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Saturday, December 26, 2009

A Walk of Faith

Such a walk can be the hardest thing to claim to be doing when all around, you feel a nudge and a push to throw you off the course of needful dependency on the Lord. These past months have seen me being robbed of time for 'extra curricular' activities like blogging. I love every opportunity to pen my thoughts and share perspectives but time has been a luxury. And to have to wait till today, Boxing Day, to post my next entry is almost unforgiveable! But only forgiving friends find their way to hearing me out via this blog. So thanks!

Why the subject title 'A Walk of Faith'? It's essentially the title of a church musical Dorcas & I are involved in. She's been tasked to oversee the musical elements of the production while I take on a leading role on stage. It's been tough; rehearsals have been thrice weekly. The pressure is on. Friends have enquired how I'm coping, to which I respond that I haven't yet pushed the panic button. I hope never too. The panic button never gets depressed when there is faith!

To understand the character I play better, ie. George Muller, I got under his skin through digesting the book Release The Power of Prayer the last month - a book my father-in-law had recommended. It challenged my faith and inspired me to exercise it (ie. faith) even more in recent weeks. George had in the book testified that he knew of at least 50,000 specific answers to his prayers! From a reckless past, the man turned to Christ and was able to provide for over 10,000 orphans without ever asking anyone but God to supply their needs! An amazing journey for a man full of faith! Imagine the number of lives he made in a difference in and countless more his walk of faith inspired.

Last weekend was the perfect occasion to test my faith. It was to be Agapella's big Christmas gig at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. It was sprawling picnic grounds in front of the stage, separated by a moat. The Friday before our first of two scheduled performances that weekend, the newspaper reported a very strong likelihood of moderate to heavy rains across the weekend and even warned of possible flooding in low-lying areas. It was a literal dampener on what Agapella hoped would be fair skies and dry conditions. No one would lay out a pinic mat and basket under other circumstances. But I found peace as I slept on Friday night. I was reassured by a voice in my mind telling me that God who'd earmarked that weekend for Agapella's performance would have it come to past, that it wouldn't be a wasted opportunity and that carols would be sung to the gathering of people in the lovely gardens.

On both days, the clouds rolled in and released their cargo. Saturday's clouds gathered around midday. Prayers were uttered by both performers and the many who knew our God and our plans. The clouds were done with their deed by about 4pm but the lawn was soaked. A member in our group was almost resigned to the fact that the performance would be cancelled and that at best, we'd use the opportunity as a warm-up for Sunday. The show however went on despite the cloud cover remainning serving only to treat the audience to a cool evening of carols. I asked the liaison person what he thought of the turnout of a few hundred people. He replied that it was pretty good despite the wet weather we'd experienced. Praise the Lord!

God tested our faith even more on the second day. The rain's came later, the clouds never dispersed and the showers were intermittent all afternoon. We prayed with even more fervour and ferocity and I took God at His Word that he wouldn't let the opportunity be a washout. Right until 6pm when we sang our first song, it was drizzling. Those who had gathered to soak in the carols were also at risk of being soaked to the skin if the showers got heavier. Umbrellas lined the lawn like molehills. But God in His mercy and in answer to our prayer caused the drizzle to cease after our first song and the umbrellas were closed and tucked away. The evening air was cool and blended with the refreshing perfume of the fir trees that had been planted on the lawns. Snow notwithstanding, this was the closest one can get to the feel of a Christmas evening in the northern hemisphere!

A walk of faith isn't just a single step, it isn't a standalone episode, it's a journey that followers of Christ must take. It's a life that we must lead.

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