Thank you brothers and sisters for being a part of my life this season.
I was just thinking of how i came to join the Navs as a young Christian in my freshmen year, how much God transformed my life in these 3 years and i can't stop giving thanks. How he sent people into my life, then and now, to sow and water and He Himself making me grow. How He showed me the work He's doing in other's lives to encourage and inspire me.
All of you have been such an important part of my walk with the Lord. I'll like to share about Something and Someone that really left a deep impact upon my life because i want to thank him and i believe you will agree he has made a deep impact in your life too: Jeremy Our dear President!! I remember very early on during my time in the Nav in one rally, Jeremy stood up in front of all of us and shared of how he struggled and how he wanted to make a fresh commitment to God. i remembered he shaved his hair to seal that commitment. I didn't know Jeremy very well then but i was just amazed at how honest and open he was in sharing with the Nav family. As i observed God's work in Jeremy's life, the total transformation of my dear brother inside-out, to someone who encourages and affirms, to someone with a heart for the individual, to someone who leads by serving, to a man after God's own heart; it really spurred me on. it's a beautiful testimony of God's grace and love. Thank you brother, that by being a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1), you have been a living testimony to us! :)
By our own strength we could never have endeavored to be someone new. God says very clearly that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come! i took a long hard look at myself this 22nd birthday and i truly love myself more than i did when i was 18 before i met the Lord. His work in my life truly made me beautiful, more and more like His Son Jesus. I told God no way am i going to lament, like my peers that i'm one year OLDER, but i'm going to give thanks that I'VE BEEN WITH THE LORD ONE MORE YEAR! What a privilege. And it struck me how GOD never improvises or improves us from where we were, but transforms us COMPLETELY. Right down to our core. His transformational powers are amazing. more amazing than POWER RANGERS (okay i just had to crack a lame joke even in times of thanksgiving and testimony sharing. ahaha forgive me. Nav culture rubbing off me la~)
And i want to testify that GOD IS AMAZING and works in ways we can and cannot see. His open and closed doors are loving signposts that point us to His GOOD, PERFECT and PLEASING WILL for us.
i remember in my freshman year God spoke very clearly to join the Navs even though i was serving in cellgroup and i'd wanted to join Campus Crusade. He knew then how i will grow in the love and grace so bountiful in this Nav community.i remember how He spoke to me not to go on exchange in my 3rd year so that i can serve on the exco though my flesh was unwilling. And yet when i obeyed i've been so blessed by this time of serving and being served. i remember how at overnight prayer in DEC 2006 God told me I was to be His Rae of Light, confirmed it through the mouth of my pre-believing fren Jian and then proceeded to work miracles in my family by changing the spiritual atmosphere and giving us HOPE that can only come from Him. God has been speaking to me about Proverbs 3:5-6 recently (thank you Jonah for praying that for us tonight) and as i count my blessings, i can only praise the wonder of these words:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and He will make your paths straight."
Our God is real, living, unchangeable and loves us with an everlasting love that can never be lessened regardless of what we do or choose not to do. Nothing that we do can make Him love us more, nothing that we can do can Him love us less. My birthday wish for this year (yes Ivy, kiasu me keeps making the same wish everytime i make one so that it's more effective ahaha) is to be right in the center of God's will always :) That's all i need to live a life that's worth living!
In His Love,
Weiting~
God's Rae of Light