TENANCY ISSUE FINALLY SETTLED!

Praise the Lord for on 2 June the tenant finally signed the tenancy agreement! Since 20 Mar, our rental flat has been vacant. We have been waiting for more than two months for God to bring us the right tenant at the price we desire. Our previous Property Agent has been telling us that the rental market was very bad and there were many flats waiting to be rented out. Supply far outstripped demand so it has become a tenant market instead of landlord calling the shots.

We had been waiting and praying for God to send us a breakthrough in this area. It wasn't that we didn't have any offers but they were really low. If we accepted those offers, it would be like 'spoiling the market' and causing a new low in our region. I prayed and sought the Lord about it as I was willing to compromise and take the low offers in an attempt to close this issue and stop the waiting. After all we were incurring opportunity costs in the form of no rental income for these few months. 

But Heng wasn't comfortable with taking the low offers so we couldn't proceed. I also didn't have the peace but I didn't know what was the hold-up. All I knew was God wanted the best deal for us and He didn't want me to compromise despite the bad rental market. Well, after waiting for almost two months, we felt prompted to let another new agent market our unit. Initially we hesitated because this agent had served us since Jul 2010 and we wanted her to earn the rental commission. Yet somehow she wasn't really able to close a deal this time round. 

Besides this is our seventh year of flat rental and we have entered into a new season. He is doing new things and He wanted us to be open. This caused me to wonder if God may want us to engage a new agent to help market our unit. But we didn't know who and when. So we just did nothing and waited. What happened next was really His hand at work. My mum had her agent to rent out her room so she spoke to this agent about my situation. My mum asked her if she could help and she agreed. So my mum recommended us to this new agent. Both Heng and I prayed about it and agreed to let her have a try. We had the peace to proceed.

Well, in about two weeks' time, this new agent managed to close a deal for us at a price higher than we expected. Not only that the rental profile was good. This tenant worked as a professional and had a family of three. It was this agent's first viewing. I told Heng that this agent was a godsend angel to us. She was really so encouraging and acted in my interest. God sent her to do good to me. I was reminded of how God also sent this sister in our previous church to convince us to take the vitamins to help me conceive in 2005. I was resistant for a year but she didn't give up. Not only that she helped us to carry the heavy bag of vitamins to bring to us in church. I mean she didn't have to do that but she did. She had the heart to help me conceive. I was really grateful to her and I felt so loved by my Abba Father.

Pastor Prince said that when God wants to bless us, He will send a person. Indeed one of the ways we experience His goodness is through people. That was why when God sent us this person in mid May and prompted us to change a new agent, I knew God had His eye on this issue and wanted to close it soon. Even though there was a time lapse of two weeks, I had to keep reminding myself to give Him some time for He was working behind the scenes. Just rest in Him and don't get into works. Meanwhile I was to worship and praise Him for the completion of the rental issue. Changes were set into motion once we appointed this agent.

Yes I must admit that I was tempted to be moved from my position of rest when I saw that nothing was happening initially. I was getting impatient and weary. But I had to focus on what God told me and find encouragement in His word. I had to trust Him. Besides what can I do if He didn't move? I have done all I could and the ball was in His court. But God is so good. He told me to change my mental picture as I began to get discouraged after waiting and seeing no breakthrough in the rental issue. I started thinking of the worst scenario and feared of more delays. This thinking did not help because it was not a positive expectation of good things to come. It would make me feel more drained.

I was also prompted to start praising God. Praise and worship really changed my perspective too. God told me I should be rejoicing because I have finished the race, completed the training, passed the test. This was more important to Him that the breakthroughs I was desperately seeking Him for. It was because once I passed the test, there would be no limit as to how high He could bring me to in my next season. He showed me He was so pleased with the completion of this journey. He was even excited at my future. I could sense His excitement…so interesting.

In one of the worship sessions, I also began to see how these issues I had been waiting for a breakthrough were already a finished work in His eyes. I began to see that God was already looking at a much farther future of our family when I was concerned about these immediate issues. It was then that I realised this was a done deal so I didn't even have to worry about it coming to pass. Worship put my heart at ease knowing that God was working on my situation and what I thought was very difficult could change in a moment with a touch of His favour.