Chinkee Tan
I have a lot of memories of my recent trip to Ireland: the beautiful weather, the historical sites that date back to 1400s, the magnificent sceneries and landscapes.
But the most unforgettable moment was when I met a new friend there who had recently lost a loved one. This friend had a very difficult time moving on, and asked, “What else is my purpose in life without my loved one?” In other words, “What am I living for?” This person had felt that all the work and sacrifice is now for nothing.
I honestly do not have an answer to that. But one thing I learned in life is that, “EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON” whether it be good or bad things.
We may never know the ultimate reason why some things do happen while others don’t happen, but we just need to be hopeful that our life will work out for good, and have faith that God has allowed this to happen for a reason.
We just need to TRUST that GOD is SOVEREIGN.
When I say sovereign it means that the Lord has control over everything. He knows what He is doing. We just need to trust Him, that His plan is good and perfect for us.
This brings me to my second point that good things or bad things may happen in our life, but it is meant for good. “Chinkee, are you saying that I should be happy that I lost someone I loved or that my child is sick or that I lost my job?”
What I am trying to say is that we just need to trust in God’s promises that. He says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
The Lord has a purpose. It may be:
To strengthen you as a person.
To test what is inside your heart.
To prepare you for a bigger promotion, because God tests before He blesses.
To reveal what is inside our heart.
Whatever is God’s reason, we do need to trust Him in this.
We will always go back to what He has said, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5,6).
This is the moment of our life where we need to practice what we believe.
Lip service won’t be enough; we need to act on what we believe in as well. This is the part where we can place ourselves to the test, if our faith is genuine or fake.
So instead of focusing on the past and on the problem, why don’t we ask God what is He revealing and teaching us in this situation.
THINK. REFLECT. APPLY.
If you are also going through a stage of loss, whether of a loved one, business opportunity, promotion, loss of a job, instead of asking God “Why did you allow this thing to happen?” Why don’t we ask God, “What are you trying to teach me?”
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