In the Name of the Lord |
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"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."
Psalm 23:4
It’s 2033 on 02 August 1998.
Daniel 3 recorded how Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the furnace for refusing to bow to the idol erected by Nebuchadnezzar. And they came out unhurt. The king saw a fourth person with them in the fire.
The Babylon monarch witnessed how God took care of his children. God was with them. And he saw to it that none of his followers were hurt.
"But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand."
Isa 64:8
Truly we are his handiwork. He shapes and forms us. And it is an on going process.
"And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it."
Jer 18:4
The potter will remake his vessel until he is satisfied with it.
We are his chosen vessels. God uses us to bless the people around us. If we are not clean or not willing, we cannot be used.
When we crack, we will be put into the fire and mended.
The economic situation in Malaysia is not favourable. Some got pay-cut while others lost their jobs.
I am blessed with a reasonable and understanding boss. Not only I was not retrenched, I received pay-cut. Seeing that I am struggling to catch up with my debts and expenditures, he gives me a personal allowance or whatever you want to call it equivalent to 10% of my pay. He gives me this from his own pocket.
Now, the reason I am striving now is because I was lavish in my spending. I had a credit card, which reached its limit. I am paying interest every month while struggling to make the minimum payment, before taking them out again.
God sent my pastors to give my wife and me marriage counseling. K, my wife and I took a serious look at out financial situation and decided we did not like it a bit. We wanted to serve God. And hence we wanted to be free from all bounds.
K works in Evangel Book Store. The bosses saw our problems (K had a credit card too) and loaned us money to repay her credit card. She cancelled it right after that.
We are now paying a large chunk of our income in order to settle my credit card bills. We will cancel my card once we paid the outstanding balance. As a result, we are very tight now, especially with our new apartment ready. We have to renovate it and put it lights and fans. And we do not have a budget for it.
I would see this as the pot (or vessel) going through fire to mend the crack. I made mistakes with the income God blessed me and I have learned the lesson well. Once I am out of the fire, I will be a vessel fit to God’s work.
Hallelujah!
