2 January 2013 by Natasha Kim CM-
As the year 2012 comes close to an end, there are some that may feel emotional about the new changes or challenges they may face but remember to keep focus because you’ve learnt that with God, there is no need to fear. Instead be glad and rejoice in the Lord. Keep focus on everything and be thankful as you take that step forward in 2013.
This special day of thanksgiving began with praise and worship, and continued with a loving “thank you” and an award giveaway to those specially chosen people who have been serving the Church so diligently.
An Indonesian singer, Monita Tahalea was amidst them too on this day. Famously known for her participation in Indonesian Idol in the year 2005, the 25 year old found God during the course of her singing, right before she rose to popularity. She says, “As I look back on my Indonesian Idol journey, I’m so grateful and blessed to have been part of it. God gave me the opportunity to sing and be seen by millions of people and it could not have been possible with my own strength. During that time I felt God’s love when I found him. His presence and strength has enabled me to truly know who my God is, and to learn to love him wholeheartedly.”
Today, she serves God and loves Him as she dedicates her singing to Him. With that she adds on to say, “Now whenever I sing I’m not a vocalist, I’m a worshipper.” There was a time when she drifted away because she lost her focus on God. She placed focus on fame and money but there was so much unhappiness as a result. Thankfully, she found her way back to Him once more as she remembered His unconditional love and how our God accepts her, for who she truly is.
Inspired by many jazz great singers, she then went on stage to sing. Her soulful voice was so powerful and touching, which gave many people goose bumps, something that only happens when it was sung so beautifully. Monita’s humility and love for God is so very inspiring.
Hold on to God through your Struggles
Pastor Kevin Loo preached today and he started off with the reading from Genesis 32:22 -32. This particular passage talks about how Jacob wrestles with God.
Just before he spoke further on the passage he said, “As we are now closing a chapter and is transitioning into a new one. I want you to embrace it with faith knowing that we have God on our side.”
22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.
As the story of Jacob goes, we know that he didn’t have an easy life. He was very unsettled and very paranoid because he inherited the birthright of his brother Esau. He had also faced many struggles in his life. In this verse, Jacob was heading home and had to finally confront his brother, Esau, after twenty years.
24 So Jacob was left alone, and a Man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the Man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered. 28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[a] because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” 29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.
30 So Jacob called the place Peniel,[b] saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,[c] and he was limping because of his hip.32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.
Jacob is a fearful man and he was left all alone at that point in time. He was terrified of meeting his brother again. This particular verse then talks about Jacob wrestling with an Angel of the Lord or maybe even “superman” as the Bible conveys the word “man” with a capital “M”. That man of whom the Bible does not state could not prevail against Jacob because Jacob was not letting go unless he was blessed.
All of Jacob’s life, he has been running away from his brother, from his own family, and from his father-in-law, because everything that he inherited actually belonged to somebody else. Through all that, he prevailed because he did not give up. In fact, Jacob’s struggle in his life defined him, as he was renamed to “Israel”.
God will Guide you through everything you do
With that, Pastor Kevin says, “Do not be intimidated by the struggles you will face in 2013 because the struggles you will have to go through will define you.” In order to provide an example, he then shared about how he was looking down from an airplane one day to the ocean below. There, he said he saw many tug boats. However, these tug boats did not have anything to tug and without barges a tug boat has no meaning. With that he compares it to our struggles in life and says, “Without problems our life has no meaning or life would then become mundane. Struggles are what define our vision in life.” says Pastor.
God sometimes allows the pain in the hope that we will hear the message of His love and respond. “This year as we wrap up the year 2012, I want to talk about wrestling and struggle. To struggle is to strive. Perhaps you are struggling with a task or a problem at hand, no matter what it is, it’s a battle. I do not want you to fear to struggle as struggling can also bring a lot of benefits.” says Pastor.
The presence of God is something that is beyond us and change the lives of many. Another verse in the Bible that shows that we need our struggles in life is shown in 2 Corinthians 12: 9 which states,
“9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
Learn to put your trust in God through your struggles in life. Hold on to God like Jacob and don’t let go. Serve God with your imperfections and through your defeats knowing that He is always there for you!
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