Dear
And we are confident that He hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him.
1 John 5:14
Is it not wonderful that God always answers prayers asked in His will.
Unanswered prayers, it is more the norm amongst believers and many suffer a crisis of faith when this happens for God did not grant them their wishes. But will leave this examination of why and why not to another discussion if the Spirit of our good Lord so leads.
The thought just came to me this morning. What about answered prayers? That we might not be aware that it is and even if we are, we are not exactly over the moon with Godś response.
My dear brother SK and I was mulling over in a lighthearted manner the two purple hearts that I have collected these past 17 years of seeking to follow our Lord Jesus Christ.
Purple Heart is the oldest military honor given to those who dies or is wounded in action while serving in the US military.
Like all who seek to be like Christ, in taking up the cross, bruises and wounds will be part and parcel of our refinement. And with it, God always have a teaching moment for us, as He transforms the imperfect but willing us. But purple hearts, that is a badge we wear on our body permanently. A thorn in the flesh?
Yesterday, I visited the Singapore National Eye Clinic(SNEC) for a more detailed examination.
This was a follow up to the visit the day before at the Specialist Eye Clinic housed at the Alexandra Hospital(AH).
This in itself the grace of our good Lord is working. For I had the privilege of being one of AHś last few eye patients, as they are in the midst of shutting down the clinic and moving on to the new Seng Kang Hospital. AH, a place I have never been to, yet very near my neighborhood most of my life. A lovely place. A rare colonial era, but well renovated hospital.
A once in a lifetime opportunity to smell the flowers.
Troubles might not go away, but God is truly always with us.
The diagnosis at AH was mild cataract, a natural result of the aging process.
What worried the doctor, whose surname happens to be the same as mine, was a black spot they saw in the test results. While we might not be grateful for such unknowns, thank God for a concerned doctor. So by His grace, an immediate appointment was arranged for me to see another specialist at the SNEC first thing the next morning.
For those who are well aware, it is near impossible to have such a quick appointment made available in the public sector, nor even in the private medical services.
My wife rightly pointed out that it must be serious for this expedited process.
But rather than focus on this possibility, I thank God for the smoothness of process in this journey.
Thanks be to God. The prognosis with the 2nd specialist, turned out to be very acceptable by our finite human understanding. The jelly in my eyes are collapsing, a direct result of aging and my high myopism. That explains it as of now, and the fear that my first doctor had on the possibility of a brain tumor is put to rest, for now.
Would I still be as convicted of my faith if the prognosis had turned out to be a lot worse?
Yes I honestly believe I will, much as being the finite human being, I will struggle with the concerns of what it entails. But I will not doubt the Sovereignty of God nor His plans for me.
And it is not because like Peter who thinks he is prepared on his own strength only to be called short by the crow of the cockerel. But rather I know that God will always prepare us before He brings us to the next level of faith. But we must be prepared to let Him bring us across and move boldly forth the next step.
This confidence stems not from pride but through the experience of collecting my first purple heart back in September 2011. I now carry with me a more purified heart(prayerfully both spiritual and physical), but one with a 40% blockage at the main artery leading to my left aorta.
A widow maker, this condition is so termed amongst the medical fraternity, for if there is ever a disruption of blood flow, there will be no stroke, but rather, a direct path to Heaven or Hell.
It was by the grace of God that I discovered this roadblock in my heart. And much as I believed I have seek to be a true follower of Christ for the past 11 years before this discovery, there was never a resentment as to why does our good Lord allow this to happen.
But rather a grateful and thankful heart that by His Divine intervention, He alerted me to the situation. And by His grace, it is a fine precarious situation, not suffice to necessitate an operation, but enough to put me in perspective as to what truly matters in oneś finite life.
Three months’ later, our good Lord led me to a new season in my life. A season that is challenging yet wonderful. And having clear cognizance of the brevity of life, truly helps me to look beyond the temporal and help me stay the course in His service. This was my first purple heart.
And so, back to this morning, as I was listening to our esteem speaker share about his journey as a man in Christ, our good Lord gave me clarity as to my second purple heart.
He knows my heart is to live a life that honors Him. But many a time, we do things we should not do, much as we are well aware of the sin.
God has a great sense of prescience and wit. Just this same early morning, the Daily Bread reading was on how the author felt that his imperfections make him reticent about being a good Christian role model. This was exactly the same sense of guilt I felt for doing things I should not do just the night before.
And for double measure, a dear brother who I have not seen for some time admonished with love, my less than Christian like driving habit witnessed by him. Out of Church and the devil seeks to take over.
Just last month, at the Menś Breakthrough Retreat, where men felt comfortable to share their darkest secrets with fellow brothers, for God already knows what they are. But in being honest with each other, it not just brings relationships amongst brothers in Christ to an authentic level, but it removes whatever is hindering us from being fully used by the Spirit of God for His glory.
And for most men, lust of the eyes always rank top of the agenda of inner sins.
Our good Lord reminded me this morning, with the permanent though mild haze on my right eye, it will definitely help ameliorate this habitual old prepondency to gaze after things that one should not. Just like the slowness of my heart(from medication) now has helped me to be slow to anger and lust. What a good man cannot do, God will make possible
And so in closing, God knows our hearts. And imperfect as it will be, He sees the core desire in us to seek to be after Him. And He will answer our prayers. And much as it might not be the way nor timing that we had imagined it will be, do sit back, rest in Him and enjoy this wonderful new journey He has now led you to.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:26
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(5th May 2018)
Note
An interestingly, God send an witness to my actual presence in SNEC
A fellow brother who I have never met, but who knew who I was, by virtue of having seen me in Church at the 7.30am service, saw me at SNEC, for he was there for his annual eye checkup.
I have the privilege of meeting this brother this morning, day after my SNEC visit and that is how he told me he saw me, in contemplative prayer at SNEC. Or maybe I was just taking a doze. Coincidences or rather Godś affirmations are the majority of situations in our journey of life, when we follow Christ.
