29 & 30 August 2026 (Pastoral Page) SEASONS OF ORDINARY AND OPPRESSIONS

by Ms Lilian Poon

The last few months felt like a season caught between the ordinary and oppression. In the midst of preparing for the outreach campaign, preaching assignment as well as Alpha course, I found myself deeply encouraged by many guests who have signed up for Alpha. Yet as ministry demands grew, the care-giving needs at home also escalated. My dad’s vitals fluctuated constantly, and panicky incidents became regular occurrence. It is around this time that I felt particularly impressed that God will call my dad home soon. I urged my siblings from near and far to say their goodbyes to him. Our family was on high alert and started our grieving process as we witness dad’s declining health.

Regardless of these challenges, the show must go on. There were work to be done, daily chores to attend to, ministry responsibilities to uphold, but the foreboding cloud continue to hover heavily over me. The inevitable finality struck, right in the middle of the first session of Alpha. Family texts came fast and furious that dad’s vitals are poor. With the blessing of the Alpha core team, I rushed off mid-way to be with my family. Needless to say, that will be the final moment I would see him. He passed on peacefully close to midnight.

What follows after that is a week-long of wakes, and longer days of family conflict. While funeral arrangements were relatively seamless, emotions were raw and under current tensions were high with strong opinions expressed in the aftermath. How do we respond to backlash and push backs from others despite all the good done, especially from those closest and those who matters to you during a season of grief and oppression?

From a human point of view, we can certainly find ways to justify the nature of these difficult seasons and unreasonable actions of others. Perhaps forgiving, or be a bigger person to let go and forget. However, in the days after the funeral, I felt exhausted, unwell, and overshadowed by gloom. My prayers became brief internal whispers of frustration and sadness, mere minutes of uttering my thoughts and negativity to God. I rested as best as I could, continue to do what I could with my personal devotion time, talked to people I trusted regarding my experiences and continue with the tasks at hand. When my heart is ready, God open His word to me, reminding me of the better way through the righteous man in Psalm 1. The man who delights and meditates on the Word of God is like a tree planted by the river that will continue to yield its fruit in season. This word stabilized me.

And to my question as to why the just have to suffer for unjust treatment and persecutions, The scripture passage in 1 Peter 4:12-19 is spot on and spoke to me during my devotion. The passage is labelled as “Suffering for being a Christian”.  Three points pierced through:

1. Don’t be surprised that we suffer as believers, in fact expect it.

2. Rejoice when we suffer for His name, we are blessed.

3. Praise God through the suffering. There is an outcome to gospel for the unrighteous if we choose to suffer for righteousness.

Verse 19 is particularly amazing: “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and CONTINUE TO DO GOOD”. I rest my case. I can’t argue with this verse that not only gives us the solution, but also the resolution to the godly response to seasons oppression and sufferings.

To all my fellow pilgrims who are reading this – perhaps like me, you are going through this difficult, crazy and seemingly endless season of oppression, please take time to rest when you could. Find someone to unburden your heart. Pray in whichever way you can, even if it’s just minutes. And anchor yourself back to His word when you heart is ready. When that word breaks through, it will be like a ray of sunshine in the darkness. No matter how dark the nights of our soul may be, the light will show us the way back to God and His purpose for this season. Let me pray with all of us:

Dear Lord, You are the Way, the Truth, the Light. As we navigate through this season of oppression with all the ordinary things around us, we pray for your love to envelope us in this chaotic season. Help us rest when we are anxious, share with someone when our load is too heavy, and listen to our prayers, no matter how brief. I trust that as You have slowly, tenderly guided me during this season, You will guide my brothers and sisters going through this similar journey. We commit ourselves and our suffering to You, our faithful Creator, to continue to do good and find our purposes in all these. In Jesus’s name, amen.