Dear…
‘For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him…..’
2 Chronicles 16:9
In my quiet moments, I tend to be quite reflective, and much as most will know I can talk incessantly like the cicada, as I learn to take time with our good Lord, He does cause me to ponder upon the impressions He leaves upon my heart, and He also speaks to me much as I can be on the move, for my heart now desires to be close to Him always. And the title, “A Pilgrim’s progress” is truly inspired by the Spirit of God who led me to change it from the original “Riding the Bull” to “A Pilgrim’s journey” and again re-tweaked to “A Pilgrim’s progress.” And I am sure that by the time I conclude this piece, God’s purposes for choice of title will be illuminated.
Interestingly, Pilgrim’s progress is also a once popular book written in 1678 as an allegory of the Christian’s journey but don’t mistake it for Pilgrim’s Pride, the owner of a frozen chicken business in the States.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doubting_Castle#First_Part)
‘Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in Me……..for without Me ye can do nothing’
John 15:4-5
I am no longer a dithering Christian. I do know that indeed God draws near to me, when I truly seek to draw near to Him. And indeed, God has allowed me to bear forth wonderful fruits for His Kingdom, when I learn to lean no longer on what I have or who I am or whom I know, but rather upon Who He is.
‘Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not Thy peace at my tears, for I am a stranger with Thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.’
Psalm 39:12-13
It has been a 12 good years since my carnal self decided in its own foolish ways that it was time to have one more “C” ie church to add to my cool collection of the material “4 Cs” of this world. But God has other plans and it has been a wonderful decade since He moved me from scheming believer to a humbled but passionate follower of our Lord Jesus Christ. Life has never been more wonderful with God, but without God, it must be the most challenging times of my life, this past 10 years. And on these thoughts, the Lord brought me to Psalm 37 which will form the main thrust of today’s sharing, and may it edify as it will surely would, if it is from the Lord and if your heart is willing.
‘The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.’
Psalm 37:18-19
As mentioned in my last sharing, it is difficult for many to remember the days of fear and famine of the subprime crisis, just a few short years back, when we now seem to be inundated with the largesse of steroid enhanced purchasing power from appreciating real assets. And without sounding like a party pooper nor do I plan to flash any semblance of predictive powers on what is ahead, I am reminded by the Spirit of God to revisit the days of the past, and may in doing so, it will not just encourage the many troubled, much as on the surface there should be seemingly no troubles with so much roubles or dollars sloshing all over, but more importantly, are there lessons that God wants us to draw from our past, to prepare for the future by ensuring that we live right in His eyes for the present?
‘I have been young, and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth, and His seed is blessed. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.’
Psalm 37:25-27
I have on rare occasions been encouraged by brothers in Christ to shorten my meanderings, for it might be easier and be more receptive for a generation that is always on the move who are used to bite size messages. There is indeed a place for this and I have been like many a beneficiary of the Daily Bread, with its crisp one verse pointers. But as the Lord leads and till He shows me otherwise, taking time to read, ponder and reflect upon what truly is a free form sharing as God leads will speak to you, if only you are willing to take time with a receptive heart. For we are to please God, not men.
Softening the ground is what I have just done, for much as the intention is not to deluge you with a near half century of my whimsical life, God placed the thought in my heart to start from the point back in 1998, when I, at the age of 37, barely raised a half hearted desire to go back to church, for the wrong reason, after a forgetful absence of 10 years, once He answered my prayers for a better job back in my lows in 1988.
‘The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and He delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.’
Psalm 37:23-24
I was a believer at age 15, and till age 37(in yr 1998), I was like a drunk stumbling in and out, calling upon God in my moment of sorrows. And only in 1998 did I consider going back to a church that I have long absent myself for good reasons of career, family and other more compelling distractions.
Does the carnal world truly runs parallel with the Spiritual realm? It does, and the while 1998 marks the starting point of my sobering up, at least to give some thought to thinking of what till now for me was an invisible God, on what He can give me, it was also the year that mark the crescendo of the Asian Crisis that has roiled many lives in the few years preceding.
But contrary to popular and primarily correct notions that it is in our troubles that we go to God, for me, it was a little different. Much as I was in the eye of the storm, by virtue of the business I was in, and the markets that I covered, I came out relatively unscathed, and initially attributed it to my abilities and just when I thought I have got everything covered, the final rug pulled from under me truly reminded myself that man’s abilities is finite. And interestingly that recognition of a greater force, our omnipresent God was an acknowledgement of His Sovereignty not at my point of despair, but rather a natural step in the journey God has led me to embark on a few months earlier, when I was still riding the waves of volatility pretty well.
‘Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt thee to inherit the land, when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.’
Psalm 37:34
God looks not for sacrifice but obedience. And having acknowledge that my surviving the conundrum of the Asian crisis was by His grace, I was determined to be a good believer and in doing that, indeed took on many tasks that in my Machiavellian past, I will not do for it brings no monetary rewards. A good man I might think I am, but God is looking for more than good, He wants us all to move from mere believers to followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. It needed a divine intervention to move me across the chasm of faith, and that “Bangkok experience”, so called the second phase of my pilgrimage, did it but on reflection, for good reason. For much as God has again shielded me through the implosion of Internet bubble in year 2000, there were more significant issues at stake. When His Spirit sanctified my very being, I literally died to Christ and now had a new beginning, to learn how to not just believe in the existence of our Lord Jesus Christ, but how to live like Christ. On dying, the year that God upgraded me from believer to determined follower was also a painful period when half a dozen colleagues and related passed away in a short span of one and a half years. It was painful and I never felt it that much as I put thoughts to paper in the obituaries that I penned for all my dear friends, yet it was a gainful period for much as none were healed physically, all who were willing were healed spiritually and indeed God has never been more real and graceful and faithful to us the faithless.
‘Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou will revive me…..’
Psalm 137:7
Not exactly Psalm 37, but close enough, but more importantly, where God leads and that is the wonderful part about a life that follows God, for in the highs of an uplifted spirit or in the lows of a present and burdensome darkness, He is with us, but we must be willing to let go and let Him. When we follow, we often still question, when we obey, we follow unconditionally.
And on this, marks the third phase of my spiritual progress, for much as the seeds of the subprime crisis had its roots in the myopic reaction of Greenspan and other equally culpable parties in dealing with the fallout from the internet bubble, what was important was what the self preserving thinking human would do in the midst of a big fire? Logically to run for safety and where I work, there were few places more dangerous than this, in the midst of the subprime crisis back in year 2008. When God speaks, one must not just listen, but obey and much as there was every reason to leave my place of employ, God spoke to me in all clarity on the need to stay put and to trust in Him. Illogical it was at that point, but who would have imagined that my firm literally had a resurrection twice over, and having seen God’s faithfulness, truly “death” as in loss of financial security(and interestingly I suspect people are more afraid of losing their sense of material well being than actual mortality) now has less of a hold on the once fearful and insecure me.
‘Faithful is He that calleth you, Who will also do it. Brethren pray for us.’
1 Thessalonians 5:24-25
A verse a dear friend just shared at our worship today and it truly reminds myself and I am sure you too, in your own journey with God that indeed God will deliver on His promise. But are we prepared to wait upon Him? And waiting is not about doing nothing, but can we continue to praise Him always, take time to pray to stay in His presence, to love others and to thank Him in all circumstances?
‘And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.’
Acts 2:40
And this brings me to the present ongoing phase four of my pilgrimage, which only ends when God takes me Home. Life has never felt more like in a strait-jacket, for deceitful men in a natural sinful reaction to the troubles of their own making these past decade have increasingly move from common sense and integrity in doing business to looking for ways to whitewash their sinful past and to absolve themselves from any consequences of their continued disobedience. It is indeed becoming almost unbearable and impossible on our own strength to be in this world yet not be of this world.
‘He fashioneth their hearts alike, He considereth all their works.’
Psalm 33:15
Yet, God has prepared me and I am sure all for us for this day, when the fire of refinement gets more intense, and where correction must start with His people. This is the gold that God wants us to buy from Him, so that we can stand firm as the world shakes in greater intensity, as God sieves out the wheat from the chaff.
‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take upon you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.’
Ephesians 6:12-13
It is a difficult time, but yet a wonderful time of my life, for I have learned to total rest upon the Lord our God. The difference for me back in 1998 at the onset of my Christian life was that I acknowledge God after the fact, that is, after my troubles are over, but now, I have come to learn to always acknowledge Him as Lord in the midst of joy or in troubles. And I am learning to be the spirit man that God wants all of us to be, where our spirit will align with His Spirit, where we will move as He moves.
‘Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ………The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound therof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.’
John 3:5-8
And just in case you might be wondering if after 12 years, in particular the past 10 years, have I truly progressed to deserve a good pass from God as a Christian, that only God knows, but more important is that God must not be passé in our life.
‘..abstain from every form of evil. And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, Who will also do it. Brethren pray for us.’
1 Thessalonians 5:22-25
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(27th Oct 10)
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