Hope in the Midst of
By Elaine Lee
CHANGES
Who would embrace unpleasant changes with open arms? I say only a handful would, as a vast majority of us are creatures of habit. And yet, there it is. Staring right at us. The past 20 months have seen all of us undergo subtle and significant changes. Covid 19 has made its presence known in our lives in many different ways. It has manifested itself through the loss of lives, jobs, the decline of mental/emotional health, broken marriages/families, among many other things. Many people, including Christians, struggle to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Today, may you be encouraged as you read of how Member of Parliament YB Hannah Yeoh, Educationist Jasmine Emmanuel and Minister Reverend Gideon Lee adapt to changes and share words of encouragement with all of us.
May their life experiences of Yesterday be Today’s Hope for you.
YB Hannah Yeoh (Member of Parliament)
When I asked YB Hannah if her faith in God was challenged during this trying time, I could both hear and see the passion and faith in her response. It was obvious from her tone of voice that it was her faith in God that has brought her this far, and it will be her faith in Him that will continue to see her through. She shared that “No, in fact, it is my faith in God that has helped me pull through during this time. Without God, I don’t think that I will be able to fight this battle that does not provide me with any victory in sight. But because I know that ultimately God is in control, God loves Malaysia, and all these will not be in vain. It has helped me endure this. If not for my faith, I cannot do this. When you enter a battle, a race, the end goal is your aim. But in a race like this, I don’t know what is going to be my end goal, and I can only continue to do what I am required to do and at the same time have full faith that God will put an end to the suffering. That God will hear the cries of Malaysians who are suffering and that this season will also pass.”
Though many activities and plans came to a grinding halt during the pandemic, YB Hannah chose to see the good that came out of the pandemic. She shares, “we were able to do forums, zoom meetings, and interviews that talked more about effective policies. And because of the food distribution carried out during the lockdown, we walked the streets in our constituency. That has enabled us to know some needy families at a greater level and capacity. It has also caused me to question things that I used to do just because everyone else is doing it. God speaks a lot about chopping off things that produce no fruit. While I understand that there are seasons of dryness and barrenness, the season that I am going through is to reassess and make sure that whatever I am engaging in is productive and helpful for people. I don’t want to do things just because it is cool or to have more followers. Even now, I choose to voice out matters in parliament that speak on behalf of people and not just a passion of mine. I need to talk about the real suffering of people. For me, bearing fruit is not just on a personal level but one that concerns others too”.
Hannah shares, “My coping mechanism was to accept the fact that there is no other way. I had to learn to let go of things I had no more control over. The other thing is to work with the next best thing you have. We had to quickly adapt, download zoom, and learn how to have all these online apps to conduct meetings and talks.
Hannah draws strength from one of her favourite bible verses that “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me.” Psalm 138:8 (NKJV). She states, “I know that God has to be the person to fulfil it, and because of that, I can rest in the knowledge and will continue to do my part and contribute whatever I know. The ultimate end goal is in God’s Hands.” She gently reminds us that “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” Psalm 30:5(NKJV)
Jasmine Emmanuel (Head of Foundation Studies, Wawasan Open University)
Working in an open distance learning institution has helped her adapt to doing fully online work quite easily. She was pretty familiar with online apps and meetings. But she shares that “living alone at this point and not being able to see family and friends in person can be challenging.” Jasmine, however, managed to overcome this unprecedented change and not succumb to social isolation by making an effort to keep in touch with family and friends through texts, calls and gifts. She is also reaching out to those in need, especially her adult students, by providing care and a listening ear. Many of her students got Covid, lost their jobs and family members during this pandemic, so it is of utmost importance to her to encourage and nurture those that are struggling to find hope amidst their circumstances. The realization that there was a lack of mental health workers in the field during the pandemic and the increase in suicide and domestic violence rates has led her to take proactive steps to help solve the issue. She shares, “We need to take mental health seriously. Looking at the lack of trained counsellors to handle mental health during these trying times, through my university, ICCHP Asia and working with the Penang State government, we are training the community on how to be givers of Psychological First Aid to those facing psychological trauma, grief, loss and panic induced by the pandemic.”
To help maintain her mental, emotional and spiritual well-being, Jasmine set in motion coping and preventive measures rather than lamenting the current disruptions. These include deleting fake news texts, picking up additional skills, reevaluating priorities, forming habits in line with what matters most and spending increased personal time with the Lord. On top of it all, she was mindful of what she could and could not control. She shares, “I focus on what I can control, such as staying healthy physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. For things out of my control, I go to the Lord remembering Philippians 4:6 – Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (NKJV)
Jasmine is no stranger to tough times and has had her fair share of trials. She shares, “I have been through many challenges in my life, including severe health challenges, major financial loss of finance and loved ones including my husband. The Lord held my hand and walked me through those callous times, and that helped prepare me for this season.” She would like those undergoing a difficult time to bear in mind “This season is a reminder that this world, in its current form, is not our home. A day is coming where there will be no more sicknesses, viruses, or fear. Have continual patience and trust in the Lord because He is still in control and He will see us through this crisis.”.
Reverend Gideon Lee (Main Pastor, Glad Tidings Assembly Klang)
Due to the discontinuation of physical Sunday services and migration to an online platform, Reverend Gideon found himself asking the question, “How can we replicate our Sunday Celebration service experience during pre-Covid times in our online services today?” It was not a question of just getting the recording out ready for Sunday with a casual attitude but doing it with excellence so that we can connect meaningfully online.” He saw the need “to invest more heavily on our equipment and internet facilities so that we can provide a more meaningful online experience.”
Being a man of action, Reverend Gideon did not take the armchair approach and shared, “One of the coping mechanisms that helped me with changes was to learn what other churches were doing. We must not be shy in these times but be bold enough, maybe even thick-skinned enough to learn from others what worked for them and then tweak it for your church. It also helped me when I took the opportunity to attend as many webinars as possible without burning out to hear from people so that this would be a continuous learning process for me. Waiting at the feet of God was also essential, and he shares, “Spending more time in prayer helped me cope with the changes; otherwise, I would drown in worry.”
He believes that resilience and perseverance are developed through tough times and that we must never give up. And when we maintain an attitude of gratitude, we gain a wider lens of perspective. He shares, “If we want to rise above our circumstances, learn not to just rely on the encouragement of others but learn to encourage ourselves in the Lord like King David. (1 Samuel 30:6) Reverend Gideon shares, “We don’t know the way ahead of us but trust God as He shows us the first step. We don’t see the destination; we don’t even see the direction, but we take the next step with faith as He leads us. For we walk by faith, not by sight – 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV)
YB Hannah Yeoh, Jasmine Emmanuel, and Reverend Gideon Lee have seen the pandemic bring to an end things in their lives that ultimately gave birth to new beginnings. Though it was challenging, the candle of hope in Christ burned brightly in their hearts. May we too not allow hope to be extinguished, but be reignited by the flames of hope that arise from the trials of life and continue to Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong – 1 Corinthians 16:13 (NKJV)
About Elaine Lee
Born, bred, and still residing in Penang, Elaine loves reading, dogs, and taking walks on the beach. Elaine believes that every life experience should be effective agents of change to make us better people on Earth.
