During this lockdown, I appreciate my dad’s garden even more than before.
I go to the garden every morning, enjoying the different species of flowers and plants. It is a restful place to be still and to pray. I enter the house rejuvenated.
Jesus’ invites us to spend time with Him, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” (Mark 6:31)
Are you surrendering your cares and worries to Him? Are you finding rest in Him? Let’s go to Him for He gives us rest.
There is much anxiety in the midst of the pandemic. In moments like this, we realise we are weak, we need to lean on something greater and stronger.
The Bible tells us that Jesus is a firm foundation; His Word is a firm foundation (Psalm 119:152). We can trust in the Bible because it is God’s Word. His Word never fails; what God says is “firm, and righteous” (Psalm 19:9, NIV).
In the good times and in the bad times, God’s Word stands secure. His word is “more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honey from the honeycomb” (Psalm 19:10, NIV). “His way is perfect” (2 Sam 22:31). Listen to God and obey Him is like a wise man who built his house on the rock; when the rain poured and wind blew and beat against the house, it remained strong because of its solid foundation on the rock. The foolish man, on the other hand, built his house on sand. When the rain came, and wind blew and beat against the house, it came crashing down (Matt 7:24-27).
When we are fearful, God’s Word gives us comfort, encouragement, joy and hope. The Old Testament of the Bible records a prophet of God named Jeremiah. He was known as the “weeping prophet”. He lived at a very terrible time in history. He had gone through war, starvation and captivity. God called him to tell His people to repent, and he spent 40 years do that — calling people to repentance but they did not listen to him. He wept for sorrow for the people. He saw the destruction of the people he was giving warning to. God’s Word sustained him. He said of God’s Word, “they were my joy and my heart’s delight” (Jeremiah 15:16a).
May it be that at a time such as this, in the midst of pandemic, God’s Word is our joy and heart’s delight.
Corona virus is not sovereign. The virus seems to have humanity falling on our knees, but very soon, in His sovereign power, God will put the Corona virus to an end. God is sovereign above all!
Let’s be encouraged and find comfort in God’s Word. God’s Word is a healing balm when we are anxious, worried, depressed, hopeless and lost. God alone gives the deepest peace and comfort our fearful souls are yearning for.
Earth Day. The many pictures on social media on this day do remind us that we live in a beautiful world indeed.
1 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord, my soul.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes,
in human beings, who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithful forever.
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
8 the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
10 The Lord reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord.
The fluorescent tube in the kitchen is not working. The sun is setting. Mum needs to prepare dinner.
Dad climbs on the stool and hooks a light bulb to the wires. This provides light until we can go to the store to get a new fluorescent tube.
Without light, mum can not cook in the kitchen. Without the Light of the world, we will be moving about in darkness. Praise the Lord, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the Light of the World.
“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me never walk in darkness, but have the light of life.'” (John 8:12)
Every morning, the sun gives light to the earth. Plants grow because the receive sunlight. The morning sun is good for our skin as it nourishes us with Vitamin D. During night time, the stars and the moon give light to the earth. Without light, there is darkness. We can’t see in the dark.
Jesus came to give us light. He shines in us and convicts us of our sins. When we truly repent, He forgives us and remembers our sins no more. We are no longer bound by the heavy chains of sins but we live in hope, peace, joy and freedom.
Today is the 36th day of the 44 days of Movement Control Order. During MCO, we are to stay at home. No social gatherings, no parties, no group activities, no church small groups, no working out at the gym. We go out only when necessary to get essential items such as groceries or to buy food. This is to flatten the curve so that the virus will be under control.
For the past 36 days, I have been staying at home and enjoying the company of my parents. Below are the things which I have been doing:
1.Rest
Before MCO, I think I was at the edge of burnt-out. I am so grateful to have this break to slow down, to reflect on the meaning of life, read God’s Word, as well as enjoy the garden my dad is tending every day.
2.Read
Now that I have more time, I am reading different genres of books: autobiographies, Christian spirituality, prayer, health, travel, graphic novels and so on. Currently, I am reading “The Meaning of Marriage” by Tim Keller.
I use this app called, Scribd, which offers a 30-day free access to its library of over one million e-books, audio-books and magazines. I am currently reading Dr Jason Fung’s “The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss” and Lori Gottlieb’s “May be You Should Talk to Someone” on this app.
3.Eat Better
Generally, I have been eating better: no fast food, no McDonald’s, no pizzas, no bubble tea (my absolute favourite). My mum cooks the most delicious food and I am so spoiled! But, I also realised that I have also been snacking more than I normally do before MCO. The choice of snacks? Cookies.
Homecooked curry and chicken soup
4.Reconnect with Loved Ones
Good friends do wonders for our souls. This is the time to reconnect with family, old friends, keeping in touch as well as checking in with our closest friends. Zoom sessions with my gal pals are often bring laughters and are very much enjoyed. Zoom, Facebook, WhatsApp, phone calls, etc are wonderful ways to keep in touch.
5.Exercise
Now that activities in a group is not recommended, my best friend + walking buddy sent me a workout video which she follows as a part of her daily workout.
My go-to exercise channel on YouTube is Blogilates.
6.Pick Up New Hobbies
Now is the time to revive my blog. If you look at my older blogs, they were written at the end 2018.
I also aim to enjoy my guitar for 30 minutes every day.
7. Skin Care
Face masks, replenish my face with hydration and vitamins which is suitable for my skin type.
8. Spend Time with My Parents
I live alone. With the MCO, I moved back to live at my parents. I do treasure our bonding time together so much. We worship the Lord and sing praises to God every day. We grew closer as a family.
May it be that we echo the words of Joshua in the Old Testament, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15b, NIV).
These are what I have been doing. Of course, the other waking hours including church ministries, keeping in touch with church members, teaching, which are all done online now.
What are your activities during MCO?
Going to the supermarket during the Movement Control Order can be quite wearisome.
I made weekly trips to the supermarket. Upon entering, there will be a staff who makes sure each of us is using a face mask, watches us as we line up to wash our hands with hand soap at a sink near the entrance. After that, he will motion us to him, and takes our body temperature.
Once we are inside the supermarket, the shoppers, including myself, are scurrying around with a shopping list, aiming to get what we need while staying a meter away from anyone. It certainly is a different atmosphere than what is used to be. The atmosphere is tense. We don’t smile at each other like we used to do. I don’t see people giving way to one another. We are less gracious than we used to be.
It is a timely opportunity to practice love, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, self-control and love. These will be helpful to ease the fears, frustrations and tension in us and around us.
Since the country is in a lockdown thirty-three days ago, life has a “new normal”.
Ministry are all online now: online prayer meetings, online meetings, online fellowships, online Sunday services… these are now the new normal.
In my social circle, it is easier now to have a catch-up session with friends. Everyone is at home. In the past, it takes two years to plan a dinner with a group of my girl friends – – – our timetables were always clashing with each others’. Now that everybody is home, it is easier to re-connect.
How are you coping with life when a significant amount of activities we used to do are now being carried out online?
At one point, I was tracking all my activities with Google Calendar. I use different colours for different parts of my life. At a glance, I knew where time was going.
I no longer do this, as I am familiar with the rhythm of life and ministry, knowing which hour of which day goes to which activity.
Recently, I downloaded an app called “Forest”. It is listed as one of the Top Productivity app in Google store. This app aims to help the user to “stay focused” and “be present”.
Forest app applies the Pomodoro technique: set the timer for 25 minutes, you work on your task. After that, you take a 5 minutes break. After 4 sets of 25 minutes of work, you will get a longer break.
When you first install the app, it will guide you through some instructions. I think the default minutes of Forest app is 25 minutes, but you can adjust it.
What I like about this app is that I can’t up pick my phone for mindless Facebook/Instagram scrolling when I have something to finish up. If I am disciplined enough (not picking up my phone), I can plant virtual trees and earn coins, which can be saved up and used to help plant real trees in Africa: Cameroon, Kenya, Senegal, Uganda and Tanzania.
As I am writing this blog post, I have this 25 minutes timer on. I get to finish this blog post as well as preparing for a short devotion for the meeting this afternoon.
The message I got after picking up the phone 25 minutes later, “I’ve stayed focused for 25 mins without touching my phone! #forestapp”
The coins I got
Planted a virtual tree today
My forest looks like this
Something so small and yet so impactful.
Manna was a provision for the Israelites during their 40 years in the wilderness when they were on their way to the Promised Land— a land flowing with milk and honey which God had promised them (Exodus 3:17).
During these 40 years, God was teaching them and preparing them to be His people, a holy nation He had set apart which would bless the other nations of the world.
‘5“I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot. 6“You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink, in order that you might know that I am the LORD your God.”’ (Deuteronomy 29:5-6).
In my last post, I talked about God being our Provider. He knows our every need. To the Israelites in the wilderness, manna was one of the provisions from the Lord, and He had specific rules for them. They were to gather it daily, except on the Sabbath day (no manna could be seen on the Sabbath day, as it is a day of rest, and so on the day before Sabbath, the Israelites were to gather the portion they needed for the Sabbath). If the Israelites gathered more than they needed, it would rot.
For us as believers, we are to pray for our daily bread as our Lord Jesus Christ has taught us to pray (Matthew 6:11). However, we can get so busy wanting more and more that we can fall into the temptations of whining, complaining and coveting for the things we do not need but want. This is hard for me too, because I am always yearning and wanting the shiniest and newest things. If I look back at my purchase history, I have wasted a lot on things I want but not necessarily beneficial for me.
In his letter to Timothy, Apostle Paul wrote, “7For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. 8If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. 9But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1Timothy 6:7-10)
God does provide for our daily needs. We do not need to be over-anxious. At the same time, we are to be wise stewards of all that He has given to us: time, money, talents and gifts.
The providence of manna reminds me to:
May the providence from the Lord brings us joy!
In the wilderness, God had supplied the Israelites with all that they had needed. He was with them: in a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night to give them light so they could travel by day or night (Exodus 13:21). Their clothes and sandals never worn out (Deuteronomy 29:5).
In the wilderness, they did not have lands to plant vegetables for food. God then provided food for them, manna, which He rained down from Heaven. Manna in Hebrew means “what is it?!”.
“4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days” (Exodus 16:4-5).
As time passed, the Israelites were sick of having manna every meal. They began to get upset and frustration got a hold of them. they began to wail, whine and complained that they had lost their appetite because they had (eaten and seen) too much manna.
“4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” (Numbers 11:4-6)
They were making comparisons with their old life in Egypt. They would rather be working as slaves in Egypt under the cruel task masters and had fish, and other types of food to eat, than being in freedom with God as their loving Provider. Being in the wilderness meant they had to trust God like never before.
They got what they wanted: meat. God sent them quails but it was not without a price.
It is easy for us to whine and complain. It is easy to find things to complain about. May God have mercy on us. May God help us to see His goodness, mercy, providence, forgiveness and love.
Let us cultivate a heart of thanksgiving. What are the things you can give thanks to God for today? Why not list them down and give thanks to God for His mercy and providence?