by Jolyn Sim, Singapore Sports School
Seeds of Growth (SoG) 2020 is a 4-part series of sessions for JC & IB students where we will come together to experience God’s love as a community. With the current COVID-19 situation, some of us may find it difficult to remain close to Jesus. Yet, the Lord still invites us into a time of growth and deepening of our relationship with him during this period!
I entered IB this year knowing that life was going to be much tougher compared to secondary school. Furthermore, having grown up hearing people constantly tell me, “God will only help only him who wants to be helped”, I believed that I needed to prove that I was putting my best effort into my work or anything in my life before God would help me. I felt the need to prove that I had something that made me worthy to be loved and that I needed to pull my own weight before anyone else could help me, even God. As my life grew more and more hectic, my faith slowly took a back seat while working to meet the expectations of excelling in my studies and balancing everything else became my priority.
During one of the SOG sessions, we were asked to reflect on what was keeping us from remaining in the Father’s house. I realised that my need for control over my life, constantly saw me giving my attention to everything else while only coming back to God when I was sure I had achieved enough. However, during prayer ministry, I received the truth that I need not be afraid to stay in the Father’s house and put God first as putting Him first wouldn’t mean that I would miss out on time to study or train, but in surrendering my life to Him, I would allow myself to be truly loved and accepted by him in spite of what I have or have not achieved. Through these words spoken to me, I realised that God never needed me to prove myself for Him to love me, and I didn’t need to go out and struggle on my own before I could come back with something to offer my Father. I am enough and am loved wholly and fully by him already!
Although SOG has ended and the intensity of IB life remains, I now take on these challenges with a new sense of peace in knowing that I am enough in the eyes of my Father. I do not have to fight alone and God doesn’t need to be separate from the rest of my life. The Lord truly loves me regardless of how much I achieve in my life.
Brothers and sisters, I invite you to open your heart to listen to the Lord for He invites you on a journey with him. Will you allow him to reveal to you more of his love for you even amidst the busyness of our lives, just as he did for me?
