Dear..
‘I have trusted in your mercy’
Psalm 13:5
“Looking back” is the word most will use. “Retrospect” is what the master of the written wit,the late PG Wodehouse would use to doll up the English prose. But the meaning is the same.
Psalm 13:5 is succinct in its intended meaning, but for one to speak it with heartfelt thanks, it must come from a series of experiences that lead to a profound gratitude for what has been.
And indeed, for me, not too sure if has been the same for you, it has been a very challenging year, as far as work is concerned, for one never felt so stymied and stripped apart. Yet through it all, God has never left me, and He has taught me tremendously, what it means to be humbled and contrite, yet His grace is ever present.
“Buy gold as refined by the Lord” was the word God impressed upon me these past two years, and indeed, I can now empathize better with the inanimate yellow metal that has to go through the fire many times in the purification process. We are indeed oppressed but never crushed, and indeed the Spirit of God residing in the faithful will give us that indomitable strength to stay steadfast, when prevailing conditions seem to demand otherwise. And this inner strength with total reliance on our good Lord will be used by Him to bring us forth in the days ahead, as the End Times intensifies.
‘Ye have said, It is vain to serve God. And what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?’
Malachi 3:14
“Do not return to Egypt” was the other word that God also deeply impressed upon me these past three years. And as shared, there were so many good and compelling reasons to move on in my career. And God knows being imperfect, one will vacillate, even if one is sure about having received His crystal clear commands not to do otherwise. But with such certainty as to where God wants me to be, no doubts were allowed to linger too long in my psyche and literally with no “escape route,” I had to stand firm, obey God and move on within my confines to deal with whatever circumstances were thrown at me, trusting in Him always. But through it all, God taught me about the need to honor Him in our lives, to be truthful much as self survival seems to dictate otherwise, to be of good cheer and of good heart with people He placed in our seemingly wretched lives, for people must see the light of God’s love in our lives, much as darkness seems to be the straightjacket squeezing us in.
When the colors of our natural sinfulness be it green(envy), red(anger), yellow(fear) or purple for peacocks??(pride) are drained from us, the splendor of God’s love will shine forth with clarity.
But Christian living is not about sacrifice, but obedience. Of course in obeying the leading of the Spirit of God residing in our hearts, we often are asked to let go of things we hold dear, but God will not leave us too long hanging on the thread of hope, but He will affirm and through this past one year and the previous years, He indeed provides more than suffice to ensure that we can live out fully His will wherever He places us.
And as I closed this retrospective reflection, let me conclude with this word “sell into strength with patience” that our Lord has ingrained in me this year. As shared previously, in our very low interest rate environment which punishes the prudent saver, compounded by the bubbly appreciation in asset prices, which rewards the aggressive investor, it is indeed difficult to want to acquiesce to this command of the Lord. Should we not be good stewards to grow the resource He gives us? Yes with the wisdom God gives us, we should be good stewards, but wisdom must be put aside, if God tells us otherwise and how do we know if we heard right? I have come to learn that if we truly place God as first in our lives, we will know His will. If there is an issue, it is that our carnal self is still warring against our spiritual self. But God is good. He will intervene and indeed He has for me this past one year, the most recent just two days back, when I find myself no longer able to resist the desire to make my monies work better. I expanded the command of God from just “selling into strength with patience” to include “buying into weakness with patience.’ Seems logical enough and I did make a couple of purchases. That same morning after, I was awaken with this deep distress in my heart. The Spirit convicted me of my sins, and the peace returned when I fairly quickly drop off the desire to buy, when God clearly stated to sell.
Your year might have been different in the nature of events surrounding your lives. But I am sure like me, you would have truly experienced the presence and love of God in your life this year, and like me, in your own inimitable way, you want to and will continue to testify to God’s goodness and love for us all.
‘Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? Saith the Lord of hosts. Because of Mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.’
Haggai 1:9
The past teaches us about the present and prepares us for the future. I believe this year has been one of intense refinement for the faithful. We are asked to buy gold, as in our character refined, from our Lord, much as the non believers are busy cumulating temporal material wealth from the devil. And a life as refined by God is needed to ensure that we will not just stand firm upon the Lord our Rock, but that God will use us to bring forth His love to many who will hunger for certainty and meaning in their lives where the only certainty without God, is even greater uncertainty. The year 2011 will be a watershed year, not because I have a prophetic word, but rather, as a keen observer of human follies, many are converging towards the peak of leveraged greed, pride and deceit, the necessary recipe for a tumultuous year. And the present extreme weather in Europe could be a harbinger of what is to come to befall the world next year, in not just the physical but in the economic, social and political landscape. The borrower is a slave to the lender. To disobey God is to obey the devil.
‘Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it…’
Psalm 127:1
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
22nd Dec 2010
Power of Your love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbg8qS9iokY
'...Jesus stood and cried out saying 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'
John 7:37-38
Yesterday, as I was listening to a new CD, a collection of Christian songs in Mandarin sung by a Taiwanese all girls group, I was quite surprise to hear them sing the familiar Don Moen song "Power of Your love" in English. The song is not new to me, just like Scriptural knowledge is probably no stranger to many of you. Yet, God always surprises me with His prescience, and I have attached the above link to the song, in this case, sung someone else with with interesting pictorial representation of the plans of God for our life.
Take time to reflect upon the words. It aptly describe my life this year and I believe yours as well, how truly the love of God not just sustains us, but lift us up closer to the spirit men and women He wants to transform us to.
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