God Opens And Closes Doors As He Leads
BRD REFLECTIONS
Acts 15:36-41; Acts 16:1-15 and Psalm 104:24-35 (NIV)
(Alvin Tay, Associate Lay Leader)
READ:
Acts 16:1-15, focussing on verses 6 to 10
OBSERVE:
In Acts 16:6-10, we read about the Holy Spirit preventing Paul and his companions from preaching the word in the province of Asia as well as in Bithynia, and leading them instead to Troas. There Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him to “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” The team immediately left for Macedonia, believing that God had called them to preach the gospel there.
APPLY:
I used to wonder how I would know for certain that a particular calling was from God. In this passage, we read about Paul receiving a vision, and of how doors were closed, and one door opened. Earlier, in Acts 10, we also read about God ‘arranging’ the meeting between Peter and Cornelius.
That got me to reflect on my own spiritual journey, and how God had called me for His purposes. I do not get visions from God, like Paul and Peter did. But I have experienced several apparent coincidences which I now believe to be God’s providence.
Once I had invited a fellow Wesleyan, Ryan Lim to step up as a facilitator for the Companions in Christ (CIC) spiritual formation course. He said he would think about it as CIC is a long course and he might have to travel for work. Then silence for a few months. One day, at around 9 pm, I felt led to invite him again. So I texted him, and this time the answer was a resounding yes. He shared with me the reason, and gave me permission to share it here.
He said that on that particular evening, at around 6pm, he and his wife were taking a walk and chatting about people living beyond their means in the bid to impress others. Ryan told his wife that if there is someone we need to impress, it is God. However, God does not need us to buy fanciful stuff as sacrifices; He needs us to just respond to His call and put Him first. Hence, Ryan said he would be obedient and serve God when He calls. So when I ‘happened’ to call him three hours later, he knew there was only one response – Yes!
As another example, I was led to organise a Beach clean-up as Creation Care chairperson but had totally no clue how to do it. So I broached the subject to Yeo Su Chen, one of my committee members. Just days later, her friend Karen Liew, not aware of my intention, texted Su Chen out of the blue that she had done a clean-up at East Coast Beach with her company and was shocked by the amount of trash washed up on the beach. She asked if our church would consider doing a beach clean-up. Su Chen said yes and linked her up with me, and the outcome was WMC’s beach clean-up at East Coast Beach on 7 July 2019.
That’s not all. In 2018, the Creation Care Committee was thinking of what to do for the church theme of Impacting the World. We started with a small idea – help to clean up Fort Canning Park. But God opened one door after another, and soon the mustard seed grew into a beautiful tree. It became a churchwide initiative. The small idea evolved into something big – Christmas at The Fort in 2019!
Suffice to say, when God calls, whether it is to be a missionary, to clean up the beach, to do outreach beyond our church walls, or to do an Act of Kindness, He will guide and empower us. He will also provide the right people to walk with us to fulfil His purposes.
DO:
When I am asked to take up a new assignment, I will pray and wait upon the Lord with this question: “Lord, is this your calling for me?” I will not worry if the task is within my comfort zone or beyond my abilities. For it is not about my abilities. It’s about my obedience to God and trusting in His providence.
PRAY:
Heavenly Father, thank you for the privileges you have given me to serve you. Thank you that when you call, you will always enable and provide the resources I need to fulfil your purposes. All I need is just to do my best and trust that you will do the rest. So that when the job is done, I will know and can testify that it is you who is working through me and those you sent to help me. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
