Well, Heng started looking for a job since a year ago but he was quite selective about the companies he applied to. The interesting thing was even though his skills were marketable, no one called him up for an interview. Not even one open door in the course of the year. He was quite cool and nonchalant about this until early this year, he was really passed over for promotion. Ever since then, he felt the urge to quickly move on because he found it meaningless to continue in this company. The door was closing behind him yet the door in front has not yet opened. It was an extremely uncomfortable time waiting for job openings.
But since the theme for this year is 'Year of Open Doors', we trust that The Lord is closing the doors that are not good for Heng and opening doors that are good for him. We continued to confess that God is going to open a door of opportunity for Heng soon and it will not just be a job, but a position of influence and prominence. We could not see how this would come to pass at that time since Heng did not even have a single job interview. But we continued to trust The Lord.
God is so good. In March, Heng received an unexpected phone call from his old friend back in those days when we started working. This friend made a pact with Heng some 15 years ago that one day, when he took over his father's business, he would get Heng to join him. Together they will conquer the world. Of course Heng did not take his word seriously because they were young then and who would expect a young chap to honor his promise. Well, this friend really did. He called to say that he was taking over as Chairman next year and the time has come for him to honor his promise. He wants Heng to join his company and help him. This position would be part of his management team, and Heng would oversee areas other than finance. Not only that, Heng would get a good salary increase.
Well, Heng was so touched by the sincerity of this true friend. A few years ago he did call and ask Heng to join him but the timing was not right then. Heng was enjoying his time in this current company and there was still much to learn. God's timing is really perfect. Now we understand why there wasn't even a single interview all this while. God had closed all the other doors to prepare Heng for this open door. In fact, if this friend called any earlier, Heng would not be ready to move on. If he called any later, maybe Heng would have found another job. God may not be early but He is never late. He is the One guiding our steps.
This is really God's grace. We are so overwhelmed by His love for us. The friendship between Heng and his friend reminded me of the friendship between David and Jonathan. Jonathan loved David and helped him escape when his father Saul wanted to take his life. David had a covenant with Jonathan. He promised to do good to Jonathan and his family all the days of his life. David eventually honored his promise to Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son. He sought this boy out and did good to him for Jonathan's sake. Who would have thought that a promise made by a then army boy would be made good by him years later? Besides, it is not just a job. It is truly a position of influence and prominence like what we prayed for.
God took Heng from the back to the front, from being just a finance manager to being part of a management team, from being disqualified to qualified, from being seen as less than, to being promoted, honored, influential and looked up to. I am sure some people will scratch their heads and wonder 'How did he get there? It's not fair. I worked harder, I have more talent, I deserve more.' But the truth is favor isn't fair. It is the undeserved and unmerited goodness of God. God has put Heng in a position that he didn't earn, didn't qualify for, didn't have the seniority and not even next in line! When it sounds too good to be true, then it has to be God's grace! All glory to Jesus!
