The End of a Season for Heng

Today is Heng's last day in this company. He has worked here for more than 5.5 years. This season in his company has come to an end. Late last year there were already some ripples, causing him to feel like he needed to move on to another job. He felt that his wings were clipped and there was not much room for him to develop further. He prayed for a confirmation from The Lord and that was if he was passed over for promotion in Jan this year, then he would know it was really time to go. 

Well, Heng started looking for a job since a year ago but he was quite selective about the companies he applied to. The interesting thing was even though his skills were marketable, no one called him up for an interview. Not even one open door in the course of the year. He was quite cool and nonchalant about this until early this year, he was really passed over for promotion. Ever since then, he felt the urge to quickly move on because he found it meaningless to continue in this company. The door was closing behind him yet the door in front has not yet opened. It was an extremely uncomfortable time waiting for job openings.

But since the theme for this year is 'Year of Open Doors', we trust that The Lord is closing the doors that are not good for Heng and opening doors that are good for him. We continued to confess that God is going to open a door of opportunity for Heng soon and it will not just be a job, but a position of influence and prominence. We could not see how this would come to pass at that time since Heng did not even have a single job interview. But we continued to trust The Lord. 

God is so good. In March, Heng received an unexpected phone call from his old friend back in those days when we started working.  This friend made a pact with Heng some 15 years ago that one day, when he took over his father's business, he would get Heng to join him. Together they will conquer the world. Of course Heng did not take his word seriously because they were young then and who would expect a young chap to honor his promise. Well, this friend really did. He called to say that he was taking over as Chairman next year and the time has come for him to honor his promise. He wants Heng to join his company and help him. This position would be part of his management team, and Heng would oversee areas other than finance. Not only that, Heng would get a good salary increase. 

Well, Heng was so touched by the sincerity of this true friend. A few years ago he did call and ask Heng to join him but the timing was not right then. Heng was enjoying his time in this current company and there was still much to learn. God's timing is really perfect. Now we understand why there wasn't even a single interview all this while. God had closed all the other doors to prepare Heng for this open door. In fact, if this friend called any earlier, Heng would not be ready to move on. If he called any later, maybe Heng would have found another job. God may not be early but He is never late. He is the One guiding our steps. 

This is really God's grace. We are so overwhelmed by His love for us. The friendship between Heng and his friend reminded me of the friendship between David and Jonathan. Jonathan loved David and helped him escape when his father Saul wanted to take his life. David had a covenant with Jonathan. He promised to do good to Jonathan and his family all the days of his life. David eventually honored his promise to Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son. He sought this boy out and did good to him for Jonathan's sake. Who would have thought that a promise made by a then army boy would be made good by him years later? Besides, it is not just a job. It is truly a position of influence and prominence like what we prayed for. 

God took Heng from the back to the front, from being just a finance manager to being part of a management team, from being disqualified to qualified, from being seen as less than, to being promoted, honored, influential and looked up to. I am sure some people will scratch their heads and wonder 'How did he get there? It's not fair. I worked harder, I have more talent, I deserve more.' But the truth is favor isn't fair. It is the undeserved and unmerited goodness of God. God has put Heng in a position that he didn't earn, didn't qualify for, didn't have the seniority and not even next in line! When it sounds too good to be true, then it has to be God's grace! All glory to Jesus! 

Why Rejoicing is so Important

Recently I thank God for a joy inexpressible in my heart! Sometime ago when I was feeling tired and discouraged, I asked The Lord to grant me His joy because I know the joy of The Lord is my strength. After that, I kept seeing messages that tell me to rejoice, to celebrate, to sing praises, worship Him and give thanks before I see my manifestation. 

Joy is a spirit and it is a force. It is the very power that breaks through the dam and causes your promise to manifest. Praise and worship will lift up your spirits and make you happy in The Lord. When you are happy and joyful, this power attracts all the good things of God. When more good things happen, your spirits get uplifted even more and you become more joyful. 

The joy of The Lord is your strength so when you are joyful, you are strong to not only withstand but fight back your enemy. Faith rises up within you causing you to exercise the authority Jesus has given you. You can then tell your enemy to buzz off and stop harassing you. When you do that, you have come to the position God wanted you to take.

Now I see it so clearly. All the attacks in my life previously are all attempts to take my joy away. The enemy cannot afford to let me continue to be happy because joy is a powerful spirit. He knows if I carry on rejoicing, celebrating, praising and worshiping The Lord, I will see my manifestation very soon! Already he cannot stop my appointed time from coming, at most he can only make me miserable, steal my joy before my manifestation comes. But now even this ploy is exposed and his power totally stripped! Praise Jesus for the victory! 

I really thank God for He is so good to me. No wonder He kept telling me to fulfill my desires whenever I can and don't postpone my pleasures anymore. Hope deferred makes my heart sick but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. He doesn't want my heart to be sick. He knows that when I do the things I like and buy the things I want, that makes me happy. I should also eat choice food and drink sweet drinks. He wants me to maintain this happy and joyful state no matter what. He wants me to feel pampered like a princess for indeed I am His princess. 

Something good is coming my way and all I have to do is to keep rejoicing in The Lord! One devotional I read said if only I knew what marvelous things the Lord has done for me, I would be rejoicing with tears of joy now! I should be doing things like watching funny cartoons, humorous shows that can make me laugh. Sing, dance, shout for joy and laugh for more good things are coming my way! 

G.I. Joe Retaliation

Yesterday Heng was on leave and we both went to catch a movie. It was 'G.I. Joe Retaliation'. I usually wasn't interested in such action movies because I thought they were quite violent. But I watched a bit of 'G.I Joe' on TV last week and I felt it was quite an interesting movie with good plot. So I decided to watch this sequel.

Well, in case I spoiled the fun of those who wanted to watch this movie, I would not reveal the details of the plot. All I wanted to share was my thoughts as I watched the movie. There were a few key points that I wanted to highlight:

1. Sense of Mission
From the start of the movie, there was already much action. What I felt strongly about this elite force was that these soldiers were missional. They had such a strong sense of mission and very focused on their assignment. Besides, they were really good in what they were doing, they were well-trained for the job. I hope to be like them. I wanted to be really good in what God has made me to be...a prayer warrior. I know God has been training me up for His assignment for the past two years and He is still training me. Besides, I am thrilled by the sense of mission that God has put in my heart and I want to be focused on the calling He has for me, like the Joes.

2. Team work
This movie was special because it was not the typical superhero kind of movie that Amercia loved to film. This show emphasized the intricate interplay of teamwork, directed and commanded by their captain. At the end of the day, when victory was wrought from the bad guys, you could not say which one played a dominant role, not even the one who stopped the nuclear bomb. All of them formed an essential part to the fruition of the plan. One could not function well without the other because they needed each other. Every one has their special giftings that the team needed. This is exactly what is like in the kingdom of God. No one is superior to another. We all need each other, that is how God made us to be interdependent. But as each of us take our place in the kingdom and play our part well, taking orders from our Commander-in-chief Jesus, we would see His victory plan unfold. I cannot even tell you how beautiful that would be.

3. Fearless
One other thing I observed about the soldiers was that they were fearless in the face of danger. They knew they would be facing an uphill battle but they did not draw back. They can face the enemy in the eye which had a look that says 'I am not afraid of you.' They were past caring about their own lives as they carried out their mission. They only had one thing in mind: to seek justice for those brothers who had been wrongfully murdered by the enemy. As far as they were concerned, they had already died in the air raid, perished together with the brothers. Hence they really had nothing to be fearful of. They were also very professional, not letting emotions get into their way. As I watched them in action, I thought of how The Lord has been trying to get all of us, believers to a place where we are fearless. A place where we know our dominion and authority over sickness, sin, dark powers and even the natural circumstances. Not only does sin has no dominion over us for we are not under law but under grace, we instead have dominion over sin and evil spirits. When we finally get to the point when we are not afraid, when we are not conscious of ourselves but Christ within us, that is when our emotions cannot get in the way. When we are truly liberated from our bondages, then we would be a great threat to the enemy. When we know the resurrection power lying dormant within us and we know how to exercise and tap into that power, hallelujah! No forces of darkness can pull us back!

Brothers and sisters in Christ, The Lord is bringing us to that place of dominion, the place of excellence in what we are created to do and the place where we are fearless. Are you ready to take your place in the kingdom of God? The Body of Christ needs you...hesitate no more and take your rightful place today! We have been stolen, bullied by the dark forces but Jesus says 'Enough!' It is time for us to fight back, to retaliate. All the heavenly forces are backing us up, God is on our side. The King, our Commander-in-chief is beckoning you...do you hear His voice?