Sunday, May 31, 2009, 7:48 PM
My God is Faithful
3-Part Miracle
When the year started, I mentioned something about a 3-Part Miracle that I was expecting God for. It had everything to do with my poor results at Uni. At the end of 5 semesters and 1 special semester, my CAP (Cumulative Average Point) was 2.75/5 which wasn't even good enough to gain me a third class honours degree. The requirement for that was 3.2/5. Worried about not being able to get a job and unsure about the future, I prayed earnestly and even made a deal with God in order to see my wishes come through. To scrape by with a CAP of 3.2/5 through the skin of my teeth, I had to:
1) Get 1 of my previous semester's grades improved from C+ to B- through a paid exam review.
2) Manage to convince my faculty to allow me to change a previous C grade to a S grade so that it will not be counted in my CAP.
3) Get ALL "A"s for my remaining 5 modules this semester.
That was my 3-Part Miracle. However, at the end of my final semester, I'm glad to report that:
1) The review yielded no change in my grade.
2) I had run out of S/U options and was unable to even negotiate with my faculty.
3) I received 1 "A-", 1 "B+" and 3 "B-"s this semester. (Incidentally, this was my best semester at NUS. Praise the Lord! :D)
You'd think that God would be more merciful when turning down His son's plea for things that were not in His plans... But rejecting all 3?! God really has a way of telling me I'm going in the wrong direction! It turns out that God has His own plans and it was feeble of me to try to suggest to Him what He should do in my life.
The Reversal
3 months before the start of 2009, I mentioned to Uncle Ban that I needed a break. The reasons for my 6-month (now more like 5-month) break were:
1) I was tired from ministry (I already felt I needed a break the year before)
2) I needed to work on my poor grades
3) I wanted to seek God for direction in my life
However, all throughout the semester I felt as if I was just going from one assignment to the next and before I knew it, it was the week before exams. At that point in time I had already gone for a career fair, submitted my resume to several companies without reply, was called up for only 1 interview from ST Electronics, worried about whether I would find a job, contemplated the thought of furthering my studies and struggled with going into full-time ministry after receiving confirmations from God. All the while I was worried about my future, whether I would have enough money to pay back my study loans and even to pay the down payment for a HDB flat. In short, I was really confused.
During my study break, on a Wednesday I think, I met up with Uncle Ban assuming that we were just going to talk about ministry and I prepared myself to be asked about going into full-time. We did talk about ministry and where he felt God was leading the Sojourners Ministry but the topic of full-time didn't come up. It wasn't until we began talking about me that I shared that I had received confirmations about going into full-time and admitted I was struggling with it. The confirmations were:
1) Many times during church services I would feel the strong tugging at my heart regarding full-time.
2) There was one service at Trinity, where during an altar call, the pastor issued a challenge and said something to the likes of, "To those who have been considering going into full-time, be it in a pastoral or admin capacity; go for it!"
3) I prayed that if it was God's will that I went into full-time, that He would close all the doors and not allow me to get a job. (I was certainly headed in that direction with the way things were going!)
Uncle Ban was sensitive enough not to pressure me into going full-time but remained very neutral. All he said was that it was a good prayer I prayed. He assured me that if I followed God, it would still be His plan regardless if I were to go full-time or work in the secular. That put months of confusion and worry to ease. I felt that I had received the best answer and the most peace over that one lunch than all my months of searching. Perhaps God was bringing me through those months of doubt to lead me to that moment of truth which I would otherwise not understand.
My "Isaac"
After that I laid down all my dreams, my goals and my worries. I told God that if it was His will to go full-time, He would make a way for me to pay back my study loans and get married even if I couldn't yet see it. I never felt more peaceful about my future than at that moment. I was ready to confront my fears and go into full-time.
But almost like Abraham laying down Isaac to be sacrificed to God only to be stopped at the last moment and receiving God's providence of a ram, I received a second interview from ST Electronics almost 2 weeks after my first interview. It was said that if you didn't receive a reply in 2 weeks, you could forget about getting the job. And yet I was still at peace with going full-time so I took it as practice for my interview skills. Lo and behold, a week later they offered me the job. It felt as if God was testing whether or not I would lay down my "Isaac" before He would reveal His providence and promise.
I thank God for His love and faithfulness; that He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, more than I could ask or imagine. I didn't deserve it and yet I still received it. I thank God that:
1) Although my grades weren't good I was given a chance
2) I got more salary than what I asked for
3) I was allowed to start work after Youth Camp
Adidas Sundown Marathon 2009
Also, I want to thank God for sustaining me through this morning's marathon especially because I wasn't as well prepared as I was for my first marathon last year. I dedicate my results to His honour. I completed the marathon in 5 h 30 mins, a good 45 mins faster than last year's Standard Charted Marathon. All glory to God! I received a new orange finisher's tee and a medal to boot! :D
here i am
Praise the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,
praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.
(Psa 150:1-6)
this is me
Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20 MSG)
connected through destiny
as far as the east is from the west
credit
Blog skin designed by
kriss.
