Psalm 40:5
Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. ... were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.
It's been a really wonderful time with my family, and I think really want to thank God for the sermon that Ps Jeff preached on loving my family... there really is such joy when you put God's words into practice! :D
John 13:17
Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Talking about blessings, I went with my parents to their church service today, together with my sis and bro-in-law. Quite reluctant, initially, partly because I don't really like new environments - guess that's the phlegmatic aspect of me. :P But thank God so much that He still spoke to me there. =) How comforting to hear Daddy's voice in an unfamiliar environment! It wasn't anything audible, but think the impression and the thoughts came into my mind, and as long as it's good, it's true and it doesn't contradict His Word, I'll take it on faith that God could be trying to speak to me through that experience.
So I'm reminded that during this time of Chinese New Year, it's important to remember that God is the giver of all good things.
James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
There's so many good things that He has blessed me with - e.g. my family, my nieces and nephews, my brothers and sisters in Christ, the angpows that I receive, the abundant food that we can enjoy, the sweet titbits and a super long weekend to rest and relax... so many small but beautiful things to thank God for!
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And I think God was impressing on my heart through the past few days that this period is like spring. Think it's very timely - I mean, CNY is also a celebration of the new spring that comes each year, and I'm now in a new ministry, a new phase of life, and to be honest, I must say that things are going pretty sweetly at the moment... as in there's a vision, dreams in my heart, youthful vigour and idealism... Lord, I'm raring to go! etc. etc. :) A season of pastel shades, of sprouting blooms and fresh new possibilities.
And why not? Cherish this season of spring - it is a season of new possibilities, a season of promises, a season of the old year going away and the new year coming in... I'm still settling down and need to stabilize first, but I do have faith in God that He'll root me and establish me strongly in this new phase of life.
Because I'm thinking of summer. Summer is a season of activity, of hustle and bustle, and since it's hot too, things can get awfully heated up too. Like what my shepherd told me, in my own CG, there'll definitely be conflicts, etc... who hasn't felt irritated on a hot, hot day? But it also is the season of vividness, of bright colours and zestful energy.
Then autumn will come - the mature shades, and the coolness. It's also the season of fruitful harvest and fellowship as one walks with friends in the cool of the days among the trees.
And finally, winter - that season when sometimes you feel like you've lost your sense of purpose, skies are grey and gloomy, days become shorter and nights longer, and it feels cold in the soul. But I think the beauty of winter is that it also is a time of rest and reflection, to let God be God - because you're not! And the seasons go on again.
I think it's important to remember that in life, there are seasons, just as nature has seasons. Perhaps one reason why God created seasons is, as C.S. Lewis puts it:
"The humans live in time, and experience reality successively. To experience much of it, therefore, they must experience many different things; in other words, they must experience change. And since they need change, [God]... has made change pleasurable to them...
But... He has balanced the love of change in them by a love of permanence. He has contrived to gratify both tastes together on the very world He has made, by that union of change and permanence which we call Rhythm.
He gives them the seasons, each season different yet every year the same, so that spring is always felt as a novelty yet always as the recurrence of an immemorial theme. He gives them in His Church a spiritual year; they change from a fast to a feast, but it is the same feast as before."
And as I was reading my Bible today, I was reading Psalm 1, and these words "delight" and "in season" spoke to me:
Psalm 1:1-3
"Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers."
Hee, think these verses are very meaningful and precious to me. Really treasure my relationship with God - esp when I recall how much it cost Him to pay for all my sins on the cross... not just those that I've committed, but ALSO those that I will commit in future...
And looking at my own life - I was reflecting again - wow... I think God really did something marvellous in my life in the NUS ministry... Think I'm out of the woods now - the prophecy came true - for now I can look back and see that EVERYTHING that happened to me in the NUS ministry, both the good and bad times, have served not only to draw me closer to God, but also to prepare me for the rigours and challenges of working life. Yes, it's going to be difficult, but I have confidence in God that He is able to strengthen and sustain me through the next 40 years of life - even to my last breath. :D aMeN!
Psalm 27:1
[Of David.] The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?
Perhaps, in conclusion, I think He wants me to delight in Him and stay pure to Him, no matter which season of life I'm in. =)
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