It reminds me why I still hold on to Christianity – because apart from the hope I have of salvation, I have a hope and anchor for my whole life. Every step is a step with God, and each trial leads to a stronger, more faithful and trusting relationship with God.

May this journey bring a blessing,
May I rise on wings of faith

I Come To You

I am your anchor, in the wind and the waves
I am your steadfast, so don’t be afraid
Though your heart and flesh may fail you, I’m your faithful strength
I am with you wherever you go

Come to Me, I’m all you need.
Come to Me, I’m your everything
Come to Me, I’m all you need.
Come to Me, I’m your everything
Read more at http://www.songlyrics.com/bethel-music/come-to-me-lyrics/#BCl2HRPytC7SZXAi.99

Anchor

My anchor ring finally arrived! I had been meaning to wear it during my exams as a reminder that Jesus is my anchor. However, it arrived after my exams, but nonetheless, I feel like it has a deeper meaning because it serves as a strong reminder that Jesus is not just my anchor during exams.
He is my anchor after my exams, when results come out and for my future. I don’t just need Jesus during my exams and during the hard times, I need to remain firm in him in everything.

Anchor

What does it mean to say that Jesus is my anchor?

‘We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.’ ~ Hebrews 6:19

—

In the middle of a storm, will I be able to say that Jesus is still my anchor?

The anchor may not take me back to shore, but it makes sure that I stay alright in the choppy seas. The anchor roots me to the depths of the seabed –  un-moveable, unshakeable, firm.

In the midst of this, can I say that I will be content? Though I may not know where I am headed, is Jesus still my anchor?

Selah

Loss but Gain

Day 7 of #24happydayswithGod:

PART I (morning):

This might probably be one of the happiest days in this hashtag – my grandfather accepted Jesus Christ today and was baptised!

After 80+ years, he has finally accepted Christ.

If any of you knew my grandfather, you would have known how painful it was to pray for his salvation and for him to experience God. It took many tears on our part, and many hospital beds on his part to finally reach a stage where he realised that all he needed was God.

Not money. Not medicine. Not happiness. Just God.

 

And I urge you all to never lose heart or lose faith for those you are praying for – your family, your friends, your spouse.

When I woke up this morning and read my text – I couldn’t believe it.

I remember when I was 7, how I always ended my prayers with ‘And please help grandma, grandpa, my uncles and aunties, and my cousins to become a Christian. Amen.’ For many years, I prayed that same prayer and as I grew older, I slowly began to forget that request.

You see, life was catching up with me. I was growing up. Those earnest little prayers soon evolved into ‘Lord, please help me with my exams’ or ‘Lord, there is this boy…’ and I forgot that one of the greatest prayers I could make was not for myself, but for someone else. And more importantly, for their salvation.

I know my family has been praying for a long time, and even though it was the 7 year old me who had more faith than I had now, God has still answered our prayers. He has revealed His marvellous plan, and in that we all rejoice.

Thank you God for never giving up on the hard-hearted.

So remember to pray for your loved ones. It’s never a prayer too late, and it’s never a prayer too small.

—

PART II (night):

It’s still day 7 of #24happydayswithGod, and I know I’ve blogged about it hours earlier, but it’s also possibly one of the saddest days of the hashtag.

I knew something was wrong when my family came back at 11pm tonight and did not contact me.

My grandfather passed away 6 hours after he accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s perfect timing and plan. Yet, I feel very sad. There were many things I had wanted to say in anger, many in tears and now, many in forgiveness. I never got to say them, but I thank the Lord that I will see Him in heaven.

New life. New body. New purpose.

With this, I leave you with an Instagram post that my brother posted of him and my grandfather. May it warm your hearts and bless you all.

“… rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

Luke 10:20

Do Not Live As If You Have No God

Do not live as if you have no God. Do not live as if you have no hope.

That’s what my dad always said to me every time I started to panic about exams. And even now as I’m away overseas on my own, I remember those words. 

I know some may not comprehend my anxiety. I know there are a lot of people who are facing worse things and feeling worse pains, but for me, this is my fear. This is my valley. This is my mountain. 

I know I’ve been sent here and I know that God will hold my hand, but these fears keep coming at me and I let them come at me. Yet, I am reminded of my dad’s words and I pray earnestly that it will be engraved in my heart. 

So although I cannot proudly say that I have no fear of my exams or the uncertainty of my future, I hope that those words are an encouragement to you. You may have a huge mountain before you, or a deep valley at your feet, but remember that we have One thing: God. Do not live like other people who are self-reliant and self-sufficient in their weaknesses.

May all of us journey together on our different paths, but holding the same hands that love and died for us.

‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’
Philippians 4: 6-7

 

NB: I will be blogging less because I have exams. 

God I Look To You

‘God has created this day, so that you can get done everything that needs to be done.

And a lot of times, I think the enemy’s sneakiest trick is feeling overwhelmed.’

Jenn Johnson, Bethel Church

God’s Plan In Our Plan

I still remember clearly having a group conversation with some of my good friends, and one of them said in a half-joking and half-serious way – I think I need to talk to God about what “best plans” mean. 

That person was a Christian just like me, and yet, had failed to realise that what we perceive as ‘best’ and ‘desirable’ may not necessarily be what God wants for us.  God does not live for us. He does not serve us. Nor does He owe us anything. He does not fashion His plans according to our will. 

Yes, He lets us do what we want – free will. (Which is why God let Adam and Eve eat the fruit) But it does not mean that God is a cash machine, in which we can draw money or make a wish anytime and anyhow we want. If we truly live according to His will and truly walk the journey with Him, then we will voluntarily listen to His gentle nudging and steer along the path that He would like us to follow. 

You see, God is not a pushy, bossy God. He gives us the options, yet at the same time, gives His opinion. ‘Child, I think the best path would be this one right there. You can take the others, but I have designed the perfect plan via this path. There may be a climb, but the view up there is great’. 

And yet, all my friend could say was that God’s plan was not in alignment with his/hers. It hurts even more because we’re Christians who placed a Higher Being above our own interests. 

To add to this, I was talking to my mum today and she recalled hearing some Christian in church talking about how it was meaningless to study outside of Singapore unless those schools were Oxbridge, Yale, Stanford, Princeton or Harvard. They would look disappointingly at people who studied abroad in what they perceived as ‘nameless’ or ‘brand-less’ schools, and then talk about the big schools that their children were going to. 

Yes, be proud of your children, but do not put others down in your ignorance and arrogance. 

What I do not understand is that quite a few Christians tend to leave God out of the picture. Yes, so what if that kid did not go to that school? Do we not have a God who guides us in our paths? Each person has a ‘bespoke’ life journey and God’s plans for them are different from those of your children/family. 

Why do we go to church and celebrate God’s power, love and grace, if we forget the very simple and foundational truth that God’s hand is at work in our lives? 

My testimony is one example of that. In fact, having talked to quite a few Christian friends in Durham, I have realised that many of them were sent here by God! They tell me that through all the pain of rejection and the difficulty in simply listen to God, they have found great joy in Durham. They don’t want to be anywhere else! God has a purpose for each of them.

Yes, in Durham. No, not in XXX University. 

So my encouragement today, is that even as you hear about the lives of others, do not look down on them or judge them for their life journeys, paths or careers. Even as you think about your own life and the life choices placed before you, remember that God has given you blessings, as well as chosen to withhold certain blessings from you. Do not compare your life with someone else’s. They have different experiences that God wants to use them for. You have been placed here at this time and place, with these memories, feelings and experiences for a unique purpose. 

These people did not negotiate with God on what was ‘best’. They were the brave souls who decided that whatever God gave, was ‘best’. 

Patience For Salvation

Perhaps because this is an entirely new experience for me.

I have been to debates and have wholly defended my point. I have even refuted people’s criticism on my friends and myself with passion, but I have never ever so fully and thoroughly been so anxious about trying to convince someone about Christianity.

There were a lot of complex questions asked, and a lot of even more complicated answers that I wanted to research on in reply to these questions – but these answers sometimes required an understanding of the context, history and character of God. What perturbed me even more was my desire to try and approach the question in a non-Christian way – by trying to exclude the character of God, especially to a non-Christian who had yet to know Him.

But I am now strongly reminded by a time when I was about 13. A friend from church who had told me about how she shared the gospel with her sister. When her mum found out about my friend’s intentions, her mum told her that she was not to convert her sister.

‘Don’t worry Mum, I won’t.’ She told me. ‘And in the end, my sister became a Christian.’

As I looked at her confused, she explained, ‘You see, I don’t convert. God converts.’

And in such a time, I must remember that ultimately, God has the power to melt a heart of stone. God has the ability to probe into someone’s heart.

I just buy the soil – God plants the seed.
I buy the fertiliser – and God uses it to nourish the seed.

To me, there is a blurred boundary: enthusiasm, care, concern versus being pushy, refusing no for an answer.

For such an impulsive and vocal person like me, it’s really quite hard not to try and drive the point home. I really want them to see things the way I do; to experience things that God has so graciously let me feel; and to understand things that God has shown me. How can I not be distressed to know that one of my friends, whom I have been praying for, might have a different future from me?!

Yet, the non-Christian and Christian have different mindsets, different masters and different goals. Enthusiastic preaching may appear aggressive to non-Christians.

So in all these things, I wait and pray. As my parents and Theo reminded me, let God do His work. He is sovereign and powerful. There is a time for everything. Perhaps, that person’s journey with Christ may only start after university! Therefore, I will learn to wait and rest in God. I pray that I will not be anxious and emotionally entangled in this. It is not a battle for me to fight in, for God has already won the battle in my heart. That person’s heart is a private matter between her and God.

—

These thoughts also got me thinking: Why doesn’t God show Himself to us? That would really make things much easier and that would definitely sift out the unbelieving from the believing.

The answer is in Luke 16: 27-31

“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them. ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

The bible is enough for us. This book is God-breathed and living. If people refuse to look at the hardcopy of God’s character, which is historically accurate, has sold billions and has been through so much academic debate, then why would they look at a supernatural miracle and believe?

If people reject the physical embodiment of God’s Word, then God’s metaphysical actions would be of no value to them. These miracles cannot be explained by science, and thus, people would be unable to see beyond their blindness.