As morning dawns and evening fades You inspire song of praise That rise from earth to touch Your heart and glorify Your Name
Jesus, in your name we pray Come and fill our hearts today And give us strength to live for You and glorify You name
Your name is a strong and mighty tower Your name is a shelter like no other Your name, let the nations sing it louder 'Cause nothing has the power to save But Your name
~daniel.
i wrote here ;D @ 7:23 AM
Wednesday, September 1, 2010♠
Good Plans
" 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future' " - Jeremiah 29:11
A familiar passage - and if not yet, in time it will be. God has great plans for us! God's plans are perfect in their execution, timing and outcome.
Yet you fail an exam, your family fights at home, your pet hamster dies. Where are the plans promised?
Apart from the analogy of learning how to ride a bike (no bruises no cuts, no ridey bikey), I offer us another perspective:
As a p6 kid, I wanted to ace my exams and get to ACS(I). I scored 198 for my prelims, and things looked bleak. I worried my butt off and studied 8 hours everyday (which p6 kid does that!) and eventually did just enough to meet the 235 cut-off with my 240. Did I ace my PSLE? No. Did I get where I wanted to? Yup.
But that score also meant I was near the bottom of the bin of the entire cohort (or consortium as Nikole would put it) when I got into ACS(I). Itried to do well, and although I always got more than I deserved, it's usually a borderline, B4 average. I became a Christian in sec3; began serving in church as CH and faithfully went for service and cell even through exam periods. My studies stayed the same; in fact I was failing a few and dropped everything till I was left with 6, then eventually (after much scolding from my mom), 7 subjects. I thought God wanted to help me do well in my studies, so I could be a good testimony?
My L1R5s were ranging from 24 - 32 and was nothing near what I needed to get to a good JC. I worked my butt off again, and managed to nick a 20 for prelims (which was moderated down to [gasp!] 13) and subsequently a 12 for my O Levels. I got DSA offers from 3 top JCs, so my 12 points became irrelevant, but God wanted me to stay in ACS(I), which I didn't get a DSA offer for. So I took the DSA form from my school office and submitted it. ACS(I) rejected it, and I was posted to AJC. Eventually I appealed and really made it back to ACS(I). Did I do well enough to get to a good JC? No. The Bible showed how people who trusted in God easily overcame their challenges. Did it happen for me? Nope. Did I get into where I needed to go? Yup.
The next step was to plan for uni, and I knew for a long time this Sports Science and Management course was coming out in NTU. Being in ACS(I) doing IB didn't help, because the local universities still didn't know about IB and were asking for ridiculous marks; it was easier get to Harvard than it was to get to NUS. I wondered if God's plan was working out. Coupled with the news that only straight A students were getting into the course, I knew I needed to bulldoze my way to score big if I wanted to get where I wanted to. By this point I was serving as CH, in dance ministry, and in every IGNYTE or Trinity event that came up. Training was always ending at night, and I was quite choked. I put my head down and continued serving in church, came for service and cell through my exams, hoping God would really honor me. I scored pretty badly every test or exam, and was always among the bottom 3 or 4. I wondered if I was going to sweep the roads. I worked my butt off again, and got a respectable score - something like the scores I got for my PSLE and Os, but nothing like the straight As needed. I felt God agreed in me going for the SSM course, so I trusted, and only applied for one course and only one university, which is something no one else has ever done, not even straight A students. I submitted, along with my marks, my CCA record, which is actually quite solid, and placed all my hopes on it. But along with my CCA record, there needed to be a testimonial to be submitted for them to even consider these things. My teacher missed the deadline, my CCAs were voided and all that was left to be considered were my marks. I was called up for interview, meaning I just made it, but not quite there yet. 2 weeks later, I was accepted into the course. I found in the end they took 2 from maybe 30 interviewees. Did I ace all my IB exams? No. Was it a smooth ride into NTU? Not really. Did I get in? Yup.
All this while, was I stressed? Yup. Did I excel in everything I did? No. Until the big exams, everything looked like there was no good plan for my life at all - it looked like I was going to be sweeping roads. But in the end, did anything matter? Nope. I am where I am.
That's on hindsight, looking back over my shoulder - I'm glad I continued to serve, because all my study time was kinda irrelevant, though necessary. Especially the way I got into uni, I thought it must be God - look how progressively difficult it was for me at each juncture? It was training! It was a test of my faith at each transition, and at each test my faith grew stronger as I began to learn to trust in the Lord, more and more each time.
Am I saying we should throw away our studies? No. If you don't walk, God cannot, or rather, won't direct where your foot lands. Sitting on the best bike in the world isn't any good if you don't pedal. I'm saying trust in the good plans of your God. All that worry, all that anxiety and all that stress is now inconsequential - I see that now. I'm trying to get you to look at your worries, your anxieties and your stresses. Are these things causing you to make studies your whole world? Because if you are in God and God in you; then eventually they will become kinda irrelevant, though necessary. What was relevant for me in that period of time, were the lessons and experience I got from running, and the joy and love I drew from learning how to serve God and these things were given unto me in abundance from since I was sec3. What is relevant to you now, may not be relevant to you in the end. But what is relevant for you always, God knows. The other things, God will take care, and surrendering to God means you let go and let God. Not surrendering to God for me would mean dropping everything in church to concentrate on my studies during exams; which was logical. What is it for you? Have scoring As taken over your life?
The world spins
Round and round.
As do our lives,
In ways profound.
We're caught up in its complexities;
Struggling, drowning, in deepest seas.
We strive and toil till the sun has set,
To watch the night invite the second set.
We chase our dreams, glorious ones!
Or so it seems, till we are done.
For all that stress and all that worry,
For lack of rest and hearts so weary.
We enter into eternity -
Eager to play to make merry.
Only to stop to see
That all that's left for me -
Is a glorious chest;
Glorious... and empty.
i wrote here ;D @ 1:15 PM
WELCOME♠
This blog belongs to the AWESOME; AWE-INSPIRING; AMAZING; MIND-BLOWING; STUNNING; OUTSTANDING; MARVELOUS; PHENOMENAL- L-CELL~
TheAwesomePeople in alphabetical order(: Brother Khing
Daniel
Edgar
Faith
Joel
Nikole
Ryan
Timothy
shining his glory, shining his light.
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Verse of the month
"If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." 1 John 1:7
Prayer Requests!
"If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you" John 15:7
Bro Khing - pray for healing on his knee WORSHIP EXPERIENCE PRAYER! Post-1243 oikos Pray for all our upcoming exams:D
Chatboxieee ;D
AIMS
here's what we want to see HAPPEN! ;D
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Schedule
1st and 3rd weeks: Leadershipcell from 3pm to 5pm 2nd and 4th weeks: Ministry Expression from 3pm to 5pm