HOW OUR GOD IS LIKE TO ME

I just felt like sharing about how God is like to me through my years of walking with Him. God is so patient with me, long suffering. He does not give up on me even when I am so disappointed or angry with Him at times. He still lovingly picked me up every time I fell into the pits. He loves me so much that His heart pained during the times He saw me crying my guts out. Oh how He longed to breakthrough all of heaven to reach out to me in those times.

He is faithful to His promise and He never fails to remind me that His word is true and will surely come to pass. How many times did He tell me that He is not a man that will lie, a son of man who will change His mind? He cannot lie. Even though He cannot show me everything He was doing in my life, He kept reminding me that once He promised me something, it will manifest in due time.

I also realized that His plan is far greater than I imagined. He is a sovereign God. He sees my end from my beginning. His plans are much further than we can imagine. We may be thinking about the next 1-3 years but He is planning the next 10-20 years of our lives. Isn't God amazing? So many times we missed what He is doing in our lives and accuse Him of being slow to bring the promises to pass.

It is not Him who is slow...it is us. We are often not as ready as we thought we are. He is slowing down to keep pace with us. He is merciful to lead us one step at a time, one shift at a time. He knows we cannot take it if He brings us from A to Z straight away. It's amazing when you look back, how He brings all the pieces of the puzzle together.

God is so full of encouragement, He never fails to encourage me in any and every discouragement that I faced. He always has a way to cheer me up and bring me out from my pit. His words of encouragement are consistent. Most of the times He showed me that the issue that bothered me wasn't even about the obvious one bothering me! It was something else and He uncovered the issue for me and addressed it.

He is loving, compassionate and full of goodness. He shows Himself as my Daddy God who always acts on my behalf. He rebukes the devourer for my sake. When the enemy comes on too strong and I cannot take it, He will always intervene and tell the devil to back off, it's enough! He is always so kind to me, always ready to defend me. He longs to do good to me for Jesus' sake. I feel so special in His presence. Even though the whole world doesn't know me, it's ok. I know I am the apple of His eye. I can boast that I know The Lord and He knows me.

God is trustworthy. Whenever the circumstances seem contrary to His word and the devil tries to make Him out to be a liar, He will always show Himself to be trustworthy. He would speak to me with His word and show me throughout bible history, none of His good promises failed to come to pass. He always asks me to trust Him and His word for they are truth, and most times, things came to pass exactly how He told me. Sometimes it might take place over a period of time and I had forgotten about them but He always brings me to remembrance.

Recently God is showing his powers. He is a powerful God. No one and nothing can stop Him when the fullness of time has come. When He opens the door, no man can shut it. He has shown Himself strong...stronger than I have ever seen. When I saw the healing, the signs and wonders, the speedy answers to prayers, I was convinced of His power. I also experienced what the bible says about perfect love driving out all fear. I came to that point where I am not afraid of the spiritual dark forces anymore because I know He who is in me in greater than He who is in the world.

God is eternal. He showed me that things that are unseen are eternal. Things that can be seen are temporal and subject to change. He taught me how to see the spiritual things as real, more real than the physical things. For the spiritual realm has the power to change the physical. He also taught me not to focus on the natural, not to be afraid of them for they are subject to change, they will have to eventually line up with His word. He taught me how to exercise my dominion over diseases, the physical circumstances and the dark powers.

I also learnt that God is a precise God. His timing is perfect and all things are made beautiful in its time. He may not be early but He is never late. He will always be on time. He has prepared everything so that when the promise comes, it would be perfect for our maximum enjoyment. He really has our best interests. Whenever I needed Him, He always shows up on time. 

He is a also God of reward and no debtor to man. He loves to give me surprises and good things just to bring a smile to my face. He loves to see me smile. It lights up His day. He wants me to enjoy my life, every single day of my life with Him without worrying. He wants be to be always happy, joyful, singing praises to Him and thanking Him. He wants me to live a good life, the abundant life.

God is full of wisdom. He never fails to provide good solutions to challenges and always gives me new perspectives on the issue. Like how He poured out His anointing on me to write. Sometimes when I read what I had written, it was so good that I could not believe I wrote it. It had to be God. He is a progressive God, always doing better than the last time.

ENLARGE YOUR VISION

Through the recent devotionals, God has been showing me messages like a new thing, change, shift etc. In fact, it just started appearing more frequently this month, more than 15 times. This realisation came after I was feeling so discouraged last week. I cried out to God asking Him where is the new thing He is doing, where is the fulfilment, the mega blessings that He promised. I was just so sick and tired of seeing nothing change on the surface. The enemy taunted me saying that I was stuck on this mountain year after year.

Right after I had such feelings of being stuck in a rut, the Lord came to answer me. Again He pointed out that it was such a big fat lie. Even though I hadn't seen anything change in the natural didn't mean that nothing had changed after my encounter with God. In fact, everything changed, just that I haven't seen them yet. God was indeed working powerfully behind the scene unknownst to me and very soon He unveiled those changes one by one.

In our next few years, I believe God is really going to bring us to places we have never been to. Dreams that will stretch our imagination and blow our minds. No wonder 1 Corinthians 2:9 says no eye can see, no ear can hear and no mind can conceive what the Lord has in store for us. As soon as God said it, it is considered done.

All we have to do is to believe and wait for the right timing to inherit that promise. Yes there is a right timing for dreams to come to pass. However I believe the waiting is also dependent on our readiness. Many a times we limit ourselves with our small mentality so if we didn't enlarge our vision, we could easily reject what God has in store for us because it was just too big for us to handle. We throw it back to Him.

In the past, I would think it was impossible and quickly snubbed those thoughts of grandeur. But after God proved Himself again and again, I am coming to the place where I can believe all things are possible to Him. After all I saw the reality of how all these things were already purchased by Jesus at the cross. All we have to do is to possess our inheritance. 

The key is once God has put the dream in your heart, no matter how long it has been, don't give up. Don't lose heart, don't get faint. Continue to press on, believing that He alone will bring it to pass. When He gives us a promise, it is not for us to fulfil but only God Himself can fulfil it. That takes the pressure off us. After all it is all about Jesus and none about us. All we have to do is to believe and rest, then act accordingly when the Spirit prompts us.

However there are things we can do to keep the dream alive. Firstly, don't share your dream with anyone. Some people will snub you and laugh at you. These are naysayers. Only share your dream with one who has faith to believe that all things are possible with God. Secondly, do things to prepare for your dream. Go and soak yourself in the atmosphere of greatness, whether it be looking at pictures of your dream home or sitting in luxurious hotel lobbies. You will be amazed at what those things can do to your spirit. Thirdly, don't let the mundaneness or routine in life rob you of your vision. Talk about it with people who share your dream to stir each other up once in a while.

Initially you won't be able to believe all at once that this dream could be fulfilled. But as you continue to trust the Lord and feed on His word, your faith will increase. You may think that's a far fetched or very remote idea at first. But if the dream just wouldn't go away even after a long time, you will know it is from God. Then slowly you may try to work out the practical aspect of realising the dream. Again you will be stumped at how impossible it seems in the natural. So you put the dream in your back burner again. But really, all it takes is one touch of His favour, one change of a policy, one movement of the market for God to realise your dream.

And as you wait upon Him, there will come a time, the harvest time when your spirit will get excited again. This time, you will begin to see signs of how possibly your dream could be fulfilled because of some changes you never saw before. And with that, you begin to work out the practicalities again and then you are amazed because suddenly the dream is within reach! You couldn't imagine how in the world a dream that seems so far fetched and remote could be so tangible now. It can only be the hand of God! You are only a step away from that dream and then it suddenly happens...everything became history.

PROUD TO BE A SINGAPOREAN

Our nation just celebrated our Golden Jubilee earlier this month. There was a memorable time during the National Day celebrations when videos on the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew was shown. It was an emotional moment as many cried at this sad memory of his passing. The empty chair reserved for him at the Padang made it even sadder to look at. This was the first time in 50 years that Singapore celebrated her birthday without Mr Lee Kuan Yew. We had thought that he could at least join us for our Golden Jubilee celebrations before passing on.

And last Sunday there was a National Day Rally by our Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong. It was usually an exciting time because he would be announcing many 'goodies' for Singaporeans. There would be key policy changes like housing, healthcare, family, jobs, education etc. Because this is our Golden Jubilee year, the government has prepared many goodies for us.

Some people might say it was because of the coming elections that the governing party was giving away such goodies, so that the people would vote for People's Action Party. Yes, our Election Day is announced to be on 11 Sep. And this year the governing party willl be running for elections without the late Mr Lee. It was crux time, match point. But I have confidence in this party even without Mr Lee because he has groomed and prepared the next generation leaders well.

I pray that God will raise godly leaders to govern Singapore and bring us to our next level. As I reflect on 50 years of nation building, I am truly grateful to our pioneers and our leaders for making Singaore a great nation. If I had been born elsewhere, I really don't know how my life will be as a girl. I might be denied of an opportunity in education or a fair chance in my career. Many women are still subjugated in certain countries or worse, forced into prositution. My heart goes out to these women and I pray for God to reach out to them too.

I thank God for the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew and the many political leaders who has sacrificed for our nation. I believe that path had not been easy for them. I thank God that we are standing on the shoulders of giants so that we can continue the legacy of our forefathers, bringing Singapore to greater heights. So that this little red dot can be a blessing, to reflect God's glory and grace.

HOW TO DISCERN IF YOUR TIME HAS COME

Today I read a devotional about how God communicates with us. And I was just thinking about how God usually speaks to me. I find that He mostly speaks to me through His word. Even though I may have read that verse umpteen times, there will always be a new revelation and understanding when God brings that verse to my attention. Secondly the Lord speaks to me through the Holy Spirit or an inner witness. It could be a still small voice or a certain thought that flashed across my mind which wasn't in my train of thoughts. 

I noticed that usually before the manifestation of a promise, these works of God would be made visible. It often starts with a visitation from God. Then, in no particular order: financial provision, open doors, restoration, closing of a chapter, new things happening, victory over bondage or resistance. In the past I would always misinterpret the timing of a promise because I only had one part of the equation, which was my sensing or inner witness.

Many a times I would sense that this promise was very close, and my time has come but I would be disappointed when it didn't happen. One day I realised that my sensing was only one part of the equation. The other parts are God's recurrent messages to me (His word) and the events that followed. Well, even if His recurrent messages to me seemed to indicate that my time has come, I realised it could be a prophetic word that God was trying to tell me. This meant that God was referring to a time in the future but I took it as now.

For example, I wrote in Apr 2013 about a time in the future which I wasn't even aware of then. It was a prophetic word for my future and now as I read it, I found that it was referring to this year: Resurrection power, Year of Jubilee, Restoration of all things, Discerning the Season change, Power of resting in the Lord, Power of rejoicing and celebration, Keeping the spirit of faith high, No more hopes deferred, Season of fulfilment has come, Breakthrough and freedom/liberty, Victory manifested, Steps are guided by the Lord, Be on the expectant lookout, Prepare and get ready, A new thing He is doing, Praise and worship, Give thanks in advance, Reward is here, Take possession of our inheritance etc.

It was also interesting to note that I wrote in Apr 2013 about the day of restoration for all the senseless pain I went through. I even wondered what kind of restoration would God bring me out of the heartaches I suffered in waiting for a promise. Two years later, I saw His restoration in this area. It was a powerful restoration because this issue had been an area of struggle for decades. Finally I saw the broken pieces come together in this year of His restoration, just as Pastor had prophesied.

The last but most important part of the equation to discern if your time has come is the events that happened after God spoke. Whether these events were in line with His messages. These are like the signs of the fig tree. If they occurred rather quickly after His word was given, only then it could be safe to conclude that God is really talking about the now time, not somewhere in the future. Only by carefully studying these three parts of the equation can one be sure that the time has really come.

A BIG DREAM FULFILLED!

Heng has this dream to own a luxury car since end 2013. This wish appeared on his three wishes list for 2014 and 2015. Since the desire was birthed in his heart, he has been doing a lot of research on which car to choose. But in the past 1.5 years we have never thought of visiting the car showroom or go for a test drive. It was because back then I could never imagine how we could afford a luxury car. I worked out the sums and the monthly mortgage payments were just too high. It would be crazy to commit ourselves to such a loan repayment amount.

But as time went by, God enlarged my mind. And we were coming to a time when our current car mortgage was nearly paid up, with less than $3000 outstanding loan. So last month, I felt this prompting to ask Heng to visit the showrooms to check out the luxury cars. We even did a test drive on one of the cars. The price was still a bit high and we thought of waiting for the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) price to drop. This certificate is like a licence to own a car in Singapore. It is a measure taken by our government to regulate the number of cars on the road to avoid serious traffic congestion. 

Even though we didn't buy it then, we felt that we were just one step away from the reality of this dream. At least Heng did the test drive and we sat in it. It wasn't just a remote possibility. It was a tangible thing. And we both believed that God didn't prompt us to visit the showroom for no reason. It must be to prepare for us to buy it when the time came. Actually we haven't really decided on which brand. That was why such visits and test drives were important.

We committed our purchase to the Lord and asked Him to provide the finances for us. We said we would wait for His timing and asked for a clear sign that we would know when to take action. We had peace after the visit. We would not rush into it. After all we were in a win-win situation. Our current car's mortgage was about to be paid off soon and we were going to be debt free anyway. And our car was still in a very good condition so we could continue driving it for another three years.

But as we waited, our longing for the dream car grew. Ever since we went for that test drive, we knew there was no turning back. And we knew it was only a matter of time before God led us to the purchase. We waited for the COE price to drop but instead of dropping, it went up a couple of thousands. I was thinking we got further away from the realisation of our dream car. But God reminded me that nothing is impossible for Him and He will make a way where there seems to be no way. We just have to trust Him.

And so last Sat, the Lord led Heng to notice the advertisement of the launch of a new model of luxury car for another brand. With that, Heng confirmed that we had to visit this showroom and do another test drive for this car. When we got there, I was pleasantly surprised that it cost lesser than I expected because there was a discount. But Heng told me to hold my horses for he could only decide after the test drive. 

After the test drive, we were both convinced that this was the car we wanted. I totally loved this car and was sold out to it! We tried to bargain for a better deal on our current car trade-in value and eventually they agreed. We felt the peace to sign the agreement and make the purchase on the spot. We usually do not for we will give ourselves some time to cool down and think through. But this time we didn't even hesitate for we both had the peace. We had thought through the financing issue over the past month and we were comfortable with the monthly installments. 

God is really so good. I was feeling discouraged just a few days ago, yet God was planning this wonderful surprise for us. I totally didn't have any expectation on buying the new car so soon, but I kept an open mind for good deals. I asked Heng before this visit if the dealer could have promotions on the soft launch of this new series but he didn't seem hopeful. But God really exceeded our expectations!

With this, God ended our wait for the new car! He is merciful; He didn't let us wait too long. Only one month passed after we first had our test drive of the luxury cars. We didn't have to keep waiting for the COE price to drop. It could be quite frustrating to see that it didn't drop but kept going up. With each price increase, I felt like we were further away from our dream of owning a luxury car. But His ways are higher than ours. When we saw no way, God made a way. In fact, He has reserved the best for the last. He is so good to us.

SOMEONE PAID THE PRICE

The other day we watched this Disney movie called 'Inside Out'. A girl named Riley is born in Minnesota and within her mind, five manifestations of her emotions—Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger—come to life. The emotions live in Headquarters, Riley's conscious mind, where they influence Riley's actions and memories via a control console. Her new memories are housed in colored orbs, which are sent into storage at the end of every waking period. The most important or "core" memories are housed in a hub in Headquarters and power five "islands", each of which reflects a different aspect of Riley's personality. Joy acts as the dominant emotion to keep Riley in a happy state, but she and the others do not understand Sadness's purpose.

One day Riley's parents moved to San Francisco and she got to readjust to a new home and new school. Alone in the new school, she missed her old friends. Sadness accidentally caused Ridley to cry in front of her teacher and friends on the first day of school, producing a sad core memory. Joy insisted that none of Riley's core memories should be sad so she tried to dispose that memory before it entered into the central hub. In her tussle with Sadness, she, Sadness, and the core memories are sucked out of Headquarters through the memory tube leading to the rest of Riley's mind. They end up in the labyrinthine storage area of Riley's long term memory and set out to return to Headquarters.

Joy and Sadness find Bing Bong, Riley's childhood imaginary friend, who is desperate to reconnect with her. He tells them they can get to Headquarters by riding the Train of Thought. After exploring different areas of Riley's mind, the three eventually catch the train, but it derails when another personality island falls. Joy and Bing Bong try to use Bing Bong's discarded wagon rocket to get out of the Memory Dump, but after several failed attempts, Bing Bong realizes their combined weight is too much and jumps out and fades away, allowing Joy to escape. Well, eventually Joy and Sadness made it back to the headquarters in time.

I just want to highlight the scene which touched me a lot. It was when Joy and Bing Bong fell into the Memory Dump. Joy tried several times to climb out of the Dump but it was futile. Bing Bong dejectedly said 'We are stuck here and forgotten forever.' But Joy refused to give up. That was when she thought of using the discarded wagon rocket to get out of the Dump. They tried the first time but there wasn't enough power to bring them over so the rocket crashed into the Dump. They got back and their feet and tried again. They nearly made it but unfortunately they crashed into the Dump again. This time Joy was really discouraged. But Bing Bong said 'We can try again.' 

I believe Bing Bong already made up his mind to jump out of the wagon so that Joy could make it to the island. When Joy finally made it, she shouted happily but as she turned around, she realised Bing Bong didn't make it. When she looked down, she saw him cheering 'We made it!' down at the Dump. Slowly Bing Bong faded away. Joy wiped her tears away and set out to make her way back to the headquarters. After all that Bing Bong has done for her, she had to make it back. 

This reminded me of how Jesus went to the cross, suffered all the punishment I deserved, sacrificed his life for me so that I could make it. So that I could have the abundant life that He came to give. I was so touched at the scene that I cried. I told myself I will never allow Jesus to fade away, to be forgotten in my life. I will tell as many people about Jesus and what He has done for me so that His name will be glorified. I was in the pits, feeling stuck and forgotten by the world when Jesus came, lifted me form the pits and set me on a high place. Grace always reminds me that the price was paid so that I could enjoy all of God's blessings. Don't let Jesus sacrifice in vain. 

DO YOU WANT TO BE HEALED?

As I was in church last Sunday, I was impressed upon chronic diseases when Pastor mentioned about the story of the man paralysed for 38 years. Jesus asked him: Do you want to be healed? Pastor said sometimes people are not healed because they don't want to get healed. Maybe if they got healed, they couldn't be on social welfare or they wouldn't obtain the sympathy of others. But Pastor said don't give excuses not to be healed now. Don't hold on to your sickness for Jesus has come to heal. In the beginning of the year, Pastor declared that God is restoring health back to those with chronic condition. He said this healing was for those who have prayed and waited for a breakthrough for many years. They were probably on the verge of giving up.

I kind of understand how people with chronic diseases felt as I too waited many years for a dream to come to pass. Maybe deep down they were afraid to get healed. After all they were so comfortable in their bondage for years. What was going to happen after they got their breakthrough? How are they going to live their lives from then on? Would they be able to adjust to being totally free from that chronic pain? The fear of the unknown just kept them in their bondage even though God has given the word that this is the year of His restoration. He will restore health to those with chronic conditions. Jeremiah 30:17 says 'I will restore you to health and heal your wounds...'

I also had another thought about how it will all happen in an instant when God touches your life and your breakthrough will come. I recall Pastor mentioned the testimony of this preacher whose daughter lost her mind. They prayed and waited but nothing happened in 7 years. One day when he was on his way to visit his daughter, he was feeling so discouraged thinking about how long she had been like this. Then he heard God's voice saying 'Praise Me'. He was reluctant but eventually he praised God anyway. When he was nearing her room he heard her cry out 'I want my Daddy!' She was healed in an instant.

This testimony again reinforced the fact that just one touch of God will change things in a moment. Yet some people with chronic conditions may not even be ready to encounter this moment. They may not know what to do after that moment. God wants me to share with them what will happen after that so they won't have to be afraid. And actually if they are tuned into to God's voice, they will be informed beforehand of how suddenly their miracle would come. They wouldn't be caught in such a big surprise then. They would be expectant, on the constant lookout for this miracle.

Maybe this is the reason why we are not seeing more instant healings. It could be that God is more than willing to give us instant healing but He knows we probably couldn't take it. Because it might be too sudden for us and if we didn't know how to stand on faith on this healing, the devil might bring back those lying symptoms. Hence a process of healing manifestation might be more enduring in this case. Like believing for a progression in thirty, sixty and hundredfold healing. Maybe God is building our faith through the process so we would know how to reject those lying symptoms when they come.

CELEBRATION OF BIRTHDAYS

We celebrated Heng's birthday today. His actual day falls on 25 Aug but since Joshua has no school today, we decided to celebrate it earlier. We went for a buffet lunch at a hotel. The restaurant is called 'The Line'. The food was really good, and the ambience was delightful. Heng felt it was the best buffet lunch ever. The price was also reasonable. They even prepared a small cake for Heng. Heng was pleasantly surprised.

August is such a happening month, a month of celebration. Not only we celebrated our National Day and Heng's birthday, we also celebrated Joshua's birthday on 4 Aug. For Joshua's birthday, we booked a 2D1N chalet called D'resort. It cost us $222. It was a newly built chalet which opened its doors to the public only last month. It was previously known as the Costa Sands resort. One wing of the chalet was a three-storey bungalow with barbecue pits in front. But we stayed in the other wing which was more like a hotel. Here are some photos of the resort.

SOJOURNER LIKE ABRAHAM

I felt like ever since I stayed home, I was really like Abraham, a sojourner. I really don't know where eventually the Lord is leading me to. He only tells me to do this, do that without really showing me the full picture. But at times He would give me a glimpse of my future which would excite me like it excited Abraham. Yet many times I didn't know what is my final destination. Of course, like Abraham, one of my dreams was to have children. But that is still not my final destination. It would be another of my assignment.

Over the years I felt like I was a short term contract worker for I never had the security of a permanent staff. I never had any work plans for the entire year like I did when I was in the workforce previously. I had no idea how my year would pan out, except for some broad strokes or themes that God showed me. Like open doors, fruit bearing, restoration, glory of God manifesting, due season, fulfilment, harvest etc. Perhaps one indication would be looking at my desires or three wishes for that upcoming year.

Well, even when the Lord showed me what was coming up like how He revealed I would not be a Care Group leader for long, He also didn't show me how it could come about. I still had to walk through the process of transition, cooperating with Him to pass the baton over to the next leader. He only showed me the end outcome and I guess that was all I needed. But usually after the completion of an assignment or the closing of a chapter, there would be an aftermath when I would feel relieved but lost.

After all I had been involved with that assignment for some time, especially when it had been so intense like the part time work stint, I would need some time to unwind from that. There would be this whole smorgasbord of emotions that I would need to unpack and decide which lessons to carry with me. Sometimes it wasn't easy doing the post assignment review. After I had unpacked that, I would then be wondering what was up ahead for me. Sometimes I would get jittery because of the upcoming changes at first and then get bored when I see nothing happening on the horizon.

God is merciful. He always gives me a breather though I believed I could 'cheong' all the way. He knows my soul needs rest and refreshment before I could embark on anything new. Sometimes the new thing would spring up quite fast like the new assignment on writing the topical sharing. But other times like after completing my last assignment, it has been almost one month yet I still didn't see anything new coming up.

I was getting a bit restless from all that waiting. I was wondering what could be coming up for me for the rest of the year. I haven't gotten the go-ahead to write my fourth book or to start a women's support group. Things have been pretty slow with regards to my writing ministry after I published my second ebook in Apr. I couldn't foresee anything upcoming yet. I felt like I have been on this standby mode for more than a month and I nearly couldn't take it anymore. I know I would activated soon but I still don't know when. When's my next assignment coming up?

Some people thrived on this type of uncertainty and haziness but not me. They loved the flexibility and the spontaneity of their lives. They didn't like to be tied down to a long term commitment. They didn't mind not knowing what the future holds. Not me. The structured and disciplined nature within me almost couldn't handle this kind of uncertainty. In fact, I wondered how I have managed to survive for the past 4.5 years living like this. Not knowing what my next assignment would be, when it would come and how it would end. Not having the security of knowing how my year would pan out.

Oh well, the good thing is I have learnt to rely on God more and be more patient to wait upon Him. And He sometimes arranged for sweet surprises along the way. But I still cannot say that I embrace this kind of life even after these years. The only security I have is I know Who holds my hand and He has gone before me to prepare the way for me. Maybe that is all I needed to know. My steps are guided by the Lord. My future may be hidden from me now but it is clear to God.

EXERCISING OUR DOMINION

Yesterday Pastor Prince preached a powerful sermon. It was such a revelation for me. He preached about the seven seals in Revelations 5. It wasn't a good thing that the scroll was sealed. It has to be opened and the only One who is worthy to open the seals is Jesus. It is a scroll of redemption. Each seal has a bad and evil teaching over our life. Jesus has already redeemed our lives by payment of His blood and the finished work at the cross. This is redemption by payment.

But the devil is a squatter on earth. Even though he is already defeated and has to give up the property he illegally occupied, he refused to. Revelation 5-7 is talking about God redeeming this earth by His power. These chapters are not referring to the tribulation that the church will go through. By then we would have been raptured. We would be in heaven watching Jesus open the seals. The purpose of opening the seals was to evict the devil from possessing this earth. To force him to leave. 

Pastor then mentioned about how sometimes we partake holy communion and the lying symptoms leave our bodies rather quickly. But other times we have to keep standing on this truth that Jesus has redeemed us from sickness and disease. We have to exercise the authority the Jesus gave to us to command the harassing spirit, the spirit of depression to leave our body in Jesus' name. Even if healing doesn't manifest soon enough, we got to stand firm in our faith and keep rejecting the sickness in Jesus' name. 

After some time, the lying symptoms would have to leave because God's word always promises victory. The devil has no power nor the resources to hold an attack for long. He is no match for God. This is like redemption by power. We have to decide to possess our rightful inheritance no matter what it takes. God has given us the victory, all He wants is for us to tread upon every place of the Promised Land (Joshua 1:3).

Not only that we believers should also rise up to our position as co-heirs with Christ. Romans 8:19 says 'All creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.' Creation is groaning for the manifestation of sons of God. In the light of accelerated occurrences of natural and man made disasters, the church has been given the authority to pray against such calamities. But many of us couldn't believe that our prayers would be answered by God, not to mention to exercise our authority. We ask God to open our eyes to see clearly. 

CONTINUAL GROANING IN THE SPIRIT

I just read a chapter of a book in the library and I was so ministered by it. The author talked about this lady who is happily married to a believer, has three beautiful kids, lives in a beautiful farmhouse, has a close group of women fellowship, serves in church and is well off financially. She seems to be very contented and grateful in life. She enjoyed those play dates when she would interact with other mums like her in her neighbourhood. All seems well and good except for one thing, she isn't really growing in her relationship with the Lord.

The author said her happiness is built upon the fulfilment of the things she wanted for her little kingdom. She is glad to see that she is able to fulfil her dreams and desires easily. Everything in her life seems to be going her way, well under control. She doesn't have much challenges in her simple and contented life. She is thankful to God for a nice hubby, beautiful kids and her life as it is. But it never crossed her mind to desire or want more.

Her life is limited by the size of her life and her expectations. Her close female friends are happy to talk about everything under the sun like weather, politics, activities, recipes, how the kids are doing etc. But they don't go deeper into the things of God. Of course there is nothing wrong with such things but if they impede us from growing in the Lord, then it isn't good. Sometimes the very thing we hated like our weakness or challenge or frustration is the thing that drives us to God. It became a very good thing in His hands, when we surrender it to Him.

Obviously she isn't one of those who is groaning in her spirit, always waiting for dreams and desires to be fulfilled in her life, who travails like a woman heavily pregnant and about to give birth. She might not know what it means to wait upon the Lord for His timing when she seemed to have no problem fulfilling her own desires and needs. She wouldn't have struggled in such areas of heartaches and pains, of hopes deferred. She couldn't relate in areas where one has to press on for the goal set before us. The problem with her is she is too easily contented.

Is her life considered joyful and happy? On the surface yes but it could be dangerous because if her happiness is predicated on external things then it could easily be shaken. All it takes is a bad thing to happen to her family and she will be devastated. Of course the Lord will still turn all things for her good but sometimes it may take certain shaking in our lives to realise that there is a bigger dream for our lives than what we think we want or need.

Have you seen such believers in your life? I have and there are many of such examples. I don't know is it because of the calling and purpose of their lives or they chose to think of life in that way. One sister used to tell me that if having a great calling in her life meant great trials and tribulations, then she rather not have it. She would rather pray to ask God for a simple, uneventful but peaceful life. She wanted her life to be smooth sailing. But is that even a prayer that God will honour? I really don't know. After all we cannot choose our calling right? It's all by His grace.

But of course we can say we don't want His calling. We want our lives to be led in our ways. Sure, God will not force anything on us but does it mean that this will exempt us from all the trials, challenges and difficulties in our lives? Absolutely not! Wake up and smell the roses! We live in a fallen world. By the mere fact that we are made in the image of God, we are already in a war with the devil. Plus the fact that we are saved. Do you think the devil will just leave us alone? I don't mean it to sound scary but these are things that are out of our control. The only place that is really safe is in the refuge of His wings.

The only way out of this challenges is not by avoiding them but by facing them headlong and overcoming them with God's strength. We cannot be running away from problems all our lives. This is not how God wants us to live. He has given us His power and authority and we are to take dominion of this earth. The devil won't have mercy on us, make no mistake about that. Remember that he hates us as he hated God. Only God loves us and is long-suffering towards us. He is the only One who always longs to do good to us, not harm us.

HOLY DISCONTENT

Have you ever been in a place when you received the fulfilment of your dreams and desires yet deep down you are still not truly contented? Don't get me wrong. We should always be thankful and grateful to God for answering our prayers. It is indeed a very joyous thing for John 16:24 says 'Ask and you shall receive and your joy shall be full.' Especially when the desire of your heart came after a long journey of waiting and pressing through. And all this while, your attention, your overriding concern and focus has been the manifestation of this dream. But yet when this dream finally came to pass, you realised that it was so much more the Lord has given you, other than the fulfilment of this dream. In other words, it wasn't just about this dream. It was more than this dream.

Sometimes I feel that we spend so much time on this side of the Red Sea, this side of Jordan that we couldn't visualise how it would be like on the other side of victory. After all we have so much struggles, resistance, attacks and battles to fight on this side of waiting and the other side of victory seems so distant, so surreal. We may think to ourselves: we will figure out what to do after we get over to the victory side. But first, let me deal with the present and pressing issues right now. Sometimes we act as if we don't even know if we will ever cross over to the other side as we are already so inundated with problems here. 

But the truth is, if you are tuned to God's Spirit, in the midst of your valley, you will hear His still small voice telling you to prepare at some point. To prepare yourself for victory for one day it will surely come. It may come suddenly, and when that moment happens, you are instantly translated to the other side of Jordan. Indeed when God moves, things happen really fast. If you are not well prepared, you may not be able to catch up with what He is doing in your life. This isn't a thing that is even real to me but it is real to God. He knows and He has gone before us to prepare the way for us.

Sometimes that moment happens in a flash leaving you clueless as to how to proceed next. After all, you have been living your life focused on this one goal all these years. That moment of glory of crossing the finish line might be exhilarating but it couldn't be compared to those years of preparation for this moment. Sometimes it was after a significant victory was wrought that one felt lost in the aftermath. So what's next? What is the next dream God is putting in my heart? God may need to give us some time to enjoy this victory before showing us His plans or putting the next big dream in our hearts. To celebrate the joy of completing this journey. It's a significant milestone so He may want you to set up memorials to commemorate this victory. 

But as you may already noticed, nothing in this world can satisfy. Yes, having a desire fulfilled in the area of a life partner, having children, a career, ministry or possessions is a very good thing. God has given us these blessings to enjoy, yet He wants us to know that such things can never truly satisfy our souls. After a while, as life goes on, we may forget the initial euphoria as the mundaneness of life kicked in and we have to deal with certain challenges concerning our answered prayers. You will not notice this in your pursuit of your dream or on the journey of waiting for a desire to come to pass. It will be only in the aftermath of God fulfilling your dream that you feel this. 

You may wonder what is wrong with me, why am I feeling this way when I should be rejoicing over what God has done for me. It isn't that you are ungrateful or not contented with your answered prayers. It's just that you crave for more, you crave for something deeper, something bigger than your needs and desires. Something bigger than your life. You feel a holy discontent. No matter how far you have walked with God, you still find that there is a lot more to grow in your relationship with Him. 

In this case there is no destination in our spiritual growth, just an ongoing process until we see Jesus face to face. Yes there will be significant milestones to mark your progress and growth but no end point. On this side of heaven, we will be forever be in the process of being transformed to be more Christlike. I don't usually like processes, I enjoy the endpoint, the results more. But in this case, I am happy that this process is ongoing and we are continually growing in the Lord. 

THE HUMAN WILL

I just wanted to share an excerpt from my ebook 'Flowing in the Spirit in Healing and Deliverance'. It was something I learnt about the human will.

In 2014, I felt like I received so many important revelations. Things that the Lord taught me about His will and the human will, through a series of life and death events where the rubber met the road. I also learnt how to listen and respond to the Spirit's prompting. Then I left the results to the Lord. I learnt to wait upon Him for the perfect timing because that would yield the best results.

I also learnt to submit my own will and idiosyncrasies to God’s will. I learnt how to pray according to that person's will. It was a hurdle I couldn't get pass, praying for someone to let go of this life and be with the Lord in heaven. It went against the grain of my call to the healing ministry. But I have learnt that not everyone wants to be healed as some really wished to go home to be with Jesus. This is where the rubber meets the road because as much as I wanted healing for them, as much as The Lord wanted healing for them, God will not supersede their will, so how can I go against it? I have learnt to humble myself to agree in prayer with them and not be affected by what I believe. I tell myself that after all I am just a vessel to be used by God. I am there to manifest His grace and His love.

Once again I learnt that in cases of sickness, it was best if these people could receive healing sooner because the longer the sickness dragged, the bigger the stronghold. They would reach a stage where they would get so disillusioned with God because they could not see any progress. Then they would slowly give up hope and start asking God to take them home. When that happened, it would be much tougher, though not impossible to speak faith into them. Of course nothing is impossible with God but if we already knew how things would turn out, why blame God for not healing them in the first place? God’s will is always for them to be healed. But after speaking faith to them, if they still insisted on going home to be with the Lord, then I would pray accordingly.

I also learnt through the passage of time, that no matter how difficult or heart wrenching the outcome was at that point, God would always turn all things around for the good of the family. He would always heal the broken hearted and bind up their wounds. Some people made peace with themselves saying that even though they knew. Yet I know that was not God’s best for them. Psalms 91:16 says ‘With long life shall I satisfy him and show him My salvation.’ God’s plan is for us to live long lives and to show us His salvation, who is Jesus. I believe there is no such thing as an appointed time to die. It is really up to us, whether we are satisfied with our lives here. For some people, they feel that their life’s work is completed and so they are ready to meet the Lord face to face. But for most of us remaining on earth, I believe our life’s work is not yet completed.

God has an inheritance for all His children on this earth and He wants us to possess the inheritance paid for by Jesus. There is nothing wrong with wanting to go back home to be with The Lord but if everyone does that, who will be staying to do His will on earth? Who will be here to possess the inheritance God has given us? Pastor Prince always says you are of no earthly good once you reach heaven. There’s no turning back, it's a one-way trip. I understand that not everyone wants to possess an inheritance here. They are just happy to be saved and go to heaven. They don't know or don't care about God's will for their lives here and they don't understand about divine destiny. Well, God still loves them and blesses their lives but they cannot be used mightily by Him.

REVIEW OF THIS YEAR'S MESSAGES

I was reviewing the messages and sermons I watched from Jan to Mar and I just like to highlight what I have learnt. For those who have waited for many years, wondering why your miracle couldn't arrive any sooner, know that your miracle could only happen in that moment, not anytime sooner. Your miracle is scheduled for that appointed time. But when your miracle comes, it will be an explosive testimony. It will leave a legacy of faith for all who hear it. Just like Abraham and Sarah, just like the man paralysed for 38 years. Step up to a new level of your destiny! This year, God will give you something to talk about. He's going to make you an example of His goodness. You have not seen anything yet!

Jubilee season is also about restoration, a returning of possessions and each one returning to his family. At the start of the year, Pastor Joel was saying that there are blessings that have your name stored up for you right now. This year, your blessings will be coming to look for you. God has destined for it to be yours! He's about to release those blessings stored up. It's going to happen suddenly, unexpectedly, out of the ordinary. No one can hold you hostage in a Jubilee season because a breakthrough has occurred. It's a year of celebration. When you come to a year of Jubilee, you have gone through enough tears and hardship. It's a time when the trumpet of victory will be sounded and you proclaim victory.

What happens after restoration is acceleration. A time of the outpouring of the Spirit as in Joel 2:28 'And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.' This is a season of celebration and acceleration. Sometimes we got lost in the routines of life. God will interrupt your routine so as to bring destiny. He will do it suddenly. God has to start unlocking doors because it is the year of Jubilee. God will send one word that will change your life. You won't see it coming at first but God has already set everything in motion.

There is a shift coming and you feel like you are on the edge of something mega and crazy. You are expecting something and maybe it will happen tomorrow. There's a shift and it's making things uncomfortable. Tension. Stirring and unrest on the inside. Something has to shift and it has to shift now. God is about to shift you into destiny. Destiny is an event that will necessarily happen to a person. When the shift occurs, we move with God, we move with the glory cloud. This process of shaking was meant to hide you and protect you. To shake off things that held you hostage. What was in you was the power of the Holy Spirit. When you are released from that bondage, everyone around you also breaks free.

I was also impressed upon a concept I read in end 2010. The writer was saying that just as in flying a plane, you can't fly wherever you want to, it is the same in the spirit realm. In the natural you got to wait for the control tower to say you are cleared to fly for 10,000 ft then 20,000 ft, then 40,000 ft. Faith is obeying God. You must wait till you have got clearance to climb to higher spiritual altitudes. You know when you are cleared in your spirit. When you have the spirit of faith, you know how your faith works. If you have already exercised your faith and yet something is troubling you, you better stay at 20,000 ft until something inside of you, the Holy Spirit says that you are cleared for 40,000 ft. When He says you are, just pull the throttle back and let your faith grow.

I believe God is also preparing you to go up another level of your destiny. If you would reflect upon what He said to you this year, you will not miss what He is doing in your life. You got to get ready for when that moment comes, it will come very quickly. You have to be prepared to move with God when He comes to shift things. It may be uncomfortable but know that it is only temporary. When the shift is completed, you wouldn't even want to look back. Very soon you will be operating in a new dimension of your faith, another level of your destiny. Your moment of breakthrough is coming. God is visiting you with a fresh anointing of His power. And your life will never be the same again, after that encounter with the Most High God. 

SINGAPORE'S GOLDEN JUBILEE

Yesterday on 9 Aug, we celebrated our nation's 50th birthday. Because of this we had a four-day holiday over the weekend. The government has also lined up many activities that offer free entrance over the long weekend. There were free bus and mass rapid transit rides yesterday to commemorate this great day of celebration. Because it was a Sunday, we also went to church. I was telling Heng what a wonderful way to celebrate National Day with brothers and sisters-in-Christ.

It was Pastor Lian who preached yesterday. It was a powerful sermon. Somehow the atmosphere was different during this day. It could be due to the fact that it was our Golden Jubilee, our nation's 50th birthday. It was a momentous time in history. We watched a video clip of how our then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew read out the declaration on Singapore's independence in 1965. We also sang our national anthem. I felt so patriotic while watching the video and I really thanked the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew and many other pioneers who made Singapore to be the nation we are today. We must never take our success for granted.

Pastor Lian also said that God has chosen our nation to be blessed, quoting a prophecy given about our country many years ago. About how Singapore would be the epic centre, the Antioch of Asia. In the bible, Antioch was the city from which Paul and Barnabas were sent out to be missionaries in the region. In like manner, Singapore will be the epic centre where the gospel of grace will go out to the four corners of the world. Isn't this what is happening now with Pastor Prince preaching this gospel of grace to the entire world? 

At one point she mentioned about the significance of Jubilee. About the 50th year of liberation for the Jews, quoting Leviticus 25:8-10. Jubilee is the proclamation that frees you from every bondage. The year of restoration when property is to be returned to you, the year you are set free to return to your family. I find it interesting that our country's jubilee also coincides with the Jews' Jubilee this year (5776). Their Rosh Hashanah will happen on 13 Sep 2015. I was reminded of how the Observer in a science fiction drama 'Fringe' would appear at significant points in history to mark or record them. I mean how often does Jubilee happen? Only once in 50 years.

Leviticus 5:9-10 says 'Then you shall cause the trumpet of Jubilee to sound on the 10th day of the 7th month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the 50th year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.' 

Pastor Lian said Jesus already came to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. He is our Jubilee, our freedom, our restoration. Jubilee starts with a proclamation of freedom. When you shout out your victory, Jubilee happens. Meanwhile you rest until restoration happens in your life. She then talked about how Joshua and the Israelites circled the tower of Jericho for seven days and in the seventh day, after the seventh round, Joshua said 'Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!' At his command, they shouted and saw the walls of Jericho came tumbling down. In those seven days of marching around, they continued to rest in the Lord though nothing was happening in the natural.

She even arranged for someone to blow the ram's horn after her sermon and she urged us to give a loud shout for whatever we have been believing God for. The sounding of the trumpet is a victory call and it also signified the beginning of our Jubilee. There was a testimony from a lady in the earlier service who shouted out her victory and immediately received her manifestation. Praise the Lord! The presence of the Lord was really strong in the church yesterday. It was a significant day for me too. 

TIME IS NEEDED

Yesterday I was reading Journals of the Heart and it said: Ask and it will be given liberally but you must take the time to wait on Me…time to listen. Some things come instantly but some require patience and a willingness to spend time with Me. In fact, some things do not come without time. After all, I am not a genie in a bottle. What I desire is relationship and the more you get to know Me the more you will know…the more wisdom you will have. I guess you could say, “Time equals wisdom and wisdom equals time.” Ask for wisdom today for the decisions you need to make and I will give it liberally.

I totally agree. In ministering to people, I observed that while some things could come instantly like healing and financial miracles, there are some things which require patience and time. For example, the renewal of mind and building a relationship with God takes time. And especially when it comes to changing of people's heart, you really got to give it time for God to work on them. I have found that in area of relationships like waiting for a life partner, such things don't usually happen instantly after you ask God. That's because another person's will is involved. You may be ready for marriage but your other half may not. So you have to be patient to let God work in your partner's heart.

Another area which people have to wait is for a child. Somehow I find that more often than not, many prayers for a child do not come instantly. Maybe I am wrong but this is what I observe from people around me. Anyway this isn't anything strange for there was a famous precedence set in the bible about Abraham waiting for his promised child. Romans 4:20 says that Abraham was strengthened in his faith as he held on to the promises of God. Victoria Osteen's blog said that even Abraham, the father of our faith, had to wait many years to see the promises of God fulfilled. But he didn't give up or shrink back. He didn't understand it all but he held on to the promises and supernaturally became stronger.

God doesn't want us to become weaker while we are waiting on Him. He doesn't want us to be worn out and exhausted wondering when He is going to come through for us. No, He wants us to become stronger. He wants us to be empowered through Him, however, we have to make the choice to wait the right way. When we wait the right way by holding on to the promises of God, we are strengthened and secure in faith. How do we hold on to the promises? By meditating on them; by speaking them; by thanking God for them; by reading and declaring the scriptures.

When I was waiting to conceive Joshua, I used to hate seeing Isaiah 40:31 'Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall soar like wings on eagles. They shall run but not be weary. They shall walk but not be faint.' I didn't like to wait so I hated verses that tell me to wait. But this verse is not about waiting for your promise to come to pass. This verse is about waiting upon the Lord. It's regardless of whether a promise has come to pass in your life. Most of the time we need to learn to wait upon the Lord for instructions in our life, when to take our next step etc.

On first reading I always felt that this verse is contradictory. Most people would agree with me that waiting almost always wears people out. Just like running a marathon. You can start off fresh and energetic but as the years go by, you lose your strength, your passion and energy. There will come a point when you wonder if you will ever reach the finish line. This usually occurs when you are super tired and all ready to call it quits. You feel like you cannot wait any more, cannot continue pressing forward towards the goal. You cry out to the Lord for help...

The Lord is so gracious. He will carry you and give you the strength to continue. You will find some rest and refreshment when you run to Him. This will always provide you with the renewed passion and fire to get back in the race. In my journey of waiting, I discovered that as I held on to the promises, I became supernaturally stronger. I don't know how it happened. It has to be God. In the natural, I should be weary and worn out from the years of waiting, plus all the perils of the journey like heartaches, disappointments, taunting by the enemy, spiritual resistance and attacks etc.

However at some point I swung to the other extreme. From hating to wait for my promise, I became so used to and comfortable with waiting. I felt like I could wait forever. My attitude changed from that of urgency to nonchalance. This also wasn't good because it meant I was getting lodged into the waiting mode when it was time for me to move on. I even became confused wondering if I had reached my destination. Just like how Abraham thought Ishmael was the promised child.

It wasn't downright rebellion to what God has told me to do. It was just that during the long journey of waiting, one could be sidetracked and go off course. One could easily be confused about the initial plan God has. After all there were just too many distractions along the way and one could lose focus of the goal. Some people could decide that the journey was too hard or too painful to continue so they made a conscious decision to settle where they were. It might not be God's best for them but they decided that it was good enough.

God had to shake me out of my comfort zone of waiting and repeatedly tell me that it was time to move on from that mountain for I had circled it long enough. He came to renew that promise to me and made clear His plan. It was after His visitation that I became empowered and strengthened. He caused me to set my face like flint upon that finish line and encouraged me that it was the last lap. Very soon I will be holding my promise in my arms. At this point, I felt the strength came back to me. The Lord restored my strength and renewed my youth. Surprisingly, I found myself stronger spiritually and physically as I waited upon the Lord, assured that I would surely complete the race and cross the finish line. And the rest was history.

WHY CIRCLE THE TOWER OF JERICHO SEVEN DAYS

The other day Heng and I were just talking about the tower of Jericho in Joshua 6:1-20 and why God specifically told the Israelites to circle the tower for seven days and on the seventh day, to circle it seven times. I got curious and searched the Internet for some clues. I found this message which I think will bless you too.

Seven is a significant number in Scripture: (a) It signifies perfection or completion which reminds us that God’s plan, no matter how silly it may seem to us, is always perfect and cannot be improved upon by man. (b) Further, the number seven shows that the conquest was part of a spiritual exercise or process designed to set the people apart (sanctify them) for the Lord as a holy people who belong to a holy God. (c) Because of the significance of the number seven to creation and the Sabbath and the fact they were entering into their inheritance, it undoubtedly signified the beginning of a new order and the promised land as a picture of the believer’s rest in the Lord (see Heb 4:9).

Before Joshua 6, God gave instructions to prepare the people to believe and obey Him. Israel had been prepared to trust the Lord by the events of the first chapters and their consecration to the Lord, especially in Joshua 5. Luke 16:10 says “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” Spiritual preparation is critical to our ability to appropriate God’s strength in exchange for our weakness.

Joshua’s command in verse 10, “You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard, nor let a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you, ‘Shout!’” shows the people must have understood God’s plan would involve more than one day. Yet, a careful reading of the text also suggests Joshua did not unfold the entire plan at the first, but day by day gave them instructions. Each day they would go out and march silently around the city and then return with nothing happening. The walls were still standing and Jericho had not surrendered. Yet, they did not murmur or complain or question Joshua’s instructions. They simply obeyed day after day until the seventh day when they marched around the city seven times.

The passage does not tell us why they could not talk, but perhaps it teaches the principle of being silent before God and just resting in Him. Does any passage come to mind? What about Exodus 14:14 “The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” Then there is Psalm 46:10 which reads: “Be still, and know that I am God” As this Psalm suggests, the silence teaches us the need to get quiet, to stop our running around that we may rest quietly in Him as we think on Him in the midst of our trials and conquests in life. Maybe God also didn't want the Israelites to nullify the victory when they opened their mouths to complain or say negative things. Our tendency is to complain to others or seek our comfort from people more than we talk to God and seek our comfort from Him.

Regardless how unusual the plan was or how hard it was to carry out, there was explicit obedience. We read in Hebrews 11:30 “by faith the walls of Jericho fell down …” In spite of the taunts that were perhaps hurled down at them from the walls as they marched silently around Jericho, the Israelites were willing to look foolish and simply rest in the Lord. He alone was their source of strength. He alone was their help.

At the command of Joshua, they gave the great shout and the walls came tumbling down by the mighty hand of God. Is it not significant that Hebrews 11:30 which says, “by faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been circled seven days,” is followed in the next chapter, 12:1-2, with a charge to run the race set before us with endurance by looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith? This reminds us that the Lord often works slowly. We want immediate deliverance, but the Lord often tests our faith and in the process builds our character and our relationship with Him so we find the Lord to be what we really need. Surely, the Lord was teaching us the need to wait patiently to find our rest in Him.

APPLE OF GOD'S EYE

I have heard this phrase being mentioned many times in different devotionals but I have never fully understood what this means. It was only recently when certain things happened in my family and Heng's family that I gained a better understanding. I saw what happened when the child was the apple of the parent's eye.

Firstly the parent will always have a good opinion of that child. No matter what he does, the parent will always jump to his defence. The parent sees the heart of that child as good, though his behaviour isn't all together good. This is how God sees us too. He doesn't judge us by our behaviour but He sees us through the lens of Jesus' finished work. He sees our heart and how we are righteous in Christ. Another thing is when that favoured child does a small thing for the parent, the parent will be elated and boast of it like a big thing. Similarly, when we do things for the Lord, though He doesn't expect us to, He will be very pleased. He loves it when we respond to His love. 

Secondly, the parent will want the best for that child. Even though all parents would want the best for all their kids, above all, they seek the wellbeing of that child who is the apple of his eye. The parent will be keenly aware of the nuances in mood or expression of that child and seek to do things to make him happy. The parent will be very happy when good things happen to that child, more so than his other children. God is also like that. He is very interested in our happiness and well-being. He cares about the little things that bother us, not just the big things. And He often seeks to alleviate our suffering and intervenes to cheer us up. 

On the flip side, that child would have the potential to cause the greatest heartache on the parent, as much as his ability to bring joy. I saw how sometimes how the hearts of the parents ached over a wayward child or a child who was worse off than his siblings. The parent would again do all they could to help that child, even at their own expense. They would not consider this as a sacrifice but something they had to do, as if they owed it to the child. God doesn't owe us anything, in fact we are the ones who transgressed against Him first. We owe Him a love debt that we could never repay. 

In conclusion, the child who is the apple of the parent's eye is really in a very favourable position. He is able to tug at the heartstrings of the parent in ways other children couldn't, make the parent accede to his requests. He will always have a special place in the heart of the parent. The parent will always think of his interests above his siblings. Even though the parent tried to be fair to all the kids and love them equally, there will be this particular one who can tug at his heartstrings. The parent may not admit that it is true but such things do happen.

And it seems like there is no particular reason for a parent to be drawn to that particular child. It has nothing to do with the child or his performance but everything to do with the parent. Doesn't this sound like grace? Isn't this how God favours us? In and of ourselves, there really isn't anything lovely or attractive to our Father. Yet He still loves us so dearly. This shows that it is never about us but always about our Father. He is always the one who takes the initiative to draw us to Him.

Pastor Prince said that God loves all His children equally and does not practice favouritism but He likes to hang out with some of His children more than others. They make Him feel comfortable. Their presence pleased the Lord. I don't know about you but I like to think of myself as the apple of His eye as the bible tells me. I am convinced that I am the apple of my Abba's eyes. So are you, beloved! Believe God when He tells you that you are the apple of His eye. And experience His blessings in this most favoured position!