This year the Lord has opened doors for the church to undertake three short-term mission trips. I thank the Lord for answered prayers and I am excited to see many expressing interest and signing up for them.
I have also signed up for two trips this year. But shortly after I did that, I received a piece of alarming news that my mum was diagnosed with third-stage cancer. I was also feeling unwell at that time. It was a blow to my family and my travel plans. I immediately updated some brothers and sisters and asked for their prayers. I believe in the power of intercessory prayers of the righteous because God has shown to me many times that He listens and He intervenes.
In a crisis like this, I turned to God once again and cried out to Him for His mercy and healing for my mum. A series of events took place… the doctor that was recommended by a friend whom I had visited earlier, was also a specialist in the area of colon cancer. I quickly referred my mum to see him. An operation was carried out immediately in the following week to remove a part of the colon and to send it to the laboratory for testing.
Meanwhile the Lord ministered to me from my reading of His Word. Hebrews 11 exhorted me to put faith into action, by listing the lives of some men and women of great faith. Verse 1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” And verse 6, “Without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
It is natural for us to have emotions of sadness and pain when bad news hits us. In life we will all experience it at some point in time but the more important question is how we deal with it. We can choose to be fixated with the problem and be gripped by fear or we can turn to God who cares for us. Psalm 112:7-8 says, “They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.” So, let us learn from the Psalmist to trust in the Lord when adversities come our way.
I was encouraged and realised that the Lord was leading my family in a faith journey to experience Him in such a manner. This led us to constantly pray asking the Lord to heal my mum. Today, we have so much to thank God for. Three days after her operation, the result from the laboratory showed no trace of cancer spreading from the removed section of the colon. It was a miracle. As such my plan for the short-term mission trips was also reinstated and I want to thank God for it.
By Juan Hui, Deacon (YCKC Bulletin 12&13 July 2014)