By Pastor Soo Shet Inn, Kajang Assembly of God
Note: This message was shared by Pastor Soo with her church while Malaysia was still undergoing the MCO. While there is a possibility the MCO might be lifted soon, many of us have been affected by both this period of covid and lockdown.
Asian Beacon believes that this message is still timely, encouraging, and important in helping us as Christians to adapt to the coming new way of life. Some slight changes have been made to keep the context of the article relevant.
This is the first time in our lives, we are experiencing this Covid -19 situation that changed from epidemic to pandemic. This is also the first time we had to experience Movement Control Order and we hope it will be the last and the only one. Our hope is that we will never experience it again in our lifetime and that it will never happen again to the future generations.
During this lockdown, most of us have been working from home and we spent a lot of time being at home. We were not encouraged to go out but to Stay In, Stay Home. Therefore for many of us Malaysians, we spent a lot of time cooking for ourselves and many for our families too. This was the time when many had to adapt and many hidden talents had also emerged.
We are God’s children. We choose to be different, we want to be, and we must be different. As God’s beloved children, we choose to trust God, even though our situations are rather uncertain. For a long time, we did not know for certain when this lockdown would end. For many of us we still do not know when we can get back to work, when our children will be going back to school, when our business will resume, etc. However, we choose to put our lives, our children, our families , our job, our businesses in God’s hand.
As Christians, we want to be authentic. We want this period of time to be different, special, and memorable. We will make this unprecedented time special, we will make it memorable, we will make it unforgettable, and we will make it extraordinary. During this challenging time, we will choose to:
1. Trust God
Psalm 46:1-3 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
During this Covid -19, the Devil will say to us that “I closed all your churches”, but God will say “I just opened one in every home!” This psalm encourages us to hope and trust in God, and His power, and providence, and gracious presence with His church in the worst of times. It directs us to give Him the glory of what He has done for us and what He will do. We are taught here taught to take comfort in God when things look very bleak and threatening. God is our refuge and strength. We have found Him so, and He ever will be so.
Are we pursued?
God is our refuge to whom we may flee, and in whom we may be safe and secure upon good grounds.
Are we oppressed by troubles?
God is our strength, to bear us up under our burdens, to fit us for all our services and sufferings. He will by His grace put strength into us.
Are we in distress?
He is a help, to do all that for us which we need, a present help, a help found (one whom we have always found to be so.)
It has been tested, as Christ is called a tested stone, Isa. 28:16 .
Or, a help at hand, one that never is to seek for, but that is always near.
Or, a help sufficient, a help accommodated to every case and situation. Whatever it is, He is a very present help. We cannot desire a better help.
God is our strength and our help, a God all-sufficient to us. Therefore, we will not fear. Those that with a holy reverence for God need not to be afraid of the power of hell or earth or coronavirus. If God is for us, who can be against us, to do us any harm? It is our duty, it is our privilege, to be fearless; it is an evidence of a clear conscience, of an honest heart, and of a lively faith in God and His providence and promise:
2. Serve God
As we are adjusting to our new way of life which we never had before after this MCO, it hasn’t been and likely won’t be easy on us in the coming future. In such a time like this, some of us may wonder if we can still serve God.
Can I serve? Can we serve? Do I need to?
Yes, I can. Yes, you can. And Yes we can.
Many of you are already serving in your zoom meetings, daily devotion, and online services. And we will say that we will continue to serve God, wherever we are, and in whatever situation we are in. We want to serve God and we choose to serve God because WE LOVE GOD!. Out of our love for Him, we will and should love others by serving others. Serving God is serving people. We serve because we love God! Being authentic is being able to give in a needy situation.
3. Give
Whoever you bless in this time, whichever organisation you give, you give unto the Lord. Our society values how much a person has but God values how much a person gives. When Jesus watched the people giving in the Temple, He praised the widow who cast in just two mites—a fraction of a penny—because it represented such a sacrifice. Though money itself is not evil, loving money leads to all kinds of evil.
The best protection we have against the sorrows that come from loving money is to cultivate generous hearts. Look for opportunities to use the resources God has given to you (even if they do not seem to be great) for the benefit of others. Rather than waiting until you have enough to give, be generous and give what you have to help others today.
During this present situation in Malaysia, businesses are bad, salaries are being cut, people are being retrenched. Being the authentic Christian, we can do things differently, out of our norm; just like the woman in the temple. We are still able to give in such condition.
4. Rejoice in the Lord
There was an incident from the Bible regarding Sarah and Isaac. The Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” (Genesis 21:1-3, 6-7 ESV)
God brings joy through unexpected blessings even in uncertain times. The name Isaac means “laughter”. Sarah found joy in the unexpected and long-awaited blessing of her son. Of course, she felt happy after finally receiving the child she longed for but her deep joy came in recognizing that God’s timing was best.
Sometimes life don’t turn out the way we imagine. We must always be on the lookout for hidden blessings. This may come in the form of a surprise gift or connection or experience but it also may simply come by recognizing God in all that surrounds us. Sarah may have moved on from her desire to have children. She probably thought it would never happen. But God brought her this blessing when she least expected it and she was ready to receive him with joy.
Finally, during such times as this, we will continue to worship God.
5. Worshipping God
Job experienced the death of his family and the loss of all that he had. Job is like no other in the Bible. His level of faith and his integrity proves his unyielding dedication to God. He lost just about everything except his life. Job knew God and treasured his relationship with Him. God knew Job’s heart; their relationship was so strong that God offered his servant Job to be tested by Satan. The beautiful thing about this story is that no matter how bad the trial got, Job still had the victory because God had a hedge of protection around him (Job 1:10).
What you are going through did not catch God by surprise. He knows and already has you covered and protected by His grace. Within the first chapter of Job we see complete devastation unravel in Job’s life. One by one as he gets bad news after bad news, we see the remarkable thing about Job’s response:
Job not only worshiped God, but he praised God after such a great loss. With all that he went through Job may have questioned God but never once did he curse God. The story ended with Job receiving double for all that he lost. When you feel like you had the worst day ever, take a minute and read the book of Job. It should immediately cause you to praise God because someone out there had it much worst.
Brothers and sisters, be strong and courageous! The Lord is with you! You can be authentic even during these times because you choose to do what the Lord wants you to do.
In spite of the unfavourable circumstances, you chose to trust Him.
In spite of the difficult situation, you choose to serve Him.
In spite of the tough situation, you choose to give unto Him.
In spite of the challenging circumstances, you choose to rejoice in Him.
In spite of the demanding situation, you choose to worship Him.
Be the authentic believers of our Lord Jesus!
THE LORD BLESS YOU!
Pastor Soo Shet Inn ministers at the Kajang Assembly of God, which is among the largest Assembly of God churches in Kajang. You may find out more about the church at https://kaog.org.my/
