By Deacon Timothy Yeo
“Waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty, to carry within oneself the unanswered question, lifting the heart to God about it whenever it intrudes one’s thoughts.” -Elisabeth Elliot-
As I write this page, my wife is 40 weeks pregnant and the thought of having our 2nd child born in these unprecedented times worries me. A few weeks ago, we were even faced with the prospect that I may not be able to accompany my wife into the delivery ward due to the enhanced restrictions. This weighed heavily on our hearts but by His grace, these restrictions were eventually not implemented.
Like many, the last month has been challenging for my family as we adjust to new norms of working from home while at the same time learning to balance taking turns to engage our son Oliver, who could no longer attend childcare due to the circuit breaker. I personally have struggled to switch my attention between work and family on a daily basis. As creatures of habit, the disruption of regular routines have greatly affected all of us and I have found myself on several days not even wanting to get out of the house because the act of wearing a mask just to step out reminded me of the restrictive environment we live in today. My son has also refused to leave the house as he gets very sad that he can’t even enjoy himself at the nearby playgrounds.
Countless news articles have made me realize that this global pandemic will last well beyond the end of the circuit breaker next month and is pointing us towards a very different post-COVID world (in terms of business and lifestyle) from what we are used to. It is in this environment that I am reminded of how hopeless we as humans can be. Over the last week or so, I have gradually learnt to capture these moments of ‘helplessness’ and used them as opportunities to surrender my thoughts through prayer to Him.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33 -
Recently, during Easter, I was reminded of the One who had overcome the challenges of this world. Jesus had come into our broken world, experienced what we had experienced, was tempted in every way possible and yet stood tall and walked away from the tomb as our Saviour. To His disciples in His last days, He assured them to find peace in Him, to trust in Him amidst trouble and to be courageous and not fear. This call is applicable to us even today!
It is in these difficult times that we have the opportunity to build our faith and character. I pray that we will each have the discernment to recognize these golden moments throughout the day and bring before God our fears through prayer.
As we ponder on the familiar words from the hymn ‘This is my Father’s World’,
“This is my Father’s world
Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King, let the heavens ring
God reigns, let the earth be glad”
let us take heart and commit unto Him our worries and uncertainty of what the future holds. Let us find peace that surpasses all understanding and not give in to the devil’s lies.