Effortless

Dear Beloved, have you encountered times when you received effortlessly the things you prayed for and times when you seemed to be waiting for a long while for the answered prayer and you got into all kinds of strife and toilsome labor? Well, I have. It is only natural that we become more and more restless as the time drags on and you wonder if God will answer that prayer...

Yet this is not the main point of my message. On the contrary, as I thought about the things that come about effortlessly in my life, I found out that there are similar characteristics about them:

1) Most of the times I was unaware of the process. These things were something new and unprecedented. I did not hear from others about how difficult it would be or the possible pitfalls. In other words, I did not hear the 'law' or the knowledge of good and evil. I only heard God's Word and how all things are possible with God. The purchase of our 2nd property, my writing ministry and my ministry in church were testaments to this. Even though I was in ministry in my old church, this was a different church and no one told me what was involved as a care leader before I took on this role. I just stepped out to obey God's calling first. (Actually had I known what was involved, I would surely hesitate to rise up)

2) Rest was something predominant in the process. I was not in toilsome labor most of the times. Even though the process was new and unfamiliar to me, I was not worried. I knew the Lord would navigate me through. Even though there were many things that could go wrong, the fact that I was not aware of these pitfalls helped a lot. I could not worry about what I did not know. In this case, ignorance is bliss. As I rested, I saw more of God's grace and favor flowing in my situation. The anointing of God came upon me and I found myself doing things effortlessly. His wisdom was there guiding me on what to do for things that I had never done before (like writing).

3) As I was so conscious of the hand of God in my situation, I cannot help thanking Him every step of the way. Thank God that I did nothing out of worry or fear, only when the Lord calls, then I respond. As a result, I committed all my ways to the Lord and He directed my paths. The entire process was mostly smooth and blissful. I did not have to bull-doze my way or try too hard. There was none of my self-effort as God did all the work for me and opened all the right doors. Not only that, I noticed that when God works, things happen very fast.

This is not to say that there was no resistance or attempts by the enemy to frustrate me. Of course when you are doing God's work, there will be resistance and persecution. But I just continued to look to the Lord for strength, trusting that He is fighting my battles. I know that in the end, victory belongs to me in Christ. As I rest in Him, He will not rest until He has successfully resolved the matter for me. All glory to Jesus!