Lenten Devotion – Obeying God in Faith
Day 29, 18 March 2024
“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.” Hebrews 11:17-19
Hebrews 11 is often referred to as the Hall of Faith. In these verses, Paul lists many examples of believers who had amazing faith in God and lived their lives in obedience to Him. What I note to be common across these examples is that they were tests of faith at the level of life and death.
While my own faith has never been tested at such a level, I have experienced smaller tests, ones which taught me that God has better plans for me than what I could have made on my own, even when I don’t understand His plans at first.
I was in my 8th year holding a regional role in a multi-national company. Work had been smooth sailing and I had built great working relationships over that time. With a handful of other Christian women at the office, we even formed a small fellowship, calling ourselves WMF, which could stand for Working Mothers Fellowship, or Women in Media Fellowship, or We Meet Fridays, as that was the day we would meet to share and pray with each other. In short, I felt right at home where I was and had no reason to leave.
But I wound up leaving the job for another one that was comparatively more demanding, challenging and what others would even consider as a step down. Why would I do that? Because God showed me very clearly, “What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.”
I had turned down the job offer twice. The third time they came back with the offer, I received the verse from Revelation 3:7, along with the vision of a mountain, which at that point held no significance to me.
Around the second month into my new job, the company I joined announced a new name and new logo; the logo is that of a mountain. And a few months later, my previous company underwent a change of leadership in Asia which meant departures of my ex-boss and layoffs of many colleagues whom I had worked well with. People asked me if I made the move because I knew that a storm was brewing in my previous company. The truth is, I did not know anything and could not have predicted it either. I merely followed what God had told me to do, in spite of what others thought or cautioned me against. I had faith that God will have a plan for me since he kept the door open.
It shows us that we, as Christians, have the opportunity to respond to God in faith and that if we live in obedience to God, we too, can look forward to a greater reward. This may sometimes not be immediately bestowed in this life but one that we can certainly look to receive in heaven.
Julian Lim-Chua🙏