Written by James Chen
The School of Witness 2018 (SOW) gave me the opportunity to have the luxury of time to really just be silent and to deepen my relationship with the Lord, away from the distractions and pressures of everyday life in the world. This school has really been an eye opener for me. I gained a new perspective towards God, and experienced His unconditional and reckless love that became so personal and tangible for me, a sinner.
Moreover, during the first 4 weeks of the school, where we were doing a lot of internal reflection and healing sessions, God revealed to me hurts and brokenness that I thought I had already long forgotten and moved on from. However, He showed me that I had been running away from this pain for too long, and He desires to heal me from this dark memory.
During this moment of inner healing, Jesus showed me that He had been there during the times when I felt abandoned, unloved and belittled. He also allowed me to go back into my past journaling and healed me by making me realise that the Lord weeped with me as I went through times of loneliness and hopelessness.
He continues to embrace me in His love to comfort me, inviting me to place my identity in Him, as He is the cornerstone that I have to build my life upon, as with Him as the strongman of my household, I will not be shaken. The community in SOW was also a big factor of my journey towards getting closer to God. The community supports me in my growth in Christ through their caring and loving acts and also the constant encouragement that they give me as we share with each other about our walk with Jesus. Faith has indeed built upon faith, and it is through living as a community for 8 weeks that we have pulled each other closer to God together, that whenever one may be struggling, we continue to pray for them to have perseverance to endure through the difficult times with the Lord.
As we embarked on the final four weeks of SOW, we were sent out to the different parishes to reach out to our brothers and sisters in Christ, and to testify about God’s personal love for each and every one of us. This was a time which I was panicking over, as I felt unworthy and unprepared to go out to speak about the good news. Moreover, I had fear of meeting strangers before I which definitely did not go along well with the requirements and tasking of the outreaches.
However, as we embarked on these outreaches, the Lord reminded me that I am simply His instrument. He would be the one converting hearts and not me. I simply had to proclaim and speak about the messages of truth that God has showed me, and the rest would be in God’s hands.
During this period of outreach, I experienced a sense of peace and comfort, knowing that I was indeed merely a vessel, who was filled by the Lord’s living waters. He reminded me that as long as I trust in the power and the name of Jesus Christ, there really would be nothing to fear.
During these outreaches, I felt the Lord minister to me as I ministered to others. This built up my confidence in the Lord once more, and assured me that Jesus continues to walk by my side every single day of my life. All I have to do, is to listen and be more aware of His presence. It has showed me how the Lord is always faithful to us even when we stray away from Him.
The school is the beginning of my intimate walk with Christ every single day of my life. I continue on my journey to surrender every single day as a form of prayer to the Lord, that whatever I may say, do or even think, may give glory and praise to God the almighty Father.
Allow Jesus to realign all our plans to that of the Father’s plan so that we may be able to find true joy and purpose in what we do, as the Lord knows us better than even ourselves, and every one of us plays an important role in His big master plan to build the kingdom of God here on Earth. Amen!