SENSING OF 2022

Blessed 2022 to all! I had been battling with some things in the last few months hence had not been posting. As I was just reviewing my journals and the posts for the past week. I realised that God was trying to tell me after I had been through the fire and water, He is bringing me to a wealthy place. I have been impressed upon this verse about seeing the goodness of God in the land of the living in Jan but along the way with all the assaults, I forgot about it. It was only recently, especially in Dec that the Lord brought this verse to my remembrance. Although it still didn’t see like I had seen much of God’s goodness in the natural, the hope is that I would see more of His goodness before this year ends. 

(When I did the review of 2021, I finally saw the goodness of God. I was blown away because there was so much the Lord did for us this year. More than anything else, the greatest work was inside us. How He changed us, fortified us and sustained us in spite of the opposition and persecution. He has done such a marvellous work of cutting off all bondages in our lives. Bringing us to a place where we can be fearless in Christ. To see His hand at work despite all the evil in the world. To find hope where others see no way out.

 

Though the trials were uncomfortable and we didn’t like it, we made it through by His grace. We didn’t perish in the fire. What didn’t kill us would only make us stronger. God burnt away the ropes of captivity in the fire, gave us true freedom. We had a taste of persecution so we would know how to navigate it in the future. We also testify to God being our provider. How He came through for us when we most needed Him to. Nowadays I can hear His voice more easily, His instructions gave me the courage to move on.)

 

Well it didn’t occur to me that as I was talking about going through the fire and water, the fiery furnace like the Hebrew teenagers, until one of our pastors also preached on this on 19 Dec. And this month the Lord began to talk to me about the wealthy place He is bringing us in 2022. Even though things still seemed dire in the natural, my spirit was stirred up and excited when I caught a glimpse of this wealthy place. The transfer of wealth will begin next year and will accelerate. I had gotten a forecast of this transfer in the past two years but more is to come. 

 

I still didn’t know exactly how God prospered us in the past two years because my focus wasn’t on it. Especially this year, the attacks were mainly in our health. From the recent messages, it seemed like the season of fighting and contending was finally over as we chased out the giants and possessed our land. So the next assignment is to start building. There was a time and season to fight and conquer, but now is the time to build. Exactly what we are building I am still not very sure but God will download the blueprints in the days ahead. 

 

My sense for next year is that it would be a more stable year, less of the roller coaster ups and downs we encountered this year. Either the circumstances would have changed next year or we have changed. Indeed the end of the season has come and we are entering into a new era. There has been much letting go of the past and putting the house in order. To make way for the new things. As the Lord heals our battle wounds and refreshes us before the new year begins, He is also causing us to hope and dream again. 

 

He is raising our expectancy of all the good things we can’t even imagine in 2022. Yes there will be a payback from the enemy. It is a season of great restoration. And there will also be many promises fulfilled. Long awaited promises. Hence it is the time to get my hopes up and press in. Don’t give up or give in. For in just a very little while my long-awaited promise will manifest. After I turned the corner around last Christmas. 

 

The reason for my confidence this time round is based on what God told me: I am coming out of my 13-year wilderness. I have passed the faith test. I have done whatever I knew to do. I have finished the race. I have closed the chapter of waiting. Now what awaits me is the manifestation. This is my reward for being faithful to His promise all these years. God is not a man that He should lie or change His mind.

So yes, I can look forward to the new year with hope because I have already come to the end of the old season. The old has passed away and the new has finally come. No matter how long the journey has been, I had walked to the end of it. During those years of waiting, I used to wonder many times if I could ever make it to the finish line, whether I would be able to endure to the end. Now I know that I have indeed crossed the finish line. There has been a dying, a death of sorts. Passing away of the old season and a part of me died along with it. Yet out of the death comes resurrection life.

As I sought the Lord for His plan in 2022, I began to see how wealth transfer is a recurrent theme. And God bringing us to a wealthy place next year. I still don’t know how things are going to pan out but God is going to bump us up to the next level of prosperity. Where we would not be able to achieve by our own strength. And people will look at us and wonder how we even manage to get there. So yes, financial blessings are going to play a big part in 2022. The other sensing is that 2022 is going to be a year of new beginning hence the restoration of God will take place. 

 

When God restores, it is always better in quality or quantity. So whatever the enemy stole from us in the past two years, God will make him repay us sevenfold. Our family will be very healthy next year because the enemy stole from our health this year. 2022 will also be a year of promises fulfilled where I will see that I hadn't heard God wrongly all these years and that His word really came to pass. 

 

Which was why the warfare was so fierce leading up to the crossover into 2022 because of all the pent-up and delayed blessings in the past decade. The dam was breaking. The walls are crumbling. This time the breakthrough is going to be so huge which was why the enemy was desperately trying to distract us. 2022 will be a repayment of all that I suffered in the 13-year journey. Pursue and overtake, recover all. A restoration of all the shame and pain that I went through. 

 

God will give me double honour for my shame. It will also be a year of launching into my divine destiny. Finally the year that Joseph got called to the palace. I will begin to see that all the preparation and training in the past decade didn’t go to waste. It was to prepare me for such a time like this. There will also be many open doors of opportunities. Be it my personal ministry or Joseph ministry. Hopes deferred will also be broken. An avalanche of blessings will be seen. 

There will also be much freedom in 2022 as all the restrictions would be removed when God cause the pandemic to end and the virus to fade away. Yes 2022 will be a very good year which is why God is so excited and He kept telling me to rejoice and celebrate now. If only you knew what is in store for you, you will not be discouraged or lose hope. You will rejoice now. 

Main themes for 2022:

• Year of giving birth to new things (John 16:21), sorrow turned into great joy
• Acceleration, things moving fast all at once (Amos 9:13)
• This is when harvest time comes, hundredfold return (Mark 4:20)
• Avalanche of blessings began, floodgates of heaven open over us (Acts 10:11)
• Time of restoration and repayment (Joel 2:25)
• Good days ahead because we have been through the fire and water, enemy overplayed his hand (Psalm 66:12)

 

MY BLOG IS 11 YEARS OLD

Today I was wondering about the significance of 14 Oct but I could not recall what day it was. Then a precious sister in Christ sent me an email to wish me blessed 11th anniversary of my blog. So sweet of her! God must have sent her to encourage me. And to remind me that I haven’t been blogging for the past four months. So many things happened in between. It would take some time to unpack them. Well, I am reminded to give thanks to the Lord for what He has brought me through. 

Firstly I thank God that the process of healing my soul wounds had been finally completed. There is a certain release and cutting off incumbrance so that I could move on to a new season. There was a freedom or liberty in Christ. I was just saying that from Feb this year, my wilderness journey came to an end. The past four months were actually times of transition. I had to cross my Jordan for the final time this July. And I thank God that I finally crossed my Jordan after so many years of missing it. 

Secondly I am grateful to the Lord for causing me to overcome certain adverse circumstances in my life in Aug. It was an ordeal that our family went through which I would share in time to come. But it sufficed to say that we went through the fiery furnace but God brought us out victorious. Through the experience, He taught us to overcome. Not only to stand and not bow down to the enemy’s attacks, God put the very thing that Satan threw at us under our feet. Now it has become ashes and it will no longer be able to burn us.

I learnt so many things about faith and endurance and trusting in God’s word through it all. I also can testify to the finality of God’s word regardless of the contrary circumstances. God caused my faith to go up a few notches after all these months. It hasn’t been easy for me and my family as we chose not to be vaccinated but the Lord has more than enough grace for us. Through it all I also learnt that it really was not just about me and my family from now onwards. It was a shift to kingdom perspective. 

Thirdly the Lord showed me clearly my assignment for the new season after moving us on in Oct. There has been a clear and undeniable shift since Oct. For some reason, this Oct seemed to be very significant. Like a momentous time in history. We are finally stepping foot in the promised land after crossing Jordan and having consecrated ourselves. Our hearts are circumcised. There was time for healing after the circumcision which was painful but after recovery, we become so much stronger. 

The Lord convinced me that I am really no longer stuck in the old season. In fact the old had passed away. The new season had come. He has solidly shifted us into the new season. I had to let go of the last bit of baggage in the past season because they cannot follow me into the new season. While God is doing so many things in my life over the past few months, He is also dealing with things in the world. There is a shaking going on right now. 

So yes I am in a very good place now. The best ever in the past 11 years. Primarily because I have finally completed the faith journey, fought the good fight and finished the race. God is pleased with me. I have also passed whatever tests needed to move on to the new season. He is promoting me to new realms of authority and anointing. He has also brought my tribe to me. The days ahead are going to be so exciting. Beloved, I just want to encourage you to see through the eyes of God. Only then can you be encouraged that things are not what they seem. Not dark and gloomy. God is coming on the scene. Watch and pray.

WHAT FINANCIAL FREEDOM MEANT FOR ME

I was reading the book ‘The Abundance Code’ from Julie Ann Cairns and I just wanted to do some reflections. Before that I thought of bringing out some good points the author mentioned. The money myth is that work = worth. You have to work hard for your money. So the prospect of risking our hard-earned money on a venture can easily fill us with a sense of anxiety and fatigue. Because if we lose the money, the only way to get those funds back is by working hard.  

The idea of working hard for money is not a bad one but we can fall into the trap of thinking that money which comes easily is somehow dishonest. That could be akin to cheating or pure gambling. We don’t want our minds to be closed and reject an easier path to wealth creation. If you make a lot of money relatively easily, without working hard for it, then the question of whether of not you deserve it will be raised. 

 

Others may be critical of you and they may feel that you don’t deserve financial freedom without working hard for it. You may even feel that you don’t deserve it. It can be quite tempting to stay where you are and not upset the beliefs, knowing that the beliefs and judgements of others can have a powerful effect on you. If you want to be different from the rest, you need courage to get to a place psychologically where you can handle being different. 

 

This was what happened to me. In fact when I came out of the rat race at age 36, I was financially free in a way. We had a good rental income while my personal expenses was way below that income. Granted that though Heng wasn’t earning that much back in those days, we were still quite comfortable compared to many families with only one breadwinner. Of course my decision to quit and stay home wasn’t well-received. 

 

Many people including my own parents felt it was such a waste for me to stay home after going through university education. My own brother even compared my job to a maid. My previous boss and colleagues all felt that I might regret my decision as I gave up a good career path. Some people probably felt I was lazy and selfish, enjoying my life while my hubby was slogging at work. 

 

Well, you see, after I resigned, I was very happy for a while. It was a huge relief not having to work and not facing deadlines. Plus the freedom to spend as much time with God as I liked. It was heaven on earth. But after a while I became bored and I needed to find some sense of significance and contribution to society. I knew the value of spending more time with Joshua but deep down I kept wondering if I could do more than just that. 

 

Besides back in those days there weren’t that many stay-home mums like me. And at times I also wondered if I should go back to the workforce. While I was swimming in the pool, enjoying the leisurely afternoon, many times I questioned: Was it right for me to live the good life? Did I deserve such a good life while others are slogging away? I couldn’t even accept luxury gifts from Heng because I didn’t feel like I worked hard for it. 

 

You see, I used to be so stingy about spending money on myself. After 15 years of working, I finally convinced myself to buy an LV bag as a reward. You can imagine how guilty I felt when I received those luxury goods without working for them. God had to show me what is true grace. This goes against the grain of what I believe. In the past I will feel more satisfied about what I had achieved if I had to work hard for it. 

 

This sense of satisfaction applies to things I do for money and things I put effort to even if I don’t get paid. I used to attach my personal sense of significance and worth to what I do for work and how hard I have worked for something. But after a season of practically doing nothing, I had learnt to put my self-worth in my identity and not what I do for a living. God told me that even if I do nothing, I am still His beloved daughter. He is still proud of me. 

 

The author had a similar experience as mine. She quit her high paying job in a top bank at the peak of her career because she wanted to disconnect from the time = money equation. She didn’t want to commit herself to a life on the hamster wheel. Of course she faced much criticism from her family and friends. They felt like she was making a stupid mistake by quitting. 

 

This was exactly what I faced when I announced my decision to quit, even though the reason was to stay home for my son. Well the fact is we both know this: even if a job didn’t feel quite the right thing for you, time can just get chewed up in the daily grind. You get up, go to work, come home, fix dinner, do some housework, watch some TV then go to bed. You go to church, catch up with friends on the weekends, go for holidays and before you know it, a few years passed. Nothing much has changed in your life. 

 

It was exactly what happened to me. I knew my last workplace was a transitional place as early as Oct 2008 but it wasn’t time for me to leave yet. Then life happened. We changed church, CG, got caught up with parenting Joshua and settled into a routine. It was only because of the shaking, the re-org in my company that pushed me out of that nest. At one point I even tried to convince myself that my new season had started in that place. I was becoming delusional because I couldn’t see a way out of my stuck situation. 

 

That was why God pulled me out of work for three weeks to speak to me at length and give me clarity over my next season. I didn’t want to just get stuck in that pattern. I knew I had to break myself out of that endless cycle. It had been almost two years since I had the strong desire to leave the company. So I quit. But thank God for providing us with the rental income before I quit. He made it easy for me to take that step. 

 

Well, like the author described, initially it was fun and she loved it. But what came up emotionally as the weeks turned into months and months was something unexpected. Giving up my sense of significance and contribution for such an extended period of time, with nothing really concrete on the horizon, was actually very challenging for me. Soon I was facing a mid-life crisis. What was I doing with my life? Was I idling it away? The whole world seemed to be passing me by.

 

Well, looking back I was glad I did it. I never regretted this decision. It was an important season of reflection for me. I couldn’t continue working in the corporate world, and I had to do things differently moving forward if I wanted to get ahead as much in the next season. Yet at times I felt like a ship without a compass. I couldn’t really see the next step, let alone God’s plan for my life. All I looked forward to in those early years were family holidays, which were a break from the mundane and routine. 

 

And yes the questions other people ask like what do you work as are awkward for me. In some way it became a dreaded one because I was concerned about how people looked at me back in those days. Thank God I am much better now. But yes deep down I still do care about what people think. After a decade I am used to the look on these people’s faces.

 

Well, now that I have found my purpose and calling in life, I am no longer lost for direction. Besides my self worth doesn’t come from what I do but who I am. Yet God knows my need for a sense of significance or purpose in my life. So He had been preparing me for this ministry in the past decade. I must say it did boost my confidence as I felt more fulfilled doing something bigger than myself or my family. 

 

Back to the question about do you believe you deserve to be financially free. Do you feel worthy of it. Do you feel it in the core of your being. Because if you don’t, then most likely you won’t have it. If you are planning to have a paradigm shift about God’s grace, to escape the rat race and attain financial freedom, then pay attention to the way in which you derive your sense of significance and contribution. That would also determine if the shift would be permanent or whether you will lapse back to the old ways of thinking.

 

The author said the great news is that financial freedom means we can get our personal sense of significance and contribution from wherever we want. Freeing ourselves from what we have to do is what gives us both the opportunity and the need to find out what we want to do. By freeing ourselves from the game that everyone else is playing, we can discover a new and more fulfilling way to play the game. 

 

I fully agree with her. I thank God for the luxury of time. If I was stuck to a nine-to-five job, coupled with parenting demands, I would never have the time to read widely and think about how life should be lived from God’s perspective. I also wouldn’t have the courage to allow myself to think independently without any influence from the world or people around me. To form my own judgement about how my life should be lived and not how others want me to live my life. 

 

And precisely because I was free from the demands and burdens of earning a living, I could get creative about my work. I was able to have a lot of time to journal and reflect on different aspects of life. I thank God for putting some of those insights into books and my blog. Eventually I see myself as a pioneer and trailblazer. I took the road less travelled. 

 

While it was tough, it had been a most fulfilling journey. I learned so many things along the way and whatever I experienced didn’t go to waste. By daring to be different, I was able to challenge the norms and not take things for granted. I wasn’t afraid to step out of my comfort zone to explore the uncharted territory. Even if I made mistakes, it was ok because I learnt the lessons and moved on. 

 

These experiences just enriched my life and made me a better and stronger person overall. As such I realised that I developed understanding beyond my age, with the wisdom of God not the wisdom of the world. My thinking is usually shaped by what the bible says or God’s revelation from heaven. Hence it is untainted and out of this world which makes it all the more precious and refreshing. All glory to Jesus!