By Asst Ps Elaine Ng
Last weekend, we were encouraged to keep memorials to remind ourselves of the Mighty Hand of God. Let me share 3 personal memorials with you. I hope they will inspire you to think back about and keep lasting reminders (whether memory or objects) of the Mighty Hand of God in your life.
41 Jalan Mas Puteh
In the first decade of my life, I grew up a few doors away from one of our church properties which the church still owns today. Through the efforts of Ms Lai Swee Yong and Ms Dorothy Ho, who went door to door to share the Gospel and invited the children staying in the neighbourhood to attend the Junior Sunday School, I was one of the neighbourhood children who came to learn about Jesus and accepted the invitation to receive Him as my personal Lord and Saviour. To this day, whenever I pass by the estate, I cannot help but recall singing gospel songs and listening to Bible stories led by Andrew and Moon Peng Chua and others. I will always recognise this as the place where my Christian faith was born.
Not good enough A levels results
“What happened, Elaine?” I recall those were the first words my Junior College form teacher exclaimed when I went up to her to collect my A levels results. My heart sank and untold sorrow followed, for there went my dreams of getting into medical school in Singapore.
But God made a much better way. I had the opportunity to go overseas to study and recall very distinctly a day when I thanked God for directing my path there. I totally enjoyed the Accounting and Law subjects I was taking and also the experience of living abroad. Whilst there, I was given opportunities to lead Bible studies, do 1 to 1 evangelism, serve as a vocalist in the main service for the first time and lead worship at the evening service of the church that I attended. I see it as a place where God continued to shape and mould me as His disciple and to strengthen my faith in Him.
Workplace as a crucible
Over the 30 years that I served at my previous workplace, I met different challenges that I think many who work in the marketplace could identify with. The ones that stand out for me and which I remember vividly are the ones where I had to yield and surrender to God’s will.
To accept that I may not get a certain promotion, accept that without it I may have to report eventually to peers or subordinates because He showed me that I should stay since I liked the work, the culture and the flexibility which allowed me to actively serve in Church.
To risk a lower performance rating and a lower bonus by standing my ground on stating the truth on a matter and not succumbing to watering down the truth.
To accept that if I got a certain advice wrong or did not handle a client account well, I may put my organisation in trouble resulting in loss of client or a legal suit which could lead to consequences such as loss of job or personal liability.
When I think back to those distinct episodes, my heart still races as I recall how anxious I was in those moments. Yet when I committed and yielded the outcome to the Lord (“Not my will, but Yours be done”), I did experience His peace that surpasses all understanding. I testify to how He brought me through each of the episodes. I see my previous workplace as the place where He tested me and taught me to trust Him more and more.
Those are some of my faith journey memories which I treasure. What are yours? As we approach this final week of Lent, may we take time to prepare our hearts to remember and celebrate Jesus’ passion on Good Friday and Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday. May we take time to remember that we are united with Jesus through His death and resurrection; that we are to die to our old selves and to live as His new creation. He is worthy!
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