Pastor Karen Wong

Joy comes when we experience the goodness of God in the midst of circumstances. The Psalmist reminds us that believing in His goodness and presence are the antidote of despair.

This Father’s Day I can’t help but to reflect on the love of my Heavenly Father and my earthly one, and how it anchored me ever since being in a relationship with Him.

In the Garden of Gethsemane and at the cross, Jesus himself experienced apparent loneliness and abandonment from God, which can be described as his darkest hour. In the midst of chaos, and facing pain, Jesus knew that in all these things God was in control.

It does not get better than this! Becoming all that God wants us to be – whole and holy – is not a work we can muster up ourselves, but of the Holy Spirit. He is committed to empower and renovate us in spirit, soul, and body, progressively!

Prayerlessness comes in when we regard prayer as a ritual or task. Prayerfulness enters in when we center our hearts on Jesus and getting to know Him, setting our affection upon Him.

God has no favourites! He is ready to reveal the fullness of Him to anyone who draws near to Him (James 4:8); He sure will draw near to any heart who is sincere.

So, what if God has shown you a dream, a calling, or destiny for your life, but years have passed, and nothing has come to fruition?

For every destiny, there’s season of testing and waiting. At that point we often feel as if the dream that God has put in our hearts is far from sight.

I really don’t remember how old I was, maybe 7 years old, but I do remember vividly the feeling of desperation after I had woken up to a lonely apartment on a tropical day. It was a habit for my mom or my dad to wake me up, during off-school season, to take me with him or her, to either restaurants they ran (our family owned 2). That particular day, they did not communicate to each other who would take me early in the morning, and both assumed the other brought me to their respective workplace.

Just in a month, my sister is getting married, and our family is “all hands on deck” to make that day special for her and her fiancé! From the tiny decoration details, to ceremony timeline, it has been encouraging to see my sister and fiancé, and respective families being in agreement on important matters as they tie the knot. Without such intentional agreement, no decision would be made for the day, and for those of us helping, we wouldn’t be able to act on their behalf to get things done.

“How do you do it? How do you manage to oversee leadership development at church, while finding time to work at your family’s coffee shop, spend time with family, and remain content and not go crazy?”These are some of the the questions I get asked lately. Looking outside in, I suppose it’s a common question for us pastors and leaders.