Training From God

I received this from a friend in Malaysia who gave me permission to post it anonymously. It encouraged me very much! I hope encourages you also.

Every week, God had given me little tests to remind him of his sovereignty and also his care and love for me. But at times, I get too impatient and frustrated and hence, am not willing to listen to him. Yet, he is still waiting for me to repent and come back to his kingdom once again. Our God indeed is an awesome God and loving God. Though there were many times where I chose my own desires over Him, but he still did not give up on me. Like the prodigal son's father, my Father in Heaven too waits for me everyday for me to repent and come back home again. I am thankful to have such a Friend like him who is always with me in my joy and also in my sadness.

It was through the VBS that God revealed to me the purpose He had in mind for me. He wanted me to reach out to the unreached people. That is not an easy purpose to have and God had been training me via situations, obstacles, trials, temptations, testimonies, and many more. Even in Malaysia, in the company where I am working now, God is continuously training me even while working. To be honest with you, at times, I felt so stressed (juggling from work and wanting to stay closely to God’s purpose for me) that I felt like wanting to give up and forget about the whole purpose thing. But, God’s love for me is so great and I love God too much to walk away from it. I could not live my life without God and my life would be so empty without the purpose He had for me. Sometimes, tears will just well up in my eyes as I think of His great love for me, to send His son Jesus to suffer on the cross for my sins so that I may have eternal life. That true love is too great for me to reject and to walk away. And that true love is too great and I will be too selfish if I keep that love to myself and not share it with others.

Of course, during the trials and temptations, God never leaves me alone. He is by my side always, guiding me and leading me on. He did not save me from all those trials, but He went through them together with me. With that, I was able to learn and to grow. Besides, God reminded me in His words that He will never tempt me beyond what I can bear and when I am tempted, He will show me a way out so that I can stand under it (1 Corinthians 10:13). He also reminded me that He only trained those he called as his children whom He loves dearly. I should be really happy that I am receiving so many “trainings” from Him. That means He loves me and cares for my spiritual growth. Does that sound familiar? If you can still remember, I have two great worries when I made up my mind to go back to Malaysia for good. First, what if I could not get a job in Malaysia ? And that God answered me by blessing me with such a good job that I have currently. Second, what if I cannot grow in my walk with God? And now, God had been training me and helping me to be a better child of God through my work (by giving me opportunities to share) and through my church (by giving me opportunity to learn from the leaders as well as from the children too :) )