4 minute read
Trusting God In Uncertain Times
by Melville Szto
What does it really mean to trust God?
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It’s easy to say we trust God when everything is going well but what happens when props we never knew we were depending on are knocked out from under us one by one? We are largely unaware that the security and comfort we experience depend on many such props – personal and family health and wellbeing, a safe environment, things running smoothly or the security of a good job. For many of us, it is a moment of truth as we face the challenges brought on by the Covid19 epidemic. Perhaps most of us never envisaged such a scenario happening now in safe, comfortable, secure Singapore.
Over the last one and a half years, many props I had been unconsciously depending on were knocked out from under me, one by one. Firstly, an unexpected fall in Sept 2018 fractured five of my ribs. That had barely healed when my beloved wife, Salome, was diagnosed with a long-term illness in December that same year. I became her primary care-giver and had to drop other ministries; from the Japanese church to my BFEC commitments and finally OMF (our missions organization) to focus on this one role.
The third thing that happened was my mum’s change of health, which needed several periods of hospitalization and round the clock care. Thankfully, my sisters, especially Lindis, were able to manage most of the additional responsibilities. All these happened before the coronavirus epidemic struck.
What lessons have I learnt from this time of testing? Struggling to manage the many ups and downs of Salome’s illness and the treatment she needed, there were many times when I came to the point where I no longer knew what to do. In desperation, I prayed, “Lord, I cannot cope any more. If you don’t intervene in some way to help me, I just cannot go on. I have no one to turn to.”
The amazing thing I learnt again and again was that God answers prayer, very specific prayers even, but not always in the way I had hoped. God always gave me the help I needed even though the situation remained the same.
One spiritual lesson I learnt at this time was the need for courage. I have often claimed the promise of God to Joshua, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9). I understood the need for strength because I knew my weakness. But now I also learnt the need for courage. Courage is our response of trust in God in the face of danger and we won’t really know what courage is until we face danger.
I can fantasize about what I might do if I were attacked by an armed robber but I don’t know what I would actually do until it happens. In other words, we cannot learn courage until we are confronted by danger, by a crisis moment. Courage comes from deep within us, but like everything else we need, it ultimately comes from God.
Melville and Salome with mum and sisters Joyce (left) and Christine.
We will need courage in times of testing and we need courage to individually and collectively face the challenge of Covid-19. The cowardly thing would be to run away, to hide or try to protect ourselves without caring what happens to others. That is not the Christian way. That is not the way of one who knows the God who has told us to be strong and courageous, not afraid and not discouraged because he has promised to be with us wherever we go.
The sign at the entrance of the OMF International Centre at 2 Cluny Road says “Have faith in God”. This sign is even more prominent at night as it lights up in the surrounding darkness. Our general director, Dr Patrick Fung, reminded us recently that “Even the darkness will not be dark to you (God); the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you (Psalm 139:12).”
Patrick told us that China Inland Mission (now OMF) missionaries who were facing great persecution in 1927 were comforted by these words - “In the light we are largely unconscious of our limitations, but when the night descends, our helplessness takes hold upon us and makes us cry out for God. Faith is a faculty which needs the darkness to thrive. When we see our way, we have no need of faith, but when darkness falls then faith receives her opportunity.”
Just as faith is a faculty which needs darkness to thrive, so courage is a quality that appears in time of danger. We need courage for such a time as this. We applaud the contribution that courageous people, both here and in China, are making as they work sacrificially on the frontlines combating the disease and seeking to save lives. We, who believe in the promise of Joshua 1:9, cannot do any less.
